Conflict, conflict and more conflict in council chambers

There was so much conflict in council chambers today it’s a wonder our lawmakers got any work done. As council worked its way through its agenda, bodies were popping out of chairs and running from the room so fast, at times it was hard to keep track.

At one point, Councillors Marg Spina, Donovan Cavers and Tina Lange all excused themselves, declaring conflicts of interest on a carriage house application. Cavers was the only one with a direct conflict, because he was the applicant. Spina left the room because she was an earlier applicant on another site, while Lange noted she owns some suites.

Pat Wallace was out of the room at the time, so the meeting cooled its heels for a few minutes until she returned so council could achieve a quorum to carry on.

Then, on the next item, Lange declared another conflict, and so did Cavers. This time, Spina remained in the room.

No sooner was that item dealt with than Mayor Peter Milobar excused himself on a liquor matter, since he’s in the liquor sales business.

Then, it was Arjun Singh’s turn — a strata-title matter to do with storage buildings — because Singh is a landlord.

I don’t know what kind of advice council is getting on declaring conflicts of interest, but I think they’re over-doing it. While perception is key when it comes to conflict of interest for politicians, there’s also a point when they have to be crystal clear as to whether the conflict is real or imagined.

If you don’t have a direct pecuniary interest in the outcome of a decision, you usually don’t have a conflict. Today, the conflict merry-go-round was dizzying.