Transparency does matter, so does memory

Shane Baker has emailed me, and gone on record in the Huntsville Forester. He suggests that the post showing the cheque written to his legal firm for costs awarded to himself constitutes a smear campaign against him.

I'm sorry that he feels that way. In an election where Accountability and Transparency have been all the buzz, I do not see how posting a public document can be castigated. The facts are there. Shane now says that he 'forgot' he received the money, and we have no reason to doubt his memory. Township accounts are open to any scrutiny. District Councillor Ben Boivin came with me when I collected the copy of the cheque. It was in part because of his insistence that, according to HIS memory, money had in fact been paid out by the Township that I made the request. Let's see the evidence.

Perhaps seeing the cheque was what jogged memory. In his email sent Monday, Shane objects " Click on the cheque you posted with the article. It was not made out to me. It was assigned to BakerLaw in Toronto, not Shane Baker RR#4 Huntsville. Just as the courts instructed." Indeed. I have never disputed this, it is pretty clear from reading the document that the cheque was written to Baker Law In Trust.

Equally clear is the line below the cheque stating that the payment was to cover court costs awarded to Shane Baker, not to Baker Law. It's a fine distinction, but I'm willing to post it here if it will make Shane happier.

At no time have I suggested that he was not entitled to money ordered to be paid by the court. Or that he was not entitled to pursue the matter through the courts. He may well have struck a blow for democracy, ensuring that the new mail-in ballots are clearer and easier to use. What troubled me was his insistence that he had not received a penny from the Township of Lake of Bays. He had, whether he considered that 'his' money, or simply payment towards his legal fees. How he spent the money was never the issue. The only question, and the one he was directly asked (not by me) in a public forum was whether he had received funds.

He did. He now admits that. And I think that perhaps a small blow has been struck in favour of transparency and accountability.

And now, we can put the matter behind us all.