‘Mayor should err on side of caution and step aside from Ajax issue’
Mayor Peter Milobar in City council meeting this week.
The debate over whether Mayor Peter Milobar has a perceived conflict of interest over the Ajax project due to the fact he’s now both mayor and a BC Liberal candidate continues.
Kamloops resident John McNamer has distributed a letter to members of City council asking that Milobar step aside from any participation in Ajax discussions, and that the vote on Coun. Denis Walsh’s motion Tuesday to impose five conditions on the proposed mine be declared null and void.
Milobar was one of four council members who voted against the motion, causing it to be defeated on a 4-4 tie. Coun. Pat Wallace was on vacation and absent from the meeting.
Coun. Arjun Singh, who also voted against Walsh’s motion, replied to McNamer on Thursday, saying it’s typically up to members of council to decide for themselves if they’re in a conflict.
He said, “I do feel he (Milobar) is able to continue to participate and vote on Ajax related matters that come before council.”
McNamer sent council members a second email, pointing out an informal ArmchairMayor.ca poll that shows a majority of those responding believe Milobar should excuse himself from discussions or votes on Ajax.
Coun. Tina Lange, who voted for Walsh’s motion, replied to that one, saying the poll “holds no water” because most people who take the time to vote are angry, “because anger gives a person energy… That’s why if you look at letters to the editor for example, the vast majority of them are written by people who are unhappy enough about an issue to actually take action.”
Here’s an excerpt from McNamer’s letter:
I believe that Mayor Peter Milobar, who is now officially a BC Liberal candidate to become MLA Peter Milobar, is in a perceived conflict of interest relative to any council discussions, negotiations or votes about the proposed KGHM Ajax mine to be located at the city boundaries.
Milobar participated in the vote Tuesday on Coun. Walsh’s Five Conditions despite knowing it is a matter of public record that at least three reasonable persons, all Kamloops residents, believe him to be in a perceived conflict of interest and expressed their concerns publicly and directly to the mayor and council prior to this vote.
I believe this to be in contravention of the conflict of interest rules laid out in the B.C. Community Charter, and I therefore request that Mayor Milobar declare a conflict and remove himself from all city activities related to Ajax, and that the vote on Coun. Walsh’s Five Conditions be declared null and void.
I am disappointed that the mayor has not voluntarily chosen to err on the side of caution up to this point and I ask that he immediately rectify this situation by declaring himself to be in conflict on KGHM Ajax-related matters.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
Totally agree,Milobar as Liberal candidate,must toe the pro mining party line.
He never has admitted to an opinion on the mine preferring to sit on the fence ,while murmuring have to wait for the EAO
But now he is pro mine he should step down
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Does the mayor get a paycheck from KGHM? That would be “NO’. Does KGHM go to expensive dinners to raise money for the mayor. Has to be another ‘NO’. So, he is less in a position of distrust than our federal government. Has he rattled on about the evils, or benefits of the mine. Well that is a ‘NO’ as well. That puts him in a far more reasonable position than some of the other council members. Has he joined the council in throwing another 200,000 dollars out for a study to duplicate the efforts of the feds and the province? That would be a ‘yes’. He voted against a letter outlining demands from KGHM and in return, give them nothing. That letter achieves nothing at all. He is one of the few voices of common sense on that council. He will be sorely missed.
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A few years ago when Tina brought up the BC Mineral Tenure Act, there was a vote. It was also grey not B&W.
Is there a virus in the council chambers that some are more apt to be affected by than others?
Rules appear to be followed, invented or adjusted depending on the undercurrents (future considerations).
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How is it that Milobar is even allowed to hold the position of mayor now that he is a candidate in the upcoming election? Seems to me that this is a conflict of interest to hold two political positions.at the same time. As a candidate,he will be spending time trying to get himself elected provincially rather than working as a mayor – what he was currently elected for. This is a HUGE conflict of interest and he should be resigning.
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I fully agree with McNamer’s position. Additionally, a very high percentage of organizations, governments, corporations, and institutions do not have the Chair or Leader of a Board, Council, or other controlling body vote unless it is to break a tie.
In the case of the Walsh motion on the Ajax five business points, the Mayor didn’t cast a vote to break a tie but cast a vote to defeat the motion that would have gone through 4 to 3 if the head of the meeting didn’t vote, even when he was considered to have a conflict of interest by many clear thinking citizens of Kamloops.
Too bad, hope people remember this and many other negative actions by Milobar when they vote next May.
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