p2pnet - rss feed: Sudbury Elton John show under scrutiny
p2pnet news | Music:- Ontario ombudsman Andre Marin’ is taking an interest in Britain’s Elton John.
But not in a good way —- at least, not for Sudbury city council.
The northern Ontario city attracted instant attention when it was announced John would be appearing there. And it attracted even more attention when it was discovered local councillors had dished out 120 choice tickets to themselves before the general public had a chance to buy them.
“We wanted the public and we wanted the media to focus on the good news - the good news is the concert,” mayor John Rodriguez declared.
“And as long as the tickets were out there in the hands of the councillors, that was the news and you kept pursuing that.”
Really? But, that’s not what attracted Marin’s attention, says the Canadian Press.
Rather, he’s investigating a secret city council meeting during which, “councillors met privately to discuss matters related to the concert and the controversy about their reserved tickets,” says the story.
All meetings of elected municipal councils and committees in the province must be open to the public, with only a few narrow exceptions, says the story, going on to quote Marin as saying:
“It’s the dawn of a new era for municipalities, to hold them accountable for their decisions. It’s not good enough to simply hold meetings secretly and appear in public to rubber-stamp or take a vote (on closed-door decisions).”
The Sudbury council investigation is the ombudsman’s second under the new Municipal Act rules, adds CP.
instant attention - Elton John ticket row in Northern Ontario, March 1, 2008
Canadian Press - Councillors who jumped queue return some Elton John tickets, February 27, 2008
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