Editor: I have read with interest the controversy surrounding the Lidstone Report.
What I understand from what I’ve read of this report is that council had serious concerns there were violations of the Community Charter made by Mayor Rick Green, when he admitted to misleading council and revealing information from in-camera meetings.
After a lengthy investigation by the RCMP, special prosecutor David Crossin stated there is “no substantial likelihood” of a conviction, even if Mayor Green is charged with an offence.
So what does that really mean?
Green says he is totally innocent, and wants the taxpayers to foot the bill for his legal fees, approximately $20,000. Since the Lidstone Report was paid for using taxpayer dollars, it is therefore owned by the taxpayer, is it not? And why would the taxpayer want to take on more costs by paying his legal fees, if we can’t have access to the report that is the marker of it all?
Whether there is a conviction or not, with an election around the corner, wouldn’t it be to Mayor Green’s advantage if he allowed the report to go public so voters of this community could draw their own conclusions as to his innocence.
In The Times of Sept. 15, Green said that this drawn-out episode has been nothing short of an “orchestrated taxpayer-funded attack.” If that is in fact true, producing the entire report for public knowledge would be one way to lay it all out and convince us whether he is the victim here, or not.
The fact that he seems to be hiding behind it can only make us all feel “curiouser and curiouser.”
Mayor Green — are you listening?
Lionel Anker,
Walnut Grove
