Judge says he needs time to consider question of Catholic trustees conflict of interest
CBC
A London, Ont., judge said Friday he would reconvene next week to give himself time to carefully consider in what manner he would allow the London District Catholic School Board (LDCSB) an exemption to the province's conflict of interest laws to break a months-long impasse that has paralyzed the board's decision-making ability.
Seven out of eight trustees recused themselves from making decisions on the board's $312 million budget and collective agreements in December because of close family ties between the trustees, board staff and unions.
On Friday, lawyer Paula Lombardi, who is representing the school board, submitted a draft order to the judge in virtual court that would grant trustees an exemption to provincial conflict of interest laws unless the matter being discussed related "solely to a specific identifiable and individual employee" of the board.
Justice Spencer Nicholson said he would need time to carefully consider the draft order to ensure the trustees would still be held to account should they act in bad faith while exempt from conflict of interest rules.
"It can't be the intention of the act to paralyze boards like this," Nicholson said, noting he would likely render a decision on the exact language of the order early next week.
"You ought not to lose any sleep that you won't have a functioning board shortly," he told the trustees, some of whom were watching the virtual proceedings from the court gallery.
At one point in the proceeding, Nicholson questioned how so many trustees could have such close family ties to teachers and the unions representing education workers, before answering his own question.
"They all have family members that are teachers for a good reason. They're interested in education so they have family members who are educators," he said.
Court filings by the board outline list the conflicts of interest held by trustees in detail, which include:
Linda Steel, the board chair and a long-time trustee with the Catholic board, was the only person not to declare a conflict of interest on the board.
Under the Ontario Education Act, there must be at least two trustees to vote on a decision in order to make it valid.
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