Antoinette Blunt, the city's integrity commissioner, has ruled there are no grounds for an inquiry into a chinwag involving Couns. Lisa Vezeau-Allen, Sonny Spina and Angela Caputo in the city council chambers on Feb. 3.
Ward 4 Coun. Stephan Kinach had written to Blunt asking for an investigation to determine whether Vezeau-Allen had broken the city's code of conduct when she met with Ward 1 Coun. Spina and Ward 3's Caputo.
Vezeau-Allen had requested a leave of absence from Jan. 31 to Feb. 28 because she was running for the New Democrats in the provincial election.
"Coun. Kinach stated that at the council meeting of Feb. 3, 2025, Coun. Vezeau-Allen was in attendance and that she was in the gallery and before the council meeting started, Coun. Vezeau-Allen entered the staff and council portion of the chamber," the integrity commissioner said in a preliminary report prepared for Monday's council meeting.
"Coun. Kinach stated the meeting was delayed and that Coun. Vezeau-Allen was conversing with staff members and councillors.
"Coun. Kinach took two photos on his camera and provided these as evidence," Blunt added.
The council meeting was scheduled to start at 5 p.m. but Kinach's cell-phone photos showed the three councillors were still confabbing at 5:03 and 5:05 p.m.
Kinach pointed out that Vezeau-Allen met with the two councillors in a part of the council chambers reserved for council members and city staff only.
He said the meeting there constituted a conflict of interest.
"This erodes public confidence in our municipal government and this is undue influence on staff and her colleagues when she is on her leave of absence of her own request," Kinach claimed.
"There is a clearly defined line between the gallery where she had every right to be and crossing that line onto the council chamber floor unprovoked and of her own free will to inappropriately engage staff and colleagues during her leave of absence at the time normally the council meeting would be ongoing," he added.
The integrity commissioner disagreed, pointing out that Vezeau-Allen was in the staff and council portion of the chamber prior to commencement of the council meeting and not after it started.
"The integrity commissioner finds there are no grounds for an inquiry," Blunt ruled.
The city's code of conduct allows its integrity commissioner to refuse to hold an inquiry if a complaint is "frivolous, vexatious or not made in good faith or that there are no grounds or insufficient grounds for an inquiry."
This wasn't the first time Kinach has come out on the wrong end of an integrity commissioner decision.
In April 2024, Blunt ruled that Kinach violated the city's code of conduct by making inappropriate remarks about city staff at a live-streamed council meeting.on March 18 of that year.
He was reprimanded by Mayor Matthew Shoemaker.