SCHEDULE “A” By-Law No. 12-21

COMPLAINT FORM MUNICIPAL INVESTIGATION OF CODE OF CONDUCT

by

Integrity Commissioner

IN ACCORDANCE WITH

Section 223.3 of the Municipal Act 2001 (As Amended)

A FEE OF $25.00 MUST ACCOMPANY THIS FORM PRIOR TO BEING PROCESSED. PLEASE FORWARD COMPLETED FORMS TO:

John Maddox JGM CONSULTING

#42 – 99 Edgevalley Road London, Ontario N5Y 5N1

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POLICY FOR CODE OF CONDUCT INVESTIGATIONS Policy Statement The County of Elgin (the municipality) is committed to ensuring that a request for an investigation under Section 223.3 of the Municipal Act, 2001 as amended (the Act) is dealt with in a fair, open and expeditious manner. The municipality commits to full co-operation including the provision of all information requested by the Integrity Commission (the Investigator), either written or through interviews, to assist the Investigator in his investigations. This policy shall be posted on the municipal website and available from the Chief Administrative Officer's Office (the Clerk), 450 Sunset Drive, St. Thomas, ON, N5R 5V1 or by contacting the Administrative Services Department at 519-631-1460 or through e-mail to mpayler@elgin.ca This policy applies to all appointed Boards as defined in the Municipal Act. Background: Through By-Law No. 12-20, as amended, the municipality has appointed Mr. John Maddox as a Municipal Integrity Commissioner and authorized him to conduct investigations upon receipt of a complaint in respect of complaints regarding the County of Elgin’s Code of Conduct. (see Appendix 2 for Duties of Integrity Commissioner) Complaints Procedures: (see Appendix 3 for Complaint Protocol) Individuals are encouraged to speak directly with the individual regarding a Complaint in order to resolve any concerns prior to beginning the formal complaint process. (see Appendix 1 for Informal Complaint Procedure) Individuals may submit complaints to the Investigator relating to compliance with the Code. All complaints will be treated as confidential, unless authorization is given by the complainant to release his or her identity. Every request for an investigation shall be initiated through the submission of the "Municipal Investigation Complaint Form" ("Complaint Form") provided. The said Complaint Form shall be made available to the public through the Clerk's Office or can be downloaded from the County website at www.elgincounty.ca. Completed Complaint Forms will not be accepted by facsimile, e-mail or other electronic means. A completed Complaint Form shall be submitted to either the Clerk's Office or directly to the Integrity Commissioner and shall be accompanied by payment of an administrative/ processing fee of $25.00, payable in cash or bank draft to the Corporation of the County of Elgin, in accordance with the following:

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By delivery to the Clerk in a sealed envelope clearly identified as a Complaint under Section 223.3 of the Municipal Act (Code of Conduct Complaint)

or By mail directly to: John Maddox, Municipal Closed Meeting Investigator

99 Edgevalley Road, Unit #42 London, Ontario N5Y 5Nl

Inquiries only may be submitted by email to John Maddox: maddoxjo@sympatico.ca or by telephone at 519-951-0330 during regular office hours. A completed Complaint Form will not be accepted unless accompanied by payment of the required administrative/processing fee. In the event that the investigator concludes that there is no basis for the complaint then the said administration processing fee shall be refunded to the submitting Complainant. All complaints must be made in writing using the Affidavit: (Appendix 4)

When complaints are submitted directly to the Clerk, the Clerk shall follow the following procedures: 1. Take all measures to ensure the envelope remains sealed and its contents remain

confidential;

2. Assign a file number and record said file number on the envelope;

3. Log the file number together with the date and time received;

4. Forward, forthwith to the Investigator by regular mail.

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Appendix 1

INFORMAL COMPLAINT PROCEDURE

Individuals (for example, municipal employees, members of the public, members of Council or local boards (restricted definition), or organizations (including local boards (restricted definition) who have identified or witnessed behaviour or an activity by a member of Council or a local board (restricted definition) that they believe is in contravention of the Code of Conduct for Members of Council and Local Boards (Restricted Definition) the “Code of Conduct” would address the prohibited behaviour or activity themselves as follows: (1) advise the member that the behaviour or activity contravenes the Code of

Conduct; (2) encourage the member to stop the prohibited behaviour or activity; (3) keep a written record of the incidents including dates, times, locations, other

persons present, and any other relevant information; (4) tell someone else (for example, a senior staff member or an officer of the

organization) about your concerns, your comments to the member and the response of the member;

(5) if applicable, confirm to the member’s satisfaction with the response of the

member; or, if applicable, advise the member of your dissatisfaction with the response; and,

(6) consider the need to pursue the matter in accordance with the formal

complaint procedure or in accordance with another applicable judicial or quasi-judicial process or complaint procedure.

Individuals and organizations are encouraged to initially pursue this informal complaint procedure as a means of stopping and remedying a behaviour or activity that is prohibited by the Code of Conduct. With the consent of the complaining individual or organization and the member, the Integrity Commissioner may be part of any informal process. However, it is not a precondition or a prerequisite that those complaining pursue the informal complaint procedure prior to pursing the formal complaint procedure.

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Appendix 2

DUTIES OF A MUNICIPAL INTEGRITY COMMISSIONER

The Integrity Commissioner shall perform the duties and have the powers provided for in the Act, including but not limited to the following:

(1) Advisory: upon proper request, provide written and/or verbal advice to individual members of Council respecting the application of the Code of Conduct and/or any other procedures, rules, and policies relating to and reflecting upon their ethical behavior, including but not limited to general interpretation of the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act (Ontario); and furthermore and when appropriate, providing the full Council with specific and general opinions and advice respecting compliance by elected officials in respect of the provisions of governing statues the Code of Conduct and any other applicable procedures, rules, and policies.

