St. Catharines council has supported the nomination of an outspoken critic to the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority Board.
During last night's meeting, Councillor Bruce Williamson outlined why the nomination committee believed Ed Smith was the best representative for the Garden City.
"This is the person who led the way in uncovering the deeply entrenched corruption at the NPCA despite being threatened and sued and actually winning his legal case. No one knows the operations and the mandate better than him."
The only councillor to vote against the recommendation was Mat Siscoe, who questioned the process.
"The Auditor General's report fairly clearly laid out, I think, that we should be moving in the direction of a skills based metric. And I want to ensure that any nomination by this council to the NPCA follows the good practices that were laid out in the Auditor General's report."
Siscoe asked if the Niagara Region has sent out such a metric. The clerk told him no.
Councillor Greg Miller, a member of the nomination committee, said they combed through more than 30 applications, and Smith has the leadership skills needed.
"I can't even imagine a skills metric that Ed Smith wouldn't check every single box on. And it's worth noting that in addition to his application we received a number of letters of support from ecological groups, from biological groups, and from conservation groups in the area."
Speaking with CKTB's Tim Denis this morning, Smith said, "It's not just enough to be a critic of something, which I have, obviously vocally been, but if you're going to step up and be a prominent critic, I believe you have to want to be part of the solution as well."
When speaking about his qualifications Smith admits he may not have specific conservation skills, but he has management skills, "I do understand how to read policy, I do understand how to work within a team toward a common mission, and I do understand how to sit down and get on with business and make it happen. And that's what I'm hoping will be looked at as an asset."