Integrity commissioner admonishes Central Elgin council

Central Elgin addressed municipal code of conduct complaints against councillors Morgaine Griffin and Michelle Graham on Oct. 6, amidst integrity commissioner (IC) admonitions that “enmity” between members of council seems to have sparked a total of 13 code complaints in the past six months at a cost to taxpayers of about $16,300.

A report on a third code complaint against Mayor Andrew Sloan was “withdrawn from this evening’s agenda as requested by the integrity commissioner,” said Mayor Sloan. The municipality had already released that report to the public on Oct. 2, but it was not included in the online agenda package for Monday’s meeting.

Central Elgin Integrity Commissioner Suzanne Craig dismissed allegations of wrongdoing against Mayor Sloan in the missing report. The complaint received in April alleged the mayor offered to “sell” his vote to support both candidates in the December 2024 election of an Elgin County Warden. In exchange, Mayor Sloan was alleged to have asked for the transfer of ownership of White’s Station from Elgin County to Central Elgin.

In his submission to the IC, Mayor Sloan denied the allegations and suggested they were “vexatious.” The property in question is a leased drop-off point for the Municipality of Central Elgin’s tree and yard waste collection programs. It’s owned by the county, which also stores materials on the site.

For more details, see the Oct. 22 print edition of The Aylmer Express.