Lawyer criticizes Norfolk resident’s ‘scattergun’ legal action against municipality

Waterford resident Warren Cummings is going after Norfolk County in court, though the county’s lawyer says he is out of line.

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Cummings, a self-represented paralegal, accuses councilors and staff of not being transparent about Norfolk’s recent urban boundary expansion, which saw council vote to rezone 1,354 acres of farmland to permit housing and other development.

In a motion filed in July, Cummings alleges the municipality did not provide adequate notice of public meetings where the expansion would be debated, saying advertisements were placed in newspapers that do not reach every home in the county.

Cummings said that left many residents of Waterford — Norfolk’s fastest-growing community, and one slated to see even more growth after the proposed expansion — to learn from the meetings on Facebook.

In an email to The Spectator, Cummings noted the original urban boundary expansion proposed by staff was “far different than the 1,354 acres” approved for addition after developers made presentations to council.

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During a court hearing on Oct. 10, Cummings told Justice Aubrey Hilliard he wanted to explore whether the municipality conducted the urban boundary review process “in good faith.”

Were the court to find any “discrepancies” between the county’s legal consultation requirements and the actions taken, Cummings wants an investigation.

“I’m basically asking the court questions that I feel are reasonable for the court to determine,” he told the judge.

None of Cummings’ allegations have been tested in court.

In an emailed statement to The Spectator, the county denied any wrongdoing.

“Norfolk has no comment while the matter is before the court other than the fact that the county maintains it followed the applicable legislation and protocols in a transparent manner,” said chief administrative officer Al Meneses.

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Cummings also asked the court to compel the audit committee that cleared Mayor Amy Martin of breaking campaign finance rules — a charge leveled by former mayor Kristal Chopp last year — to publicly explain its ruling.

“I’m not disputing the decision,” Cummings told Hilliard in court on Thursday.

“What I’m questioning is why there is no rationale or narrative on that decision, to give the community some understanding as to how the election committee came to that conclusion.”

Norfolk’s lawyer criticized what he called Cummings’ “scattergun approach” and asked Hilliard to consider throwing out the resident’s legal motion as “frivolous” and “an abuse of process.”

“None of this should be before the court,” said lawyer Mark Abradjian of Hamilton firm Ross and McBride, who argued Cummings does not have legal standing to demand reviews of council conduct.

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Regarding the campaign finance complaint, Abradjian said the time for a review “has long since passed,” noting “that decision was made over a year ago.”

The judge directed the parties to submit written arguments as to whether Cummings “has standing to raise these issues” and if the court has jurisdiction over them.

“Bringing an application (to court) was my last choice,” Cummings told The Spectator in an email. “I was hoping the integrity commissioner would have investigated.”

Cummings made four complaints to Norfolk’s integrity commissioner, Toronto lawyer David Boghosian, on Sept. 20 that were dismissed six days later.

Boghosian ruled it was not within his purview to question council’s decision about the urban boundary expansion, and said Cummings missed the six-month post-election window to raise concerns about Martin’s election spending.

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Cummings was at council in Simcoe last Wednesday to argue on behalf of keeping marinas in Port Dover and Port Rowan in municipal hands. But he was ruled out of order when he questioned the integrity of senior staff, alleging staff already “had a buyer in mind” when recommending to council that the cash-strapped marinas be sold.

Norfolk’s CAO later publicly denied that accusation.

Coun. Adam Veri called it “extremely unprofessional” and “outright disgraceful” for Cummings to “take shots” at county staff.

Council eventually voted not to sell the two marinas.

JP Antonacci is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter based at the Hamilton Spectator. The initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

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