LTE: When Good Intentions Face Public Scrutiny, Councillor Hebert

When I read about the Integrity Commissioner Tony Fleming’s recommendation to suspend Councillor Carilyne Hebert for 90 days, it struck a chord with me.

Back in 2021, Carilyne was running the Social Development Council, and I was managing the Holiday Sparkle event under her leadership during the Christmas season. Unfortunately, behind the scenes, it was a complete disaster, starting the day before the event and continuing even afterward.

I was working full-time at the time and took time off from my job to pull the event together, all while trying to get my startup off the ground. Time was money, and I had bet everything—including five months of hard work—on Holiday Sparkle. The previous year had been a smashing success, and we were riding that high. But the day before the event, I received a panicked call from Carilyne.

She was upset because we hadn’t raised enough money for local charities, and she feared it would cost her job. Some people said to me at the time, “That wasn’t your problem,” but it became a huge source of stress throughout the event and long afterward.

However, I don’t blame her. Since moving here, I’ve watched underpaid, undervalued leaders in our community lead nonprofits and charities, often on mediocre salaries. People think, “It’s charity, so when we donate, we don’t want too much going toward administration.” Having spent over a decade working in the sector, I can tell you this happens everywhere.

Many of these leaders are barely able to cover the cost of living, while also trying to raise funds to support an increasing number of people struggling with the rising costs of daily life. The Social Development Council has shouldered much of the heavy lifting in this community for almost 2 decades, and even more so since the pandemic began.

The Ontario Nonprofit Network published this in 2023: “Since the early days of the pandemic, nonprofits in Canada have expressed that they were facing a triple threat: lost revenues due to the cancellation of fundraising events and drop-off in donation levels, unprecedented human resource challenges, and a significant increase in demand for services.”

They’ve tackled food insecurity through food hamper programs, organized events to introduce seniors to new services, run job fairs and teen fairs, helped those without housing, and are championing the Vibrant Communities initiative. They’ve kept hope alive for those who have fallen through the cracks of society and have the support of many other nonprofits and charities that work with them daily to carry out this incredibly important work.

What I’m trying to say is that even though I haven’t fully recovered (emotionally and financially) from my Holiday Sparkle experience, I believe Councillor Hebert has always had the best intentions. She’s under-resourced, likely under-supported, and probably feels unappreciated at this time. Being publicly criticized in your community when your intentions are good doesn’t bode well for the most vulnerable among us. She does good work, is a good person, and like many of us, isn’t perfect. But beneath it all, she cares deeply about keeping her community afloat, even if it means making a temporary lapse in judgment.

I hope people can see the difference between intentionally harming your community and risking yourself to save it. Let’s not discourage those with good intentions.

Kelly Bergeron
experienCity