(2) Compliance Investigation/Determinations: upon proper request from a member of Council or local board, municipal administration or one or more members of the public, to conduct an inquiry and make a determination as to any alleged contravention of the Code of Conduct or applicable procedures, rules, and policies by a member of Council or local board and, thereafter, to report the details and results of such inquiry to municipal Council.

(3) Educational: provide the Chief Administrative Officer or as directed with an annual report of activities during the previous calendar year as Integrity Commissioner, including but not necessarily limited to advice given to Council or individual members of Council and a summary of inquiry results and determinations; furthermore, provide outreach programs to members of Council and local boards and relevant staff on legislation, protocols, and office procedures emphasizing the importance of compliance with a Code of Conduct for public confidence in Municipal Government; and, furthermore, dissemination of information available to the public on the website operated by Elgin.

Notwithstanding that set forth above, the parties acknowledge and agree that the function of the Integrity Commissioner is to provide advice and opinion to Council and members thereof, to provide independent complaint prevention, investigation, adjudication, and resolution to members of Council and the public, and education respecting adherence with the Code of Conduct for members of Council and other procedures, rules, and policies governing ethical behavior.

The parties hereto also acknowledge and agree the Integrity Commissioner, will perform services, and in particular those services relating to advisory and educational duties, in a manner so as to avoid duplicated advice, opinion, and cost in respect of identical requests and inquiries – for example, the Integrity Commissioner shall decline to provide individualized advice and opinion to more than one member of Council or a local board on identical issues but should choose to provide general advice to Council or such local board as a whole to answer all such inquiries. In addition, it is recognized that the Integrity Commissioner, will likely receive requests for advice on matters involving compliance with the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act (the “MCIA”) – while the Integrity Commissioner may provide general interpretation of the MCIA, it is expected that individual members of Council or local boards will seek independent legal advice on a specific question of individual compliance with such legislation.

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Appendix 3

COMPLAINT PROTOCOL

(1) Any member of Council, staff or the public that believes they have experienced or witnessed conduct in contravention with the Code of Conduct may file a complaint and request an investigation.

(2) All complaints shall be in writing and signed by an identifiable

individual.

(3) A complaint shall set out reasonable and probable grounds for the allegation that the member has contravened the Code of Conduct and include a support affidavit that sets out the evidence in support of the complaint.

(4) The complaint protocol information package shall be available at the

County Clerk’s office.

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Appendix 4

AFFIDAVIT

Code of Conduct Complaint Protocol – Formal Complaint Procedure

Please note that signing a false affidavit may expose you to prosecution under Sections 131 and 132

or 134 of the Criminal Code, R,S,C, 1985, c. C-46, and also to civil liability for defamation.

AFFIDAVIT OF ___________________________________________________________________________(full name) I, _____________________________ (full name), of the (City,Town, etc.) _________________________ of (municipality of residence) ______________________________in the Province of Ontario MAKE OATH AND SAY (OR AFFIRM): 1. I have personal knowledge of the facts as set out in this affidavit, because ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________(insert reasons e.g. I work for…………..I attended the meeting at which…………..etc.). 2. I have reasonable and probable grounds to believe that a member of Elgin County Municipal Council,

________________________________________________(specify name of member), has contravened

section(s) _________________________________________(specify section(s)) of the Code of Conduct

for members of Council (the “Code of Conduct”). The particulars of which are as follows:

(Set out the statements of fact in consecutively numbered paragraphs in the space below, with each paragraph being confined as far as possible to a particular statement of fact. If you require more space, please use the attached Schedule A form and check the appropriate box below. If you wish to include exhibits to support this complaint, please refer to the exhibits as Exhibit A, B, etc. and attach them to this affidavit.)

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Please see the attached Schedule A

1. This affidavit is made for the purpose of requesting that this matter be reviewed and for no

other purpose.

SWORN (or AFFIRMED) before me at ) The Municipality of Central Elgin in the )

County of Elgin in the Province of Ontario on ) ________________________________ ) (A Commissioner for taking affidavits, etc. - Signature)

) ) ________________________________ ) (Date)

) ) ________________________________ ) (Complainant Affidavit, - Signature)

) ) ________________________________ ) (Date)

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Appendix 4 (page 2)

AFFIDAVIT

Code of Conduct Complaint Protocol – Formal Complaint Procedure

Please note that signing a false affidavit may expose you to prosecution under Sections 131 and 132

or 134 of the Criminal Code, R,S,C, 1985, c. C-46, and also to civil liability for defamation.

Schedule A

To the affidavit required under subsection 2(3) of The Formal Complaint Procedure (If more that one page if required, please photocopy this blank page and mark each additional page as 2 of 2, 2 of 3, etc. at the top right corner.)

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**Affidavit to be submitted with filing fee as prescribed by

County of Elgin Municipal Fees & Charges Schedule. This is Schedule A referred to in the affidavit of

__________________________ (full name) Sworn (or Affirmed) before me on this _______

day of ____________________ _________ ___________________________________ A Commissioner for taking affidavits, etc.- Signature

___________________________________ Complainant Affidavit, - Signature

___________________________________ Complainant Affidavit, - Date of Submission

* Personal information B collected under the authority of Section 239 of The Municipal Act (as amended) and will be used by The Integrity Commissioner to carry out an investigation under the Act.

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