Prince Edward County council is set to receive a report during Tuesday’s meeting with details on the integrity commissioner’s investigation into complaints against a pair of councillors.
After investigation, the complaints against councillors Sam Branderhorst and Kate MacNaughton were dismissed by the integrity commissioner.
The complaints alleged that both councillors violated the code of conduct for members of council, specifically Section 2 which requires council members to act with integrity, and Section 7 which requires councillors to not use their influence in a way that benefits themselves.
The integrity commissioner received the complaints in November of 2024. They related to events surrounding a previous council decision to disband the Athol Recreation Committee that same year, a motion that was moved by Councillor Branderhorst and seconded by Councillor MacNaughton. This had followed discussions in the committee over whether to allow the use of Athol Town Hall as a childcare facility. During the discussion, Councillor Branderhorst brought up that the municipality was considering selling under-used facilities which could include the town hall.
The complaints against Councillor Branderhorst alleged she’d violated both sections 2 and 7 by moving that the Athol Recreation Committee be dissolved, and that she’d violated Section 7 by suggesting Athol Town Hall could be sold if the child care proposal was not approved.
For Councillor MacNaughton, the complaints alleged that she’d violated Section 7 by seconding the motion to dissolve the committee after they did not approve the child care use of the town hall which she had supported. The complaints also claimed she’d made remarks to the Picton Gazette that maligned members of the committee, violating Section 2 in the process.
After an investigation by the integrity commissioner, the councillors were found to have not violated the code of conduct with any of their actions, and all complaints were dismissed.
