Hamilton Integrity Commissioner David Boghosian says city council members should not be influencing Committee of Adjustment decisions.
In a memo written for public consumption, Boghosian writes, “As the COA is supposed to make decisions in a quasi-judicial fashion applying proper legal/planning principles, I do not regard it as appropriate for a Member to be attempting to influence the Committee’s judgment by writing letters of support in favour of constituents.”
“The COA is a quasi-judicial body which is required to apply legal and planning
principles to its decisions,” he continue. “Consideration of extraneous factors such as support of the application by a Member of Council or the sympathies of the particular application highlighted in the Member’s letter of support should not be part of its decision-making process and in fact could lead to its decision being invalidated by a higher tribunal or court on the basis that it took into account irrelevant considerations.”
Boghosian’s letter is part of the April 22, 2026, Council agenda.
Production Details
v. 1.0.0
Published: April 18, 2026
Last updated: May 2, 2026
Author: Joey Coleman
Update Record
v. 1.0.0 original version
v. 1.0.1 City broke hyperlinks. Links changed to new URL
Neither of the links appear to work anymore. Is there any indication as to what situation(s) Mr. Boghosian is making reference to, or which councilor(s) he is implicating?
Hi Seth,
Apology on my delay responding. He was speaking in general. I will update the link.
Joey
Thanks Joey!