Pembroke staff, integrity commissioner back up mayor in recent controversies
Mayor Ron Gervais hasn't broken rules, city councillors heard at finance committee meeting Tuesday
City staff in Pembroke, Ont., and its integrity commissioner have found no problems with Mayor Ron Gervais's involvement in two recent controversies, despite allegations from some residents that they involve conflicts of interest.
One involves Gervais's employment at the law firm Sheppard & Gervais under city solicitor Robert Sheppard, who has been paid for more than 20 years to represent the city on legal matters. The other involves Gervais's application to buy a parcel of surplus land next to his home for $1,000.
Last month, Arianna Nolet told CBC she received a "threatening letter" from solicitor Sheppard which also had the mayor's full name and legal credentials printed on it.
She said she questions whether taxpayers should continue to foot the bill to contract out services to the mayor's colleague, and called it an "abuse of power."
At the beginning of a finance committee meeting Tuesday night, and following a CBC story on the matter, Mayor Gervais declared he had an indirect financial interest in anticipation of the discussion point on "legal services."
He then left the council table while the discussion took place.
Pembroke's chief administrative officer (CAO) David Unrau clarified the city's relationship with its solicitor to councillors and vocalized city staff's support for Sheppard.
... We receive excellent service from Mr. Sheppard.- Pembroke CAO David Unrau
"I would just like to report that, talking to the staff, we receive excellent service from Mr. Sheppard. It's always received on time, efficiently," Unrau said.
Unrau had earlier told CBC that the city does not have to go through a competitive bidding process to hire lawyers, as its bylaws exempt legal services from having to be procured.
He explained that bylaw for councillors Tuesday.
Some councillors disagree
Unrau also reiterated that Gervais is not a partner but an employee of Sheppard's, and that "Robert Sheppard the person, not the firm" was appointed as solicitor in 2002 — a point Coun. Ian Kuehl disagreed with.
"I think we're really splitting hairs there," said Kuehl, who is also a lawyer. "When I was at Sheppard & Gervais between 2010 and 2016, I did a lot of work for the city ... Trying to dissect that, I don't know is fair to reality."
Kuehl also raised concerns about how the contract with Sheppard hadn't been reviewed in more than two decades.
"Saying that we're getting great service is fine, but we also need to be treating the taxpayers with respect," he said, suggesting the city looks around at other firms in Renfrew County that may also be able to do the job.
Coun. Ed Jacyno defended the city's use of Sheppard for his long-term experience and challenged Kuehl, which resulted in a heated exchange.
WATCH | Councillors argue over city's solicitor contract with Sheppard:
Coun. Troy Purcell then announced he will bring forward a motion at the next council meeting asking the city to advertise and procure legal services.
"Just because it's not in the procurement bylaw doesn't mean we don't demonstrate our due diligence as a council ... making sure we're getting the best bang for our buck," Purcell said.
CBC has contacted Unrau multiple times since March, asking for information on the city's budget for legal services and the total costs paid to Sheppard & Gervais, but has not yet received a response.
CBC also contacted the city's treasurer for this information, but she referred the reporter back to the CAO's office.
Integrity commissioner looked into mayor: CAO
Later in the evening, Gervais returned to his seat and observed quietly as Unrau told councillors that Pembroke integrity commissioner Tony Fleming had looked into the mayor's application to purchase a piece of city surplus land next to his home for $1,000 and found that there wasn't a problem.
Gervais had first brought the matter to council in September 2022 when he was deputy mayor, and did so again this March.
Some residents had taken to social media to express their disbelief. One person wrote on a Facebook post that it "screams of conflict of interest," and another wrote that taxpayers "should be sick to their stomach."
Unrau read segments of Fleming's report on Tuesday night. He said they weren't aware of "any attempt to influence staff or council on this issue and as such, in our opinion you have not breached the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act."
Unrau also said "we do not believe that your actions" contravene the city's code of conduct.
"It's not a conflict or unethical for a member of council to make an offer to purchase city-owned land," Unrau read.
On Wednesday, Unrau sent CBC a copy of that report — a letter from Fleming addressed to Gervais dated March 24, 2023.
It states Mayor Gervais and Fleming had a conversation on March 20 — a few weeks after his most recent proposal to buy the piece of city land to council — and he had asked the commissioner for advice.
"In all the circumstances we are satisfied that your behaviour as disclosed to us is compliant with the code of conduct," Fleming wrote. "Should there be additional facts that we are not aware of please let us know as that may change our opinion."
This commissioner's findings were not part of an official investigation, which happens when someone submits a complaint.
Coun. Purcell raised concerns over the technicalities of the commissioner's findings.
"I think that there is inside knowledge in regards to the availability of that land at that price," Purcell said. "So why can I not buy a piece of recycled [city] equipment? I'm not allowed to purchase that [as an elected official]. But a piece of land I can purchase."
This led to another heated exchange between councillors.
Finance committee chair Brian Abdallah concluded that staff will appraise that particular piece of land to put up for public sale, and said staff are looking at a new policy regarding the sale of surplus land.
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