Heather Wright/The Independent

Nearly four years, after Petrolia Mayor Brad Loosley banned a councillor from attending in camera meetings, the town has been forced to release the letter spelling out his reasons.

In June 2022, while investigating a Code of Conduct complain against the mayor for the release of confidential information to The Independent, the investigator found Loosley had banned then-Councillor Marty Souch from the private meetings which discuss personnel, legal and property issues for the same reason. The complaint against Loosley was dismissed with the investigator saying she could not be sure the information had not been released previously by another person or, if the mayor had released the information, it was done accidentally.

The Independent began asking the mayor and town staff to release the reasons for Souch’s punishment and why the concern did not go through the Integrity Commissioner, a provincially-mandated office created in the Municipal Act to deal with complaints about politicians’ behaviour.

Both Souch and Loosley confirmed the existence of a letter which banned the councillor from the meeting until the end of the term.

But both the mayor and the town refused explaining the matter or releasing the letter saying it was a personnel matter.

In October 2022, just before the municipal election, The Independent filed a request for the document under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. The initial request was refused by the town saying Souch was considered an “employee” of the town since he was paid. The Independent appealed, saying Souch, as an elected politician, was not an employee of the town but an employee of the people of the town.

Last month, the adjudicator for the Information and Privacy Commissioner agreed the letter was to be released.

In it, Loosley reprimands the councillor for not only releasing information from an in camera meeting, but telling a municipal investigator looking into another matter that he had not.

“It is now known to me that, not only did you divulge closed session confidential information, you also were not truthful to the investigator about the matter. I cannot begin to express my disappointment in you. Your actions have diminished my trust in you as a member of Council,” the letter, which bears the town crest and the words ‘From the Office of the Mayor, states.

“The protection of confidential information is set out in our Code of Conduct, as it is in every municipality, because it is one of the four mandatory provisions that is prescribed by the Province. The protection of confidential information is one of the most serious and important aspects related to the accountability of an elected official.

“As a cornerstone of the accountability regime, the non-disclosure of confidential information has a direct bearing on the ability of the people of our community to trust the integrity of their elected officials,” Loosley wrote in the letter dated Nov. 23, 2021.

Violations of the municipal Code of Conduct normally go through the Integrity Commissioner, but, in the letter, Loosley admits he was circumventing the system, giving out his own punishment instead.

“I have given careful consideration, now that you have made your admission directly to me, on what would be the best approach going forward. I stand by my word that should the member of Council responsible for the breach of confidential information step forward, that I would not ask the Council to request the Integrity Commissioner to investigate,” he wrote.

“Having said that, there must be consequences for your actions. Since you cannot be trusted to maintain closed meeting information as strictly confidential, I ask that you recuse yourself from attending and participating in any closed session meetings of Council for the remainder of this term of Council.”

Souch signed the letter Nov. 24, 2021 under the words which said “I confirm that I have read and understand the information set out above and that I agree to abide by the terms set out therein.”

Souch told The Independent he didn’t push back against the expulsion because he didn’t think there had been “anything of any magnitude to be concerned about” talked about in the private meetings.

When the agreement first came to light, municipal experts decried the move.

“I don’t believe the mayor has any authority to ban any councillor from any council meeting,” said Andrew Sancton, a retired political science professor from Western University and the author of many books about municipal governance.

“If the mayor’s objective is to impose some form of sanction on the errant councillor – rather than accepting a promise from him that he will not leak again – then the correct course of action would be to lodge a complaint with the integrity commissioner,” Sancton said.

At that time Loosley, in response to the question what legislation allowed him to ban an elected councillor from a council meeting, he replied “I understand the concern and the authority; probably I do not.”

The town released the information, as ordered by the Information and Privacy Commissioner Monday adding there would be no comment from the town.

It’s not clear how much the town’s legal expenses were to keep the letter from the public view.

Here’s the full copy of the letter: