Better safe than sorry.

That’s the best advice a municipal councillor should consider when it comes to possible conflicts of interest.

During a presentation to Town of Osoyoos council on Monday, Janette Van Vianen, the town’s director of corporate services, said councillors must use extreme caution to not put themselves into possible controversial positions.

“A 2013 ruling by the B.C. Court of Appeal …. Clarified that a local government elected official who is also a director of a society or a corporation, has an indirect pecuniary interest in local government matters relating to the expenditure of local government funds to that society or corporation,” said a report prepared by Van Vianen. “The court found that the conflict of interest provisions … of the Community Charter apply and the council member must not participate in the matter. The province has recently clarified how this will impact council members appointed to boards or societies by council.”

The exception to the conflict of interest is only valid if the council member was appointed (by resolution) by their local government to serve on the board of directors of a society or a corporation that their local government has incorporated to provide a service to that local government and the subject matter discussed by the council of the local government is a “specified interest” in relation to the same entity, she said.

A specified interest is defined as:

  • An expenditure of public funds to or on behalf of the entity.
  • An advantage, benefit, grant or other form of assistance to or on behalf of the entity.
  • An acquisition or disposition of an interest or right in real or personal property that results in an advantage, benefit or disadvantage to or on behalf of the entity.
  • An agreement respecting a matter described in paragraphs 1, 2 or 3.

“For an example to the above to make it clearer to understand, I will use Destination Osoyoos board as an example,” said Van Vianen. “The council member sitting on the DO board as an appointment of council (by formal resolution) does not have to recuse themselves when council is considering funding for DO or lease agreements, etc. However, there are exceptions to that are discussed further in this report.”

The new exceptions to the conflict of interest will not apply when a “specified interest” relating to an entity is discussed and a local government official sits on the board of that entity, but was not appointed to that position by his or her local government and where the local government official was appointed by his or her local government to sit on a board of an entity, but the decision being discussed it outside of the scope of a “specified interest” as described in the regulation.

“In other words, the regulations allow elected local government officials to be appointed by the local government to certain society and corporate boards without the risk of disqualification due to financial conflict interest, only if the subject matter discussed at a meeting is a specified interest,” she said.

Even if a council member has been appointed by council to a board he or she sits on, there still remains a potential conflict where the council member otherwise receives a personal pecuniary benefit as a result of a council decision relating to the society or corporation.

“For example, if there were ever a time that a council member is appointed to a board or society where a stipend is paid, and the board or society come to council for approval for an increase to that stipend, the council member should recuse themselves from the discussion and vote as it is a direct personal pecuniary interest,” said Van Vianen.

A council member sitting on a society or corporation board without having been appoint by council to this position, continues to be subject to conflict of interest arising from “divided loyalty” between the council member’s loyalty to both the entity and their local government, she said.

“The basic rule for council members is … if you even question whether your are in conflict, you should probably declare that you are,” said Van Vianen. “It is always best to err on the side of caution rather than risk a claim of conflict.”

Coun. C.J. Rhodes thanked Van Vianen for the information in the report and said it has always been his personal belief you shouldn’t accept any gift from a member of the public and always declare a possible conflict if there’s the slightest chance you think there might be one.

KEITH LACEY

Osoyoos Times