Mayor of Pointe-Claire, Que., to appeal ethics violation ruling over city vehicle misuse
The mayor of a suburb in Montreal’s West Island says he plans to appeal a municipal ethics ruling that found he violated the city’s code of conduct by using a city vehicle for personal purposes.
In a Facebook post Wednesday, Pointe-Claire, Que., Mayor Tim Thomas said he “respects but disagrees” with the Commission municipale du Québec’s decision, which concluded he breached the code by driving a city-issued vehicle between his home and city hall and on four trips to visit his ailing mother.
The commission dismissed three other alleged violations related to credit card use, fuel expenses and meal reimbursements, clearing Thomas on those counts.
As for using the city vehicle for personal reasons between December 2021 and April 2024, he said he relied on advice from former city manager Robert Weemaes, who told him the practice of providing a vehicle to Pointe-Claire mayors had existed for about 25 years and could be used for limited personal purposes.
“I believe that a reasonable person, after being informed by a city general manager with over 40 years of experience, who relied on a legal opinion prepared by specialists, would have acted as I did,” Thomas wrote.
“This is why my predecessors also used the city vehicle.”
As for how he used the car — a leased 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid — the mayor said he drove it between city hall and his home, as well as for four trips to the hospital to visit his 92-year-old mother, who had suffered a stroke.
He said he is her only caregiver in these situations, and using the vehicle allowed him to continue working — making and taking calls on the Bluetooth system since his personal car doesn’t have such technology.
Regardless, the commission found Thomas in breach of one article of Pointe-Claire’s ethics code, concluding that using city resources for personal reasons — even minimally — violates the law.
“A reasonable, well-informed and objective person, who studied the matter realistically and practically, would conclude that the mayor used the vehicle for personal purposes,” the ruling states.
While the province has its own ethics and good conduct law, known as the Loi sur l’éthique et la déontologie en matière municipale, when a new council takes office in a Quebec municipality, the elected officials are required to adopt their own code.
Neither the city’s code nor the province’s law provides exceptions that allow an elected official to use municipal resources for personal purposes, the ruling says.
A separate hearing will determine any sanctions.
Thomas, who was first elected in 2021, also questioned the timing of the ruling, which came less than two weeks before the municipal election.
He alleged the complaint came from political opponents and said the decision has strengthened his determination to run for a second term. He added that outside interests will not decide the city’s future.