Summerside council's 'public disclosure statements' won't be made public, says CAO

The City of Summerside says disclosure statements filed by the mayor and council won't be available for the public to see.

Meanwhile, the City of Charlottetown said it's looking at the privacy implications for its council before deciding whether to make the documents public.

The province's new Municipal Government Act requires, for the first time, that all municipal council members in the province file financial disclosure statements showing sources of income within 30 days of being elected.

A sample bylaw provided by the provincial Department of Communities, Land and Environment over the summer to municipalities referred to the documents as "public disclosure statements" and stated, "although not a requirement under the [Municipal Government] Act, council may choose to make disclosure statements accessible to the public as a best practice."

Consulted a lawyer

Like financial disclosures filed by provincial MLAs, the municipal disclosures are meant to show potential sources of conflict of interest before they arise.

I think to gain the trust of the community, if we're not willing to be transparent, I don't think you should be running for office.— George Dalton

Summerside CAO Bob Ashley told CBC via email that the disclosures "contain information about private share holdings, personal finances, not only for themselves, but also spouses and family."

Ashley said the city had consulted its lawyer, and decided that "until otherwise directed by the province, the disclosures would be treated no different than human resource files, the privacy of which is protected."

City resident George Dalton, who's been advocating for more transparency from city hall, said he was disappointed to learn of the decision.

'Swearing to secrecy'

"I think we've run into a kind of a history here, a storied history of municipal governance where there is … a swearing to secrecy," Dalton said. "I think to gain the trust of the community, if we're not willing to be transparent, I don't think you should be running for office."

Mayor Basil Stewart told CBC News the new council hasn't yet had a chance to address the issue of the disclosures, and he was not aware of the city's decision that the documents will not be available to members of the public.

The sample bylaw provided by the province about the "public disclosure statements" also told municipalities the disclosures are not to include "specific details about a member of council's personal financial matters such as salary, the value of holdings or other specific personal financial information."

Charlottetown still deciding

The City of Charlottetown told CBC via email it was "clarifying what our responsibilities are under protection of privacy" before deciding whether to make copies of the disclosures public.

CBC asked for an interview with Communities, Land and Environment Minister Richard Brown but he was not available.

Back in October, a spokesperson for Brown's department told CBC the new disclosures aren't being introduced in order to let the public learn about financial holdings and potential conflicts of interest for councillors.

"The primary reason for the disclosure statements is to provide information to the chief administrative officer about potential conflicts of interest," the spokesperson wrote in an email. "Municipalities, if they wish, can make them public (but with due regard for the disclosure of personal information.)"

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