Mayor Bob Kilger issued the following statement today regarding his decision to not participate in discussions at two in camera meetings of City Council regarding personnel matters:

“There was an in camera meeting of City Council on February 19th regarding personnel matters. The same matters were also briefly discussed during a portion of an in camera meeting on February 11th. I did not attend the February 19th meeting and I recused myself from a portion of the February 11th meeting while these matters were discussed because I wanted to obtain independent legal advice as to whether I was in a conflict of interest. If I was in a conflict of interest situation with respect to the matters discussed at these meetings, the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act states that, because I was absent from the one meeting, I must declare that conflict at the next regular meeting of Council.

On this question, I sought and have received independent legal advice from the national law firm of Blake, Cassels & Graydon. The advice I have received is that I am not, and have not been, in a conflict of interest situation with respect to the matters discussed at these in camera meetings.

Accordingly, I did not have a conflict of interest declaration to make at the City Council meeting of February 25th.
While I accept my lawyer’s advice that there is no conflict of interest, I do not intend to participate in any of Council’s future consideration of these specific matters because I would like Council to deal with these matters with as few complications as possible.”
Mayor Kilger will not comment any further given the confidential nature of these matters discussed at in camera meetings of City Council. For clarity purposes, this information will also be included in the meeting minutes of February 25th, 2013.