Despite Mayor Peary’s comments and Councillor Moe Gill’s decision on the issue of conflict of interest, I will not be setting my personal ethics at the minimally acceptable level allowed by law.

I was raised with and to have high standards govern the manner in which I conduct my life. It was never about setting my standards by what you can get away with.

As a point of information to Mayor Peary and Councillor Gill I also have an expectation that people making decisions on my behalf, such as politicians, will practice those same high ethical standards. Not slipshod, lowest common denominator minimal ethical standards and behaviours.

I concede that to date my expectation concerning ethical standards and behaviours has proven unrealistic as evidenced by the behaviours of politicians at all levels of government – municipal, provincial and federal.

With specific reference to Moe Gill’s voting on the gravel pit application I would judge, with apologies to Mayor Peary and Councillor Gill that the ethic’s bar was set below minimally acceptable ethical behaviour.

A quick web search reveals that “personal interest includes an interest arising from family, marriage or common-law relationships.”

Wikipedia, the online encyclopaedia’s list of types of conflicts of interest includes “Family interests, in which a spouse, child, or other close relative….” Of particular interest on this website is an example of conflict of interest that cites a brother to brother relationship.

I fail to see how one could claim that the fact a decision will have a direct and substantial effect on a member (in this case members) of one’s family will not influence one’s thinking. Voting other than to benefit one’s family member would have serious family relationship and conflict consequences.

Thus one is predisposed to vote for an outcome favourable to family and is therefore in a conflict of interest.

As an aside – when wants to approve something one can always find “acceptable” reasons or reasoning to justify the decision you want to make.

Moe Gill has a clear conflict of interest here and when the matter comes before council again he MUST recuse himself on grounds of personal involvement.