The chair of the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) has decided to step down from his role on the Lake Huron Regional Conservation Authority Transition Committee.
Ed Mc Gugan announced his resignation in a statement released on Thursday, which was addressed to Don Goodyear, the Project Executive with the committee.
In his statement, Mc Gugan mentions that the “decision best maintains my integrity and values as an elected official, especially as they relate to my requirements for openness and transparency with the Boards, Councils and communities I serve.”
Mc Gugan argues that “the degree of expected confidentiality related to the transition planning” was not made clear to him at the time he joined the transition committee.
Moreover, Mc Gugan notes that after receiving a confidentiality document following the first official Transition Committee meeting on September 9, some committee members questioned whether it was legal or appropriate to expect elected officials not to report back to their Boards and Councils.
“The confidentiality clause in the Terms of Reference and the non-disclosure agreement (or Confidentiality Undertaking) are, in the opinion of our legal counsel, not in line with the Duty to Report that we have as elected officials and is in contravention of the Municipal Act section 239 that sets out the legal rules for transparency, open meetings and closed, or ‘in-camera’ sessions,” Mc Gugan stated. “As such, I can no longer continue serving in the capacity as a representative on the LHRCA Transition Committee. I remain committed to the health of the local watersheds within the MVCA’s area of jurisdiction and finding opportunities to continue to advocate for the priorities set by Maitland Conservation’s Board to strengthen the resiliency of our lands and waterways.”
Mc Gugan’s statement comes after recent concerns voiced by the Township of Huron-Kinloss regarding transparency in Ontario’s plan for consolidating conservation authorities.
You can read Mc Gugan’s full resignation letter by clicking here.
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