Mayor Jim Watson and City of Ottawa integrity commissioner Robert Marleau headlined a panel at Carleton on the state of the city’s ethics and accountability Feb. 10.
Both Stephen Maguire, a Carleton professor and the moderator of the event, and Watson made it clear that the panel would not be comparing Ottawa to Toronto mayor Rob Ford like it was marketed in a university press release.
“Thank you for not leaving after you realized we’re not going to talk a lot about Rob Ford today,” Watson said.
Watson began by highlighting the changes the city has made to its accountability framework since he won the 2010 municipal election, including creating a lobbyist registry, online expense disclosure, and a gift registry for gifts valuing more than $30.
These changes included appointing Marleau as the integrity commissioner to oversee it all.
Watson called Ottawa a “leader in the province” for transparency. The key to the city’s success, he said, is its proactive approach.
“What’s particularly important is that we put these measures in place because we wanted to, not because we had to or because of a scandal,” Watson said.
Marleau echoed this point. He said the new lobbyist registry has transformed the actions of elected officials and opened up the workings of lobbying to public scrutiny.
“Eighteen months ago, if you had tried to find out which California companies were interested in building a casino in Ottawa, you would have had to do a tremendous amount of research in order to get an exact list,” Marleau said.
All three panelists agreed that although the system seems to be working, it can still be improved. Watson said the system isn’t perfect, and it’s impossible to legislate integrity and an individual’s behaviour.
Robert Shepherd, the third panelist and a public policy and administration professor, said there are still issues that need to be fixed.
He pointed to how the integrity commissioner must get the approval of city council for their investigations, which places him or her in a difficult position of how independent they can be.
Shepherd said the public’s lack of faith in elected officials and the political process itself presents a problem as well.
“I think it’s clear to everyone in the room that there’s a growing skepticism among citizens about the integrity of our politicians and public officials,” he said.
An audience member followed up that statement by asking if there are any mechanisms to remove a mayor from office if they lose the public trust or act inappropriately, referencing the recent Ford debacle.
Watson said the only way this could happen is if the mayor or other elected official was charged and convicted with a criminal offence. Barring that, Watson said there’s another way to get the same result.
“There’s a recall process and it’s called an election,” he said.
All panelists agreed Ottawa is in a good position when compared to other Ontario municipalities and their codes of ethics.
“It’s adequate for now. Where [the city] will take it is really up to the elected officials. Ultimately, they are accountable for it to you who cast a vote every four years,” Marleau said.
