So There you have it!
Bylaws that prevent transparency by exercising another sordid bylaw preventing a company (or anyone) from exposing the exclusion of possible savings of $100 of thousands of taxpayer dollars.
OMG what a Transgression!
The raging question has to be: Why the outrage over transparency or the lack thereof?
News Alert Nagara has been chronicling the lack of transparency and integrety and the Niagara Regional Governments deceptive bylaws for decades.
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Even today the Niagara Regional Government won't let Citizens present to Council unless the Citizen's Presentation has to do with what is on the council's agenda, which in itself is understandable. What is not understandable is another deceitful bylaw that says you must have your request to present in before 9:00 am Friday even though the agenda is not posted until the following Monday. How Nice!
The Niagara Regions' authorities blocks Emails from Niagara Citizens to Regional Councilors!
Regional Chair still holds stolen property four years after theft! None other than the Ontario Ombudsman clearly stated that the theft as unlawful! If the Ontario Ombudsman points out corruption we should be concerned, but if one of our elected councilors points to corruption OMG everyone, including the local press, has a fit!
Bylaws against transparency is Cover-up!
Many, including this writer, believe that Regional Chair Bradley is an obfuscator and a McGuinty/Wynne disciple, a life-long, silver-tongued, silk-socked socialist politician no better than the corrupt miscreants that he replaced!
The Niagara Regional Government is an over-priced and unnecessary burden on the backs of the Niagara Taxpayer that has and is riddled with rules and regulations, dubious bylaws deliberately designed to protect the Regime from their Constituents!
SO! Secret and elicit hiring practices, perjury against innocent Citizens and unexplained Multi-$million doubling of $contracts is not to be considered CORRUPTION?
What the hell planet do these people live on?
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Gale’s lobbying, false accusations of corruption earn ire of Niagara Region staff and politicians
Wed., Jan. 20, 20216 min. read
Article was updated 1 hr ago
Niagara Region staff and some
elected officials are considering filing an integrity commissioner complaint
against Niagara Falls Coun. Bob Gale after he made false claims of corruption
on Facebook and paid for an ad lobbying on behalf of a company seeking Region
contacts, the St. Catharines Standard has learned.
Earlier this week, Gale paid for
a Facebook ad urging the public to immediately demand regional council allow
APG-Neuro — it has been seeking to be part of a pollution control contract — to
make a presentation to the elected body.
“Should a company that could save
Niagara taxpayers $100s (sic) of thousands of dollars be allowed at least to
present to council,” said Gale’s ad. “If yes, please email your regional
councillor right now!”
Regional procurement bylaws,
designed to prevent political interference with contracting, prohibit the
lobbying of councillors by companies and councillors from lobbying on their
behalf.
Gale, who denied he is lobbying,
had raised the issue of allowing APG-Neuro to speak to councillors on three
previous occasions in recent months — all while the contracting process was
ongoing. The Standard has learned the Region’s lawyer advised councillors the
company could not make a presentation because the procurement process was active,
and doing so could open the government up to lawsuits.
Gale’s ad raised eyebrows among
politicians and staff, with Chair Jim Bradley calling the councillor’s move
“highly unusual,” but stopping short of saying it is a breach of council
bylaws.
“I will likely remind councillors
of what the bylaws are and what is and is not permitted,” said Bradley who is
expected to raise the issue with council Thursday evening.
While some councillors and staff
were debating how or if to respond to the ad, they were outraged by false
claims Gale made Monday afternoon on his Facebook page that staff used to trade
gifts for lucrative Region contracts.
“It was not too long ago that
regional staff were receiving gifts by companies with annual golfing trips to
South Carolina and annual skiing trips to Whistler,” Gale said in the long post
which was written as a reply to questions about his ad emailed to him by the
Standard. “These companies would then end up receiving favourable contracts
without competition.”
The Standard asked Gale what
evidence he had to support his claims and in an email, Gale pointed to a 2017
report on the Burgoyne Bridge project in St. Catharines.
“The allegations are contained in
the Burgoyne Bridge forensic audit that the
St Catharines Standard publically (sic) disclosed,” Gale wrote.
While the $500,000 report by
Deloitte Canada found several problems with Region procedures during the bridge
project, it made no allegations of wrongdoing and did not allege staff were
awarding contracts as a result of being gifted trips.
The regional council of the day,
which included Gale, forwarded the report to the Ontario Provincial Police
which, after a 21-month-long investigation, found no evidence of criminal activity.
Four senior Region sources,
speaking on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to
comment on the matter publicly, said Gale’s claim — it was presented in his
post as part of a justification for his ad and support of APG-Neuro — is
“outrageous” and “disrespectful” and could do damage to the Region’s
reputation.
Bradley said no investigations
have found staff had traded contracts for gifts, but said it will be up to the
integrity commissioner to rule on Gale’s statements.
These staff and councillors are
considering filing an integrity commissioner complaint about Gale’s accusation
and his lobbying. However, some councillors are wary of retaliation should
their names be connected to a complaint, while others are unsure, even if the
commissioner ruled against Gale, it would change anything.
Others are unsure the integrity
commissioner process should be used by councillors against their colleagues and
balk at the expense of an investigation.
While Gale denied his ad
constitutes lobbying, the regional procurement bylaw defines lobbying as “the
advocacy of an interest that is affected, actually or potentially by the
procurement process or individuals involved in the procurement process
including seeking to influence the outcome of the procurement process or
subsequent award of a contract.”
Moreover, the bylaw specifically
says the Region “may reject any bid by a supplier that engages in such
lobbying, without further consideration, and may terminate that supplier’s
right to continue in the bid solicitation process.”
The contract debate
APG-Neuro’s owners began to press
for an opportunity to present to councillors during a months-long procurement
process to hire a company to upgrade the Port Dalhousie pollution plant.
GIVE THE GIFT OF TRUSTED NEWS.
If you refuse to settle for second hand news and think
that your loved ones shouldn’t either, give them the gift of The Standard.
While APG-Neuro was not bidding
on the contract, it wanted to be included on an approved list of suppliers that
can be subcontracted by the company that won the contract.
APG-Neuro makes high-speed turbo
blowers used by waste treatment plants. The Region, however, did not want to
use that kind of machine for the project, citing problems with similar
technology in the past, according to emails obtained by the Standard. As a
result, APG-Neuro — it is involved in a 12-month-long pilot project in Crystal
Beach — was not included on the supplier’s list.
In the emails, the company
objected to being excluded and requested permission to present to regional
council directly, claiming its technology would save hundreds of thousands of
dollars annually.
In a reply to the company,
regional managers noted during an active contracting process, councillors
cannot communicate with a company seeking regional business, and cited the
bylaws prohibiting companies from lobbying councillors during the process. The
emails also said APG-Neuro’s technology will be reviewed after the Crystal
Beach project and if the results are satisfactory, the company will be included
in future suppliers lists.
The back and forth between the
company and the Region happened from October through December while the
contracting process was active.
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The emails also indicated APG-Neuro had been in contact with Gale, who forwarded the company’s concerns to staff and councillors. Gale also raised the issue several times in council meetings insisting APG-Neuro was treated unfairly and should be able to speak to council.
Bradley confirmed the Region’s
lawyer advised council such a presentation is outside the bounds of the bylaws.
This is the case even after a contact is settled, he said.
The $36-million pollution plant
contract was concluded on Dec. 8 and awarded to Maple Reinders Construction
Ltd.
The Region’s bylaw does have a
prescribed dispute resolution process a company can use if it is unhappy with a
procurement. However, that process excludes elected officials entirely.
Government sources said if APG-Neuro is allowed to make a pitch to council, any
company that fails to win a contract in the future will do the same, opening
the entire process up to political influence and lobbying.
Social media politics
spite the advice of the
Region’s lawyer, Gale continued to press the issue with his Facebook ad. In his
later Facebook post, in which he falsely claimed the Standard is trying
“muzzle” him, Gale said he is not lobbying.
He said because the contract is
signed, there should be no issue presenting to council and accused the Region
of treating APG-Neuro “unfairly.”
“This company simply wants to
advise council how they were treated during the procurement process and how the
purchasing rules were not followed,” said Gale. “If council allows them to
speak and hears what they have to say, then they will be extremely upset on how
this company was unfairly treated.”
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