It has been some time since I have felt the need to overtly express, through this venue, my concerns relating to the actions or inactions, whether in part or in whole, of our city’s elected officials and/or administration but recent revelations described in the media as “double dipping” by the mayor compel me to do so.
With unethical and or illegal transgressions of the ethical rules of conduct by elected officials at all levels of government becoming increasingly pervasive, it is too easy for us, their electors and constituents, to pay such matters little heed. This is most unfortunate since to do nothing serves only to perpetuate the situation by not calling the alleged offenders to task and insisting that they take responsibility for what they may or may not have done. In this case, the mayor’s response has been sorely lacking, consisting of explanations that are neither convincing nor compelling. Seldom does an explanation constitute a valid excuse.
Having had the opportunity to personally examine the records garnered through FOIPS, it is my layman's opinion the duplicate claims cannot simply be dismissed as clerical errors. The fact that the matter currently lies in the hands of the city administration brings me little or no comfort that the whole thing won’t just be paved over or disappear altogether.
In light of the above, it behooves those of us who are truly concerned citizens to insist that the matter be properly referred to the appropriate local and provincial authorities namely the RCMP and Ministry of Municipal Affairs.
Murray Lambert, St. Albert
