Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek is at odds with the province’s recent proposal to amend the Municipal Government Act, particularly the move to eliminate municipal codes of conduct. Read More
Removing the requirement for a formal code of conduct ‘removes a critical framework that holds our elected officials accountable for their actions, fostering transparency and integrity in our municipal government,’ Gondek said
Removing the requirement for a formal code of conduct ‘removes a critical framework that holds our elected officials accountable for their actions, fostering transparency and integrity in our municipal government,’ Gondek said
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Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek is at odds with the province’s recent proposal to amend the Municipal Government Act, particularly the move to eliminate municipal codes of conduct.
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The Alberta government, in a news release Tuesday, has proposed a number of changes to Bill 50 — the Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act — which include removing municipal codes of conduct, formalizing rules around party finances in local elections and establishing rules around under what conditions it can use to amend or repeal a municipal bylaw.
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The changes were introduced in the legislature on Tuesday by Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver.
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Gondek, in a media briefing on the same day, called the amendments proposed “quite concerning,” pointing to the repeal of the council code of conduct requirements.
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Removing the requirement for a formal code of conduct “removes a critical framework that holds our elected officials accountable for their actions, fostering transparency and integrity in our municipal government,” she said.
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According to the provincial news release, the move comes after reports of the municipal codes of conduct being “weaponized between elected members of some local councils . . . resulting in mistrust, dysfunction and failure to serve Albertans.”
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Repealing the code would ensure council members remain accountable at the polls by voters and can be recalled by a petition of electors, the province said.
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The code of conduct offers “strict guidelines” to ensuring no inappropriate behaviour by council members and staff, according to Gondek. “The role of a code of conduct is not merely procedural; it is fundamental to ensuring that our elected officials and their staff can be held accountable in a structured way,” she said.
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Rather than repealing the requirement for the province as a whole, she questioned why issues of weaponization reported in certain municipalities aren’t being addressed.
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“That is the entire point, to do the investigation to see if (the complaint) warrants action and if it’s something that’s frivolous,” she said.
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The province has proposed creating an independent body that would oversee ethics complaints against council members, of whose potential efficacy Gondek expressed doubts.
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“It’s hard to say what kind of a system would work effectively when we don’t even have one,” she said.
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“It’s odd behaviour from a partner order of government that should recognize the strength in the procedures and the codes of conduct that many of our municipalities have (rather than) just wipe something away for everybody when you only have a handful of municipalities who are having problems.”
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