Suzanne Craig will continue as the District of Muskoka’s integrity commissioner until at least 2027.
While Craig’s contract was extended in 2022 by the previous term of district council, it was pending a review by the incoming council. They unanimously agreed on Feb. 20 to have Craig continue in her role.
She was first retained in 2019. According to a report by Amy Back, district clerk, Craig has been the district’s only integrity commissioner.
Craig’s primary role involves her investigating councillors who may have breached the council code of conduct and reporting back with the next steps, however, Back says Craig also provides training sessions for new and returning district councillors.
Also during the Feb. 20 meeting, Craig’s annual report was discussed.
In total, she dealt with eight general code of conduct inquiries in 2022. As well, there was one informal code of conduct complaint, which Craig reports was dismissed.
She also explained more about her role in training councillors on the code of conduct. “An underlying principle of the Code is that members will conduct themselves in a manner that promotes public confidence and will bear close public scrutiny,” wrote Craig in her report. “Members were advised to transparently and clearly establish a separation between their election-related activities and their private activities as candidates and to avoid any use of district resources to support election-related activities which may be in contravention of the code.”
Craig’s report details that she was paid $2,850 for her services in 2022.