A weeks-long investigation by the Town of Caledon’s Integrity Commissioner John Fleming has concluded that Mayor Annette Groves interfered with Town by-law investigations and breached Council Code of Conduct in two separate instances. The sanctions imposed by the Commissioner were the docking of four weeks’ pay (two weeks for each violation).
Fleming also expressed his concern over Grove’s lack of “appreciation of the seriousness of the matter” and that he takes strong exception “with her premise that she has the authority to substitute her judgement, unilaterally, or as she describes it her “discretion” on enforcement of provincial legislation and municipal bylaws.”
The two instances at the heart of the investigation were:
- Attempting to interfere when an Order to Comply and a Stop Work Order were issued against the owner of the asphalt plant in Bolton for “proceeding with the delivery, installation and partial construction of the proposed plant, with none of the required approvals in place.”
- Attempting to interfere when Town staff visited a property at 17055 Hwy 50 in Palgrave (across from Palgrave Public School) to remove a large quantity of contaminated soil when repeated efforts to have the owner do so had not succeeded.
The investigation was initiated when, on August 7th, the Commissioner received a complaint alleging that on two different occasions the mayor had attempted “to improperly influence or direct the Town of Caledon’s bylaw staff and/or to interfere in the execution of their duties.”
While all parties were requested to maintain confidentiality while the investigation proceeded now that the report has concluded and been made public Caledon ward 2 Councillor Dave Sheen has come forward identifying himself as the complainant.
“I take very seriously the need for all members of Council to always conduct themselves ethically and in accordance with the law and our oath of office,” said Sheen. “I did not bring forward my complaints easily or lightly. I want to work with the mayor toward the betterment of the Town of Caledon. But it’s difficult to do that when one is not willing to play within the standards of ethical behaviour. Hopefully this finding by the Integrity Commissioner will make perfectly clear the separation that is supposed to exist between politicians and law enforcement.”
Asphalt Plant, Bolton
Earlier this year former Director of Building & Municipal Law Enforcement Services Mark Sraga had issued an Order to Comply and a Stop Work Order on the owner of the asphalt plant property in Bolton. Despite the fact that the previous Council had denied the application for the plant the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) had overruled that decision. However, the OLT determined that the use ought to be permitted subject to certain conditions that were to be met before any work proceeded on the site. Those conditions included a number of steps to be approved by the Town of Caledon, as well as an approval of the use by the Ontario Ministry of Environment Conservation and Parks.
The Commissioner’s report outlines that when the delivery of additional fill, subsequent grading of that fill, and the delivery and assembly of the many requisite parts and structures for the plant proceeded despite the lack of approvals in place, Sraga and his staff exercised his statutory authority to issue an Order to Comply and a Stop Work Order under the Building Code Act, 1992 c. 23. Those Orders were issued on April 14, 2023. On April 20, 2023, bylaw enforcement issued a further Order to Comply in relation to the delivery of fill and the use of fill to change the grade of the property.
The report states that Mayor Groves, by way of an email dated May 3rd, 2023 to the Director, intervened or attempted to influence the duties of the Director. In her email the mayor cited support of Councillors Russo, Rosa and Napoli, indicating “…. we wish to have no further actions taken against the property located at 12415 Coleraine Dr. either from Building or Bylaw.”
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Contaminated Soil, 17055 Hwy 50, Palgrave
 The report outlines that over the course of three months Town enforcement officials made numerous attempts to have the person responsible remove the illegally dumped and contaminated material, but those requests had not been complied with.
As a result of the non-compliance with an order, bylaw enforcement officials determined that the Town would carry out the required work. Staff attended at the property on August 2nd together with a contractor engaged to load and haul away the material in question, supported by a member of the Caledon detachment of the OPP.
Prior to the work beginning, the person subject to the removal order contacted the mayor by telephone. Once he reached the mayor, he passed his phone to the senior bylaw enforcement official on site. That bylaw officer spoke to the mayor who directed the bylaw official and subsequently the acting Director that “clean-up activity was to be stopped.” The contractor along with their equipment were dismissed from the site “at considerable expense to the Town.”
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Section 5.3 of the Code reads Members shall acknowledge and respect the fact that Town employees carry out directions of Council as a whole and administer the policies of the Town.
Members shall refrain from using their position to improperly influence employees in their duties or functions to gain an advantage for themselves or others.
Fleming said he received considerable evidence that significant pressure was placed on staff. He stated that in both matters the question of boundaries arises regarding an elected official interfering with those who are carrying out their authorized duties.
Section 5.4 reads Members shall refrain from publicly criticizing employees, in a way that casts aspersions on their professional competence and credibility.
The report indicates that the mayor referred to the Director and his team as “cowboys.”
“Simply put, the issues raised in both complaints appear to be focused on the mayor’s most determined goal of substituting her judgement for that of the staff given authority under Town bylaws and/or relevant provincial statutes” he expressed in the report.
The complete report can be found in the Correspondence section of the Agenda for the November 14th General Committee of Council meeting.
Editor’s note:Â
JSC has noted that on July 11th, the mayor signed her first “Mayoral Decision” (#2023-1), using her Strong Mayor Powers newly bestowed by the province, to split the head of building services and municipal bylaw enforcement (the position held by Sraga who resigned his position at end of June) into two. The decision also states that she retained the power to hire the new director of municipal law enforcement.
Related story:
Integrity Commissioner Finds Councillor Intentionally Disclosed Confidential Information
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