Petrolia Councillor Grant Purdy plans to have the Ombudsman review an Integrity Commissioner’s report into his actions.
On Nov. 14, council hired Amberley Gavel to look into Purdy’s conduct. Integrity Commissioner, Nigel Bellchamber, handed in his completed report to council Feb. 12. Purdy was not aware the report was complete nor did he see the results before Bellchamber began reading.
The Integrity Commissioner says Mayor John McCharles sent him 12 complaints which may have broken the town’s Code of Conduct. Bellchamber said addressed only seven including speaking to the media about issues before raising them with town staff, social media posts which seemed to question the tactics of the bylaw enforcement officer without asking what was taking place, talking to The Independent about closed door meetings, texting in council meetings, and suggesting to members of the public there may have been fraud and “money laundering” involved in some of the town’s practices.
He found Purdy “breached the Code of Conduct in his comments and with his choice of particular words” and added “It is not up to the member of council to take on the role of investigator, nor to publicly infer negative conduct by staff of the municipality.”
Bellchamber recommended Purdy be publicly reprimanded but did not suggest a financial penalty for the breach.