Changes to Alberta’s Municipal Government Act last year require municipalities to prepare codes of conduct for elected officials and, while Canmore’s is in the works, Banff has an additional hurdle to overcome before it can follow the new regulation.
Canmore municipal clerk Cheryl Hyde told council earlier this year its new code of conduct document is in the works during discussions