> Councillor-circulated “Alarmist” flyer sets off Main Street residents /Pg 7 > Town hosts walk through Grimsby Beach Pg 5 > Lincoln rolls out 50 Faces Pg 6 > Smith School gets $7.2 million for addition Pg 8 Thursday, October 29, 2020 Vol. 9 Issue 27
www.wn3.ca 100% Niagara owned & operated.
Proudly serving Grimsby, Lincoln, West Lincoln & Winona
Circ: 26,529
Family photo puts Oosterhoff on hot seat By Mike Williscraft NewsNow A photo from a weekend family function landed Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff in hot water on social media and across the province on Monday. The photo was a group picture of about 40 members, tightly bunched, none wearing masks. The photo, taken at an area banquet hall, was posted on Oosterhoff’s social media before being removed later in the day. The social media fire-
storm which followed, as happens, often assumed some incorrect information, such as Oosterhoff was the host of the gathering. Oosterhoff clarified the details surrounding the photo and issued an apology. “Ontario’s gathering restrictions limit people to a maximum of 50 at a monitored and staffed facility such as a restaurant or banquet hall. This event was in a staffed and monitored facility, and did meet those requirements,” See PHOTO, Page 3
Beach tour
Walter Basic, Grimsby’s interim director of planning (centre) leads a group of residents and former residents of the historic Grimsby Beach neighbourhood on a tour through the famous section of town. The purpose of this tour was to give in-person examples of issues and subjects to be considered in an upcoming land use study, as well as to gather insight directly from residents on what issues impact them. Please see full story on Page 5. Marks - Photo
Bylsma faces penalties after complaints upheld Six of nine complaints dismissed, Mayor ordered to complete sensitivity training By Tristan Marks NewsNow West Lincoln Council turned a political process into a judicial one in dealing with a series of integrity commissioner (IC) complaints against Mayor Dave Bylsma, lawyer Asher Honickman said Monday. The complaints stem from comments on radio and actions of Bylsma regarding a flag raising request by Pride Niagara in July. West Lincoln’s IC John Mascarin spoke to the report, which was written by Aird & Berlis law associate Daria Peregoudova. After a lengthy debate, council
approved a series of penalties for Bylsma, some of which were recommended in the IC’s report, while other recommendations were ignored. Council approved to: • Impose mandatory sensitivity training on the Mayor; • Remove an item mandating that all members of council attend sensitivity training; • Impose a penalty of a 10-day pay suspension if Mayor Bylsma failed to complete this training within 90 days, with additional suspensions for every 30 days late after that. Bylsma had issued an apology
when the matter first arose in July. Of nine complaints made, six were dismissed in the report. Complaint One: Duty to Advance Public Interest with Honesty This first complaint challenged Bylsma’s assertions regarding the Pride Niagara request, noting he said in a radio interview the email went to his spam and that he later changed his comment. After reviewing the evidence, the report found that Bylsma “never unequivocally states that the flag raising requests went to spam and that is why they were not addressed.”
Although the report notes that Bylsma’s comments “could be perceived as lacking clarity”, it does not constitute a violation and thus the complaint was dismissed. Complaint Two: Duty to Serve Constituents in Conscientious, Diligent Manner This complaint alleged the mayor failed to serve his constituents in three ways. First: that he disputed the need for a special meeting of council to address the flag-raising issue “despite a broad consensus”. Second: the mayor went against See CODE, Page 2