It’s been a long while since the public was given any news about an integrity commissioner’s investigation into an incident between a Niagara-on-the-Lake town councillor and a local developer, but finally Coun. Gary Burroughs has the news he’s been waiting for and the right to make it public.
He had to ask for it, though, and it didn’t come quickly or easily.
The town has said the Integrity Commissioner found there were no grounds for any further investigation.
Although throughout reports of the incident neither developer Benny Marotta or Coun. Gary Burroughs were ever named by police or the town, both gave statements to the press, explaining their role in what occurred when Marotta handed over an envelope with $10,000 in cash to Burroughs after inviting the councillor to meet with him at his Two Sisters Winery restaurant. Once Burroughs realized what was in the envelope, a sequence of events unfolded that involved him attempting to return the cash, handing it over to the town, and asking that the police be notified.
The incident occurred on Saturday, March 4, and Burroughs reported it to the town on Monday, March 6, although some reports had that date later, he says. Having the correct dates was important to him. He reported it to the police and the Integrity Commissioner the same day.
It wasn't until March 20 that council had its first closed-door session about the incident, a meeting Burroughs did not attend.
And it was either late July or early August that he learned there would be no investigation, he told The Local
The Niagara Regional Police investigation led to a public statement in April saying they had concluded their investigation, and that police “do not have reasonable grounds to lay charges under the criminal code.”
The police statement also said “the matter is being deferred back to town staff as well as the Integrity Commissioner for further review.”
But to Burroughs, what has happened at his end since then was kept behind a wall of silence, and not one of his own choosing.
He and his family went through an horrific time, he says, and there was little he could do except sit back and wait for the town’s and Integrity Commissioner’s role in the investigation to be made public.
People would ask him about the Integrity Commissioner’s investigation and report, he told The Local.
There was none — and he can finally say that publicly now.
Any discussions between town staff and councillors have been held behind closed doors, with no notice to the public of what the discussion was about. Burroughs has not attended them.
Town CAO Marnie Cluckie told The Local in April that Integrity Commissioner Ted McDermott could not investigate while it was a police matter, but that she reached out to him once the police said their investigation was concluded.
Asked if McDermott had started his investigation, she told The Local he had not, but she had no information about whether there would definitely be an investigation or when it might start.
There wasn’t, and it didn’t.
The council, Burroughs told The Local, seemed to think it was best to let the matter go away quietly, not to bring it back into the public eye.
But he disagreed.
“People still come up to me and ask me what the Integrity Commissioner’s report said. There was no report. There was no investigation. It was determined there was no cause for an investigation. But nobody knows that because the information has never been made public. My whole life in politics has been based on integrity, and this is about my integrity.”
He explained with so much information about the incident on social media and online, he felt it was important to say something on the record to explain how it ended.
Burroughs heard from the town CAO Marnie Cluckie Tuesday afternoon that a statement would be released, one that was produced at his request and discussed behind closed doors.
Cluckie told him after the meeting Tuesday, which he did not attend, that a statement would be released finally naming him, listing the important dates of what had occurred, and bringing it to the attention of the Integrity Commissioner.
The Integrity Commissioner’s response was that there were no grounds before him to warrant an investigation, and accordingly council concluded the matter is closed.
Burroughs and his family have been waiting a long time for that to be made public, he told The Local.
The town statement also acknowledges Burroughs’ critical role in ensuring that the matter was brought forward “in a clear and timely fashion,” Burroughs told The Local, and it thanks him and his family for their patience.
Burroughs says this would not have occurred if he hadn’t pushed for it, as a statement of his integrity. “That’s what this is about.”
That, he added, is important to the life-long politician, “and for my family.”
This is the full statement issued by the town Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023:
Statement of Clarification Issued by the Lord Mayor on behalf of Town Council
On Monday, March 6, 2023, Councillor Gary Burroughs, on his own initiative, brought to the attention of the Town’s Chief Administrative Officer a concerning incident with a citizen that occurred two days earlier on March 4, 2023.
Councillor Burroughs also reported the incident to the Town’s Integrity Commissioner and the Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS).
The Town’s Chief Administrative Officer officially informed Council of the incident at its next regularly scheduled meeting held on March 20, 2023.
At that meeting, which Councillor Burroughs recused himself from in accordance with the Town’s conflict guidelines, Council decided the matter warranted investigation and directed the CAO to bring the incident to the attention of the Integrity Commissioner and the police.
The NRPS investigated the incident and decided not to pursue any criminal charges related to the incident.
Additionally, the Integrity Commissioner concluded that there are no grounds before him to warrant further investigation.
Accordingly, Council has concluded that the matter is closed.
Town Council acknowledges Councillor Burroughs’ role in reporting the incident in a timely manner.
Council thanks Councillor Burroughs and his family for their patience as the matter was investigated and for cooperation throughout the process to ensure all proper steps were taken.