Guelph-Eramosa appoints integrity commissioner

Guelph-Eramosa has decided to appoint Guy Giorno of Fasken Martineau as the township’s integrity commissioner.

Guelph-Eramosa joins five other Wellington municipalities and the county, which have all appointed Giorno. He will begin a four-year contract on March 1.

The Modernizing Ontario’s Municipal Legislation Act, passed in May 2017, requires every municipality, by March 1,  to have an integrity commissioner and a code of conduct for council and local boards.

“At the present time we don’t have a current code of conduct which will be required as of March 1, 2019,” clerk Meaghen Reid said at the June 25 meeting.

“So we are recommending to move forward with the appointment ... So that we have time to prepare a code of conduct for council to consider that and to have one in place prior to that time.”

Giorno charges $300 per hour plus mileage and expenses, with no retainer.

“Mr. Giorno practices public law with an emphasis on accountability and ethics laws,” Reid wrote in her report. “He has significant experience in public sector ethics, conflict of interest, codes of conduct, accountability legislations, lobbyist registration law and election and election finance law.” He is the integrity commissioner for 20 municipalities in Ontario.

Reid said there is nothing in this year’s budget regarding an integrity commissioner so it will be a discussion for next year’s budget.

“And it’s a conversation that all municipalities are having,” she said.