A Wasaga Beach councillor wants to make sure municipal staff have the power to blow the whistle when they see wrongdoing.
At the final meeting of 2022, Coun. Joe Belanger introduced a notice of motion that Wasaga Beach consider a process that allows staff to report issues of mismanagement and corruption.
In his motion, Belanger cites the circumstances surrounding the Collingwood judicial inquiry, suggesting that the town, if it had such a policy, might have avoided the inquiry’s $8.2-million cost.
The recommendation of a whistleblower policy was raised during the inquiry, though it was not a final recommendation by the judge overseeing the inquiry, Associate Chief Justice Frank Marrocco.
A policy approved by Collingwood in October, however, does set out a process for staff to report issues of mismanagement, corruption or illegality, and provides explicit protection from reprisal to employees who file an allegation in good faith.
The Collingwood policy allows a complaint to be investigated by a director of the employee’s choice, or a third-party independent investigator.
Belanger’s motion will be considered in January, at council’s first co-ordinated committee meeting of the year, and includes a recommendation that municipal staff review the Collingwood policy and bring a report back for council’s consideration.
Belanger said it would be an opportunity to learn from Collingwood’s work, and put in place a best practice that other municipalities have also adopted.
“They have...
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