Some citizens find themselves in a bind when their municipal inspector interprets by-laws to their disadvantage. Imagine that this interpretation is biased because of personal or corporate conflicts with elected officials and the municipality. This citizen risks finding himself at an impasse with his municipality and its municipal inspectors.
Is the municipal inspector totally sovereign? In this situation, can’t citizens challenge his interpretations and decisions, even if they are biased and sometimes malicious?
In such a situation, there are several solutions available to citizens:
- Protecteur du citoyen: They can’t help you, they only act at the provincial level.
- Commission des municipalités du Québec: unlikely to intervene in a case of minor conflict or bias in the interpretation of municipal by-laws.
- Superior Court: This is an effective option. You can represent yourself or hire a lawyer. Of course, hiring a lawyer means you’ll be spending large sums of money. So you need to have a good reason to sue, and be well prepared. Refuting the application of a municipal by-law is probably not worth it. Perhaps in the case of a major real estate project! Of course, it’s easier for the municipality and its teams to fight you, since they’re using public funds to pay the lawyers, in addition to being paid a salary to manage your conflict. The citizen, on the other hand, has to spend his energy and money on a lawyer, in addition to paying the municipality’s lawyers through his municipal taxes. Yes, it’s that absurd!
- Commission d’accès à l’information: Only useful if you have requested documents or information from your municipality, which refuses to give it to you.
- Small claims court: Few people know this, but you can file a lawsuit against your municipality in small claims court. The cost is approximately $300, you can represent yourself and the municipality must also represent itself. No lawyer present. In small claims, you’re on an equal footing. If you believe you’ve been wronged, you’ll get the straight goods and a much more impartial decision.
Of course, municipal inspectors are usually well-informed about municipal by-laws and the rules of ethics to be followed. They must ensure that they act impartially, consistently and in compliance with the by-laws in force. Of course, the municipal inspector must act with integrity and benevolence at all times. Is this always the case? We hope so, but to err is human!
Simply put, what does it mean to act with integrity?
Doing the right thing when no one is looking.
Unlike the municipal inspector, the citizen doesn’t spend most of his time learning how to interpret municipal by-laws. When they do try, the municipal inspector’s authority can make them feel ignorant. However, should the citizen just say yes to all the municipal inspector’s interpretations and decisions because he or she is ignorant? I doubt it, because many municipal by-laws and architectural integration documents leave plenty of room for interpretation, which can lead to bias and contradiction. Interpreting, explaining and authorizing permits is not an easy task. On the contrary, it’s a difficult task for everyone. Inevitably, interpretation can differ from one inspector to the next, risking conflict.
Here are just a few examples:
Référence : RÈGLEMENT RELATIF AUX PLANS D’IMPLANTATION ET D’INTÉGRATION ARCHITECTURALE (P.I.I.A.) N° 2000-424 – North Hatley – 25 septembre 2000
Référence : RÈGLEMENT RELATIF AUX PLANS D’IMPLANTATION ET D’INTÉGRATION ARCHITECTURALE (P.I.I.A.) N° 2000-424 – North Hatley
25 septembre 2000
Référence : Dispositions relatives à l’affichage à North Hatley
So what happens if, as a private citizen, you disagree with the municipal inspector’s interpretation? Worse still, what if you have a personal conflict with an elected official, a municipal employee or even the inspector himself? Unfortunately, you’re stuck!
Is it possible that the inspector has a bias related to these conflicts? Will you then be blocked in everything you undertake in your municipality? It’s possible, and it happens, because as you know, where there are men, there are “unfortunately”hommeries”!
In fact, municipalities sometimes confuse a corporate citizen, i.e. a company referred to as a legal entity, with your natural person. Yet your company is a corporate citizen, completely distinct from you, the individual citizen. Make sure your municipality distinguishes between the two in its decisions. It’s trivial, but it’s basic!
In a conflict situation, you can always try to talk to your municipality’s management. Chances are, however, that they’ll agree with your municipal inspector. You can also try contacting your elected officials. But if the source of the conflict is an elected official who has unfortunately spread the word at city hall, you may be in for a surprise! Of course, elected officials and municipal employees must act with benevolence, impartiality and integrity, but unfortunately, where there are men, there are also cronyism and nepotism!
Chatgpt definition of cronyism and nepotism:
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Cronyism is a colloquial and often pejorative term for favoring one’s friends in situations where impartiality or competence should take precedence.
In other words:
It means granting advantages or privileges to friends, whether :
- in the business world (hiring, promotions, contracts, etc.),
- in politics (appointments, public contracts…),
- or in other contexts (school, competitions, events…),
…instead of choosing the most qualified or deserving people.ç
A mayor who awards public contracts to a company belonging to one of his friends, without a transparent call for tenders → cronyism
Nepotism runs in the family.
Often, both are examples of abuse of power or a lack of ethics.
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No matter what anyone says, this kind of situation is bound to happen. In such a situation, citizens find themselves under a form of dictatorship in which their municipality seems to have complete sovereignty. It makes whatever decisions it wants and seems to be accountable to no one. So, if it decides to block you or interpret a regulation differently for you than for your neighbor, you’re stuck! Unfortunately, you have few options available to you. What’s more, citizens are isolated in their conflict with the municipality, leading them to believe that they are the only ones in this situation.
Imagine a scenario in which a citizen finds themselves in a personal conflict with an elected official or employee of their municipality. This elected official decides to spread the story throughout City Hall. How can the municipality, elected officials, and employees remain impartial toward this citizen? It’s possible, but it will be difficult! Of course, elected officials and employees will say that they have an obligation to remain impartial and benevolent at all times. However, you will agree that this can be very difficult, if not impossible.
Not only at city hall, humans are often biased in their interpretations and decision-making. The same is undoubtedly true for a municipal inspector in interpreting municipal regulations toward a citizen whose reputation has been tarnished by an employee or elected official.
As they say, nobody’s perfect! Emotions often get the better of us. So, could personal or corporate conflicts between a citizen and their municipality bias the interpretation and decisions of a municipal inspector? This would result in a different decision being made for the same regulation for two different citizens. Unfortunately, this happens to citizens.
Of course, it should not be forgotten that biases can be both unfavorable and favorable to certain citizens. Thus, cronyism and nepotism can disadvantage or favor some citizens at the expense of others. In this situation, municipal inspectors interpret regulations more favorably because the citizen or business concerned is appreciated by elected officials and municipal employees. Sometimes, the municipality wants to speed up the implementation of a certain project.
If you have been disadvantaged or favored in the interpretation of municipal regulations and the granting of permits by your inspector, please share your experience here. Sharing your experience and possible solutions will help other citizens in the same situation.
