Ward 1 councillor Sean O’Meara is calling for town staff and Mayor Rob Burton to commit to sharing all information with town council.
"Openness and transparency should be at the core of everything we do," said the veteran Bronte councillor.
That call comes in the wake of a report from the integrity commissioner that looked into the circumstances around a housing deal that the mayor signed with the federal government but failed to disclose to town councillors.
The report dismissed a formal complaint that O’Meara brought, alleging that the mayor had misled town council at a May 6 meeting, by referring to a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that turned out not to exist.
The integrity commissioner found that the mayor had relied on staff advice about confidentiality to make his statement.
Town councillors officially received the integrity commissioner’s report during their Monday, Sept. 16 council meeting.
Read more here: Complaints about mayor’s inaccurate statements dismissed by integrity commissioner
O’Meara took the opportunity to note that the circumstances at the May meeting had deprived him of the right to important information ahead of a crucial vote on potential changes to Oakville’s planning regime.
"That there was confusion or misdirection between senior leadership at the Town of Oakville about what members of council could or could not be told is the fundamental issue here," he said.
"When I asked about going into closed session to get a better understanding about what the town had legally signed, I was told it would make no difference because I was not entitled to know in confidence because of an NDA."
"At no time did staff stand up and clarify that this was not a correct statement."
Confidentiality may have prevented the mayor from speaking about the housing deal in public session, but council deserved access to that information, O’Meara noted.
"Decisions being made by our senior leadership and lack of openness to councillors is becoming a troubling pattern," he continued.
"It’s my hope, as we put this issue behind us, that we do so with the renewed commitment by the staff and the mayor that this council is the board of the corporation of the Town of Oakville and it should be privy to all information as a whole, to the maximum extent possible, so that we can make the best decisions using all of the information before council at all times."
Read more here: Ottawa wants its money back as town reneges on secret deal signed by mayor
O’Meara was thanked by Ward 3 councillor Janet Haslett-Theall.
"Sean, I concur with your comments," she said. "They speak to how we need to evolve and what we need to do to move forward and get this behind us but to act in a much more appropriate manner."
Burton made no comment on the report during the meeting.