EDUCATION: Trustee faces conflict suit
Ratepayer Michael Baillargeon filed a sworn affidavit with the provincial court against Oliver Carroll, claiming the Ward 8 (Scarborough) trustee broke conflict laws by, among other incidents, participating in a May 14 debate about teacher layoffs while the board was knee-deep in budget talks. Carroll should have been exempt from the talks because his daughter teaches for the board and therefore his family was in a position to be directly impacted by the results of said debate, Baillargeon's affidavit alleges.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
"I was advised... that Trustee Oliver Carroll had declared a conflict of interest as a result of a pecuniary interest in this matter given that his daughter is a teacher and one who quite possibly would have been laid off," the June 27 document reads. "Trustee Carroll then proceeded to participate not only in the full discussion of the budget in general, but also of this particular amendment right up to the final vote."
Minutes of the May 14 meeting of the board's Administrative and Corporate Services Committee - in which trustees ultimately decided to ban teacher layoffs despite an $11 million deficit and a declining enrolment crisis - show that Carroll did indeed declare a conflict of interest in dealing with a report regarding the board's 2008-2009 draft budget report (item 12b). But Carroll is later on the record in the minutes of the meeting as moving that very same item.
Despite numerous attempts to contact Carroll, he was unavailable for comment as of Guardian deadline.
"A conflict of interest is when you're torn between what's in the best interest of the corporation and what's in your own best interest," Ward 6 (York) Trustee Rob Davis, who filed an affidavit supporting Baillargeon's allegations, told The Guardian. "The law states that you must be silent in such cases - you can't give a thumbs up, you can't give a little smile from the sidelines, nothing."
"It was clear to me that Trustee Carroll had intended to influence the vote and the discussion with respect to not only his motion to approve the original item 12b...but also intended to, and did influence, both the discussion and the vote with respect to the Part 2 amendment to eliminate the layoffs and to maintain the $11 million budget deficit and, directly, to affect his pecuniary interest by preventing the possible layoff of his daughter from her position as a teacher in the board," the affadavit alleged.
TCDSB spokespeople refused to comment on the issue this week, as did Baillargeon's lawyer, Peter Jervis, claiming that the issue was before the courts.
Jervis' office did confirm that Baillargeon will apply to the court Friday, July 18 to have a judge lay charges against Carroll. If the conflict charges are proven, Carroll could face removal from office for up to seven years.
