City of St. John's Addresses Allegations of Conflict of Interest Involving Councillor Ellsworth

The City of St. John's requested an independent investigation into allegations of conflict of interest involving Councillor Ron Ellsworth. The allegations relate to a piece of property on Goldstone Street which was acquired by the City of St. John’s to complete upgrades to the road network in the area to improve safety. Councillor Ellsworth was the real estate agent for the property.

The investigation was initiated by Council following outside allegations. The complainant chose not to file an official complaint under the Councillor Code of Conduct By-Law. Council decided to proceed with an independent investigation by Donna Ballard, K.C.

Ms. Ballard has completed the report and Council has reviewed the findings.

“Overall, the investigation found no evidence of any attempt to influence the decision-making process or the vote regarding the purchase of the property,” said Mayor Danny Breen. “The report did identify some inadvertent breaches of the Councillor Code of Conduct, which we can now learn from and address moving forward.”

Council has accepted three of the four findings from the report, which are outlined below:

• Council accepted the finding that Councillor Ellsworth did not breach section 28(3) of the Councillor Code of Conduct, which prohibits attempts to influence a vote of other Councillors.
• Council accepted findings that Councillor Ellsworth breached the declaratory requirements of section 28(1) by not disclosing the general nature of the declared conflict of interest during some special meetings where it was discussed. This means that while Councillor Ellsworth removed himself from discussion, there were incidences where he did not expressly say the reason.
• Council accepted the finding that it failed to comply with section 28(4) by not ensuring that the minutes reflected the general nature of the conflict. This means that the reason for the conflict of interest was not included in all meeting minutes.

Council did not accept one finding of the report concerning the 2024 Budget, as outlined below:

• Council rejected the finding that Councillor Ellsworth breached sections 27(1) and 28(1) by not declaring a conflict of interest and by speaking and voting on the 2024 Budget. Council did not agree with the investigator's conclusion, as the purchase of the land at Goldstone was committed to by Council at a meeting prior to the budget and Councillor Ellsworth did not participate in that decision due to the conflict. Council feel that this conflict is too remote, as Council had voted on a specific amount to be used for the purchases which was not discussed during the budget vote.

“Council could not accept the finding related to voting on the 2024 budget, as we feel that the connection is too remote. The decision to purchase this land was already determined by Council prior to the budget vote, and as such voting on the overall budget had no influence over Council’s decision to proceed with the acquisition of the property,” added Mayor Breen. 

The City of St. John’s remains dedicated to upholding the principles of good governance and will continue to take necessary steps to address any concerns related to conflicts of interest. 

Read Report