Vancouver ethics commissioner needs more independence, third-party review recommends​on March 13, 2025 at 5:08 pm

On the contrary, Fry said, Harding’s report is “a vindication of the function of the integrity commissioner and the integrity of the work.”

The report recommends some “tweaks” to the code of conduct, Fry said, but makes “pretty clear that it’s a well-written code of conduct, and the integrity commissioner is doing an excellent job.”

Independent Coun. Rebecca Bligh said she was “pleased that the independent review has confirmed our code of conduct is among the strongest in the province.”

Bligh was elected with ABC, but did not support her colleagues’ push last year to shut down the integrity commissioner. She was kicked out of the party last month and now sits as an Independent.

“Importantly, the review did not substantiate the serious concerns raised by the mayor and others last summer,” Bligh said. “This raises an important question: Was the mayor’s issue with the integrity commissioner’s office itself, or with the integrity commissioner personally?”

Harding conducted 24 interviews for his review, including Vancouver councillors, the integrity commissioner, city staff, and “others knowledgeable in the area of elected official conduct.”

After reviewing codes of conduct from cities across B.C. and the rest of Canada, Harding found Vancouver’s code is “generally in line with best practices nationally, to the greatest extent that it can be without provincial oversight.”

During his investigation, Harding found “a near-unanimous feeling that the city needs provincial guidance in the form of new and enhanced legislation to support both the code and the Office of the Integrity Commissioner.”

Several themes “clearly developed” during Harding’s review, the report says, including worries about the ethics code being “weaponized” or “politicized,” concerns about the cost of investigations, and a need for greater independence and protection for the integrity commissioner.

While the review found Vancouver’s code to be “a very good piece of work” and the commissioner’s office to be functioning well with clear jurisdiction, it made 10 recommendations for improvements to the code of conduct. These included measures to protect the commissioner’s independence, improve the office’s effectiveness, and reduce the risk of politically motivated complaints.

“It was felt by many that the integrity commissioner needed better structural protections from being removed from office in circumstances where, for example, one of her decisions was unpopular or controversial,” Harding wrote.

Harding wrote that in both the first two jurisdictions in B.C. to establish an integrity commissioner — Surrey and Vancouver — councils have introduced a motion to suspend the office.

Harding was Surrey’s commissioner when a previous council moved to stop his office’s work in 2022. The current council has since re-established the office with a new commissioner.

“While the reasons for those motions may be different, that both of the first two integrity commissioners’ offices in British Columbia have experienced this same issue cannot be ignored,” Harding wrote.

“We are of the strong opinion, therefore, that structural independence is required if these offices are to succeed,” Harding wrote. Therefore, he wrote, the “minimum standards” should include limits on hiring, suspending or terminating the integrity commissioner, powers for the commissioner to require co-operation in investigations, and a term limit.