Photo: Jon Manchester

Sparks flew at Vernon City Hall, Monday, over the wording of a letter from the mayor to Health Minister Adrian Dix.

At issue, that Mayor Victor Cumming noted his opposition to the contents of that letter.

The letter was written after council voted Jan. 11 to write to Dix, expressing support for the return of public church services as an essential service. They are currently prohibited by provincial health order.

Coun. Kari Gares raised the issue after the letter went out as a copy and paste of the Jan. 11 council minutes, ending with the sign off: "Carried, with Mayor Cumming and Coun. Quiring opposed."

Gares suggested the footnote "lessens the impact of the letter," and Coun. Dalvir Nahal called it a "bad precedent... If we're going to do it, we should do it for all letters."

Coun. Scott Anderson, whose motion was the genesis of the letter, sounded off.

"It is the responsibility of the mayor to speak for council in official communiques like this, and not speak for himself," he charged.

He noted the Community Charter spells out such correspondence "is supposed to reflect the will of council, which is synonymous - in the case of passed or defeated motions - with the will of the majority of council.

"This particular motion passed 5-2, but even if it had been 4-3 it would still represent the will of council within the context of our democratic process.

"The mayor had a chance like all of us to argue his points publicly before this motion was voted on, but once it was voted on, the will of council became clear and the debate should have been over. At that point it became the mayor's duty to represent the will of council to the province through the letter directed by council. Not to continue the debate by other means, or to attempt to water it down so it’s meaningless."

Cumming previously came under fire for what Anderson called editorializing in a letter seeking a regional approach to pandemic restrictions, to which he added his own wording.

"But now he’s listed himself in disagreement to a motion by adding his name as opposed. By underlining himself as opposed, he is in effect sabotaging the intent of the letter by standing apart from it and making it clear that he disagrees with it, as if to say, 'they made me do it but please ignore it because I disagree with it.'"

Cumming stood by the letter, saying he "didn't see anything unusual about it ... it's exactly as worded in the motion, straight out of the minutes."

Coun. Brian Quring said he was "surprised" to see his name as opposed at the bottom of the letter, saying "it does sort of water it down," but that he could understand how it happened.

Council unanimously passed a motion that future correspondence simply say "carried" and not list those members opposed to a motion.