Discomfort around the business ties of a municipal councilor and the Horne Foundry

Samuelle Ramsay-Houle has been the owner and general manager of the company Les Pierres du Nord since 2015, when she took over the family business founded in 1999. On her website, the company’s activities displayed focus on production and sale of ornamental and decorative stones.

Contracts between Les Pierre du Nord and Fonderie Horne already existed well before the arrival in politics of Samuelle Ramsay-Houle in 2017, the year in which she obtained a first mandate on the municipal council.

These business ties do not involve ornamental stones or landscaping, but rather clay. The councilor of the Évain district, Samuelle Ramsay-Houle, confirms to us that indeed, it is not a question of a treated product, but rather of materials which enter in the foundry manufacturing process.

When the Foundry was the subject of a series of reports, particularly in relation to air quality, contaminant discharges and the renewal of the ministerial authorization, Samuelle Ramsay-Houle admits to having questioned her professional activities with the Horne Foundry.

We already had contracts with the Foundry, it was never a problem, and when the issues became more pronounced, I questioned myself. On the one hand, yes, there are supplies sent to the Foundry, but that does not prevent me from carrying out my duties as an elected official and representing the citizens of Rouyn-Noranda.

Samuelle Ramsay-Houle, in addition to being deputy mayor, sits on numerous municipal committees, notably the Strategic Committee, whose mandate is to ensure periodic monitoring of the strategic files of the City of Rouyn-Noranda, which includes the political steps to be taken. This committee provides recommendations to the municipal council.

She also sits on the housing committee to identify needs in the area, which includes implementing solutions related to expropriations resulting from the creation of the future buffer zone for residents and owners near the Foundry. Horn.

Declaration of interests and municipal ethics

Municipal elected officials must annually complete a Declaration Form updating the pecuniary interests of municipal elected officials. Obtained under the Access to Information Act, all of Samuelle Ramsay-Houle’s declarations clearly mention that she has pecuniary interests in the legal entity Les Pierres du Nord.

Any person who completes the declaration of pecuniary interests form may use the services of a legal advisor in connection with the requirements of the Act respecting elections and referendums in municipalities. Municipal law lawyer Mario Paul-Hus, at Municonseil lawyers, has this type of expertise.

From the moment the elected official participates in a decision of the municipal council, it is necessary to ask whether he has a direct or indirect interest either in the question submitted to the council or in a contract between this third party and the city. Personal interest may possibly be the improvement of commercial relations between the elected official and the third party.

Samuelle Ramsay-Houle claims to have obtained legal advice in connection with her business activities.

I was reassured every time, she said. The City of Rouyn-Noranda does not have an agreement with the Foundry, does not give a contract to the Foundry and does not receive money from the Foundry either. I have never had to take a “City position” or conflict where I had to choose between the pecuniary interests of my company and a “City position” in relation to the Foundry.

The City of Rouyn-Noranda nevertheless has a contract with the Horne Foundry for drinking water, since the Horne Foundry operates a pumping station near Lake Dufault. The City of Rouyn-Noranda pays between $120,000 and $125,000 per year to the Foundry for water intended for citizens, according to information provided to The Press by communications from the City of Rouyn-Noranda.

Yes, we renewed this contract a few years ago, it has been an agreement for several years, but again, there is no link between any pecuniary interests that I might haveshe replied.

Lawyer Mario Paul-Hus insists on the importance of such opinions and especially on the delicate position in which an elected official can find himself.

: “Yes, you are in the interest”, the elected official would have no other choice than to wait to be prosecuted or to resign from his position”,”text”:”If the person must choose between the two, the interest of the City or the interest of your company, in general, when you find yourself in a situation like that, the person is in a conflict of interest, indicates the lawyer. If the legal opinion says: “Yes, you are in the interest”, the elected official would have no other choice but to wait to be prosecuted or to resign from his position”}}”>If the person has to choose between the two, the interest of the City or the interest of their company, in general, when we find ourselves in a situation like that, the person is in a conflict of interest, indicates the lawyer. If the legal opinion says: “Yes, you are in the interest”, the elected official would have no other choice than to wait to be prosecuted or to resign from his positionadds Me Paul-Hus.

Appearance of conflicts of interest?

Even if the Act respecting ethics and professional conduct in municipal matters does not require a list of clients, the recurring business links between the company Les Pierres du Nord and the Fonderie Horne were raised in the complaint filed with the Municipal Commission, due to the nature of the activities of the Horne Foundry and the resulting political and social context.

Any citizen of the city could very well take recourse and ask the Superior Court to suspend the elected official from his functions until a decision is rendered, namely whether he has become ineligible because of the personal interest he has in contracts with the foundrysays lawyer Mario Paul-Hus.

Is, as suggested in the complaint sent to the Quebec Municipal Commission, the business link between Councilor Samuelle Ramsay-Houle and the Horne Foundry sufficiently important to be perceived as a conflict of interest or an appearance of conflict of interest? Me Paul-Hus affirms that it is difficult to predict the verdict of a judge seized of the case.

: Is the interest personal?”,”text”:”It is certain that it would be necessary to establish that there are contracts between the elected official and the Foundry and that the contract should also be established between the Foundry and the City, for example for the supply of water and perhaps many other contracts that we do not know between the City and the Foundry. And at that point, once proof of contractual links has been established, the judge must ask the question: Is the interest personal?”}}”>It is certain that it would be necessary to establish that there are contracts between the elected official and the Foundry and that it would also be necessary to establish the contract between the Foundry and the City, for example for the supply of water and perhaps be many other contracts that we do not know between the City and the Foundry. And at that point, once proof of contractual ties has been established, the judge must ask the question: is the interest personal?specifies the lawyer.

As for the possible sanctions, as described in article 31 of the Act respecting ethics and professional conduct in municipal matters, they range from a reprimand to suspension or even a penalty of up to $4,000 per violation payable to the municipality. .

He qualifies, however, by specifying that links with a third party, in this case the Horne Foundry, do not necessarily prevent an elected official from sitting and voting on the municipal council. He nevertheless concludes that due to perceptions linked to the Horne Foundry, if the advisor wished, for example, to access a more important title, substantive questions would have to be asked.

I think if she wants to be mayor she should give up her contracts with Horne and take whatever other contractors she can get. If the contract she has with Horne is too lucrative, I think she should not runconcludes Mario Paul-Hus.

With the collaboration of Thomas Gerbet