Municipal & Planning Law Reports
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MUNICIPAL & PLANNING LAW REPORTS Fifth Series/Cinqui`eme s´erie Recueil de jurisprudence en droit municipal VOLUME 5 (Cited 5 M.P.L.R. (5th)) EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/REDACTEUR´ EN CHEF John Mascarin, M.A., LL.B. Aird & Berlis LLP Toronto, Ontario QUEBEC EDITOR/REDACTEUR´ POUR LE QUEBEC´ Vincent Piazza, LL.B. Partner, De Grandpr´e Chait LLP/s.e.n.c.r.l. Montr´eal, Qu´ebec CARSWELL EDITORIAL STAFF/REDACTION´ DE CARSWELL Cheryl L. McPherson, B.A.(HONS.) Director, Primary Content Operations Todd Pinsky, B.SC. (HONS.), LL.B. (Acting) Product Development Manager Nicole Ross, B.A., LL.B. Sharon Yale, LL.B., M.A. (Acting) Supervisor, Legal Writing Supervisor, Legal Writing Peter Bondy, B.A.(HONS.), LL.B. Lisa Rao, B.SC., LL.B. Lead Legal Writer Senior Legal Writer Anne Simpson, B.A., M.L.S., LL.B. Bridget Mak, B.A.(HONS.), LL.B. Senior Legal Writer Legal Writer Eden Nameri, B.A., LL.B. Martin-Fran¸cois Parent, LL.B., Legal Writer LL.M., DEA (PARIS II) Bilingual Legal Writer Jackie Bowman Content Editor MUNICIPAL AND PLANNING LAW REPORTS, a national series of topi- Recueil de jurisprudence en droit municipal, une s´erie nationale de cal law reports, is published 12 times per year. Subscription rate $409.00 per recueils de jurisprudence sp´ecialis´ee est publi´e 12 fois par ann´ee. bound volume including parts. Indexed: Carswell’s Index to Canadian Legal L’abonnement est de 409 $ par volume reli´e incluant les fascicules. Indexa- Literature. tion: Index a` la documentation juridique au Canada de Carswell. Editorial Offices are also located at the following address: 430 rue St. Pierre, Le bureau de la r´edaction est situ´e a` Montr´eal — 430, rue St. Pierre, Mon- Montr´eal, Qu´ebec, H2Y 2M5. tr´eal, Qu´ebec, H2Y 2M5. ________ ________ © 2013 Thomson Reuters Canada Limited © 2013 Thomson Reuters Canada Limit´ee NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER: All rights reserved. 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ISSN 0702-7206 ISBN 978-0-7798-4761-7 Printed in Canada by Thomson Reuters CARSWELL, A DIVISION OF THOMSON REUTERS CANADA LIMITED One Corporate Plaza Customer Relations 2075 Kennedy Road Toronto 1-416-609-3800 Toronto, Ontario Elsewhere in Canada/U.S. 1-800-387-5164 M1T 3V4 Fax 1-416-298-5082 www.carswell.com Contact www.carswell.com/contact MUNICIPAL & PLANNING LAW REPORTS Fifth Series/Cinqui`eme s´erie Recueil de jurisprudence en droit municipal [Indexed as: Magder v. Ford] Paul Magder, Applicant and Robert Ford, Respondent Ontario Superior Court of Justice Docket: Toronto CV-12-448487 2012 ONSC 5615 Charles T. Hackland R.S.J. Heard: September 5, 6, 2012 Judgment: November 26, 2012*** Municipal law –––– Council members — Conflict of interest — Failure to disclose interest — Pecuniary interest — What constitutes –––– Mayor was councillor prior to his election as mayor — While on council in 2010, report of city integrity commissioner concluded that mayor had breached municipal code of conduct — Breaches related to solicitation of donations for mayor’s private foundation, for which mayor used city logo and resources as well as his status as councillor — Recommendation that mayor reimburse donors came before city council in 2010 — Speaker for council alerted mayor to potential conflict of in- terest in voting on recommendation, but mayor did so regardless — Council adopted recommendation of integrity commissioner, but mayor did not reim- burse money — Integrity commissioner recommended that mayor provide proof of reimbursement by March 2012 — Matter came before council again in Febru- ary 2012, with another councillor moving to rescind 2010 decision and have no further action taken on matter — Mayor voted on this motion, which passed — *Reversed at Magder v. Ford (2013), 2013 CarswellOnt 387, 2013 ONSC 263 (Ont. Div. Ct.). **A corrigendum issued by the court on November 30, 2012 has been incorpo- rated herein. 2 MUNICIPAL & PLANNING LAW REPORTS 5 M.P.L.R. (5th) Application was brought by citizen to find that mayor was in violation of muni- cipal law by voting on motion — Application granted — Seat of mayor declared vacant — Municipal law applied to violation of municipal code of conduct — Mayor had pecuniary interest in matter before council, and under law this was enough to disqualify him from speaking or voting on matter — Any denial of fairness to mayor was matter for potential law reform, as provisions of applica- ble law were clear — In any event, there was no justification for mayor voting on motion as this was clear conflict of interest — Mayor’s seat was declared vacant, but mayor was not barred from seeking office after current term — Dec- laration was to take effect 14 days after judgment, to allow for necessary admin- istrative changes. Municipal law –––– Council members — Conflict of interest — Disqualifica- tion –––– Mayor was councillor prior to his election as mayor — While on coun- cil in 2010, report of city integrity commissioner concluded that mayor had breached municipal code of conduct — Breaches related to solicitation of dona-