Can a councillor be disqualified from office on the basis that he has a direct or indirect pecuniary interest?

British Columbia, Canada


The following excerpt is from Conibear v. Dahling, 2010 BCSC 985 (CanLII):

In Godfrey v. Bird, 2005 BCSC 626, Mr. Justice Burnyeat concluded that a councillor should be disqualified from office on the basis that he participated in discussion regarding, and voted on, zoning amendment applications in which he held an indirect pecuniary interest. The owner of a piece of property applied to the council for a zoning amendment; the relationship between that owner and the council member in question created a reasonable apprehension of bias on the part of the council member that he might vote for reasons other than in the best interests of the district. Burnyeat J. thoroughly reviewed cases on what constitutes a “direct or indirect pecuniary interest” (paras. 98-120), and concluded as follows:

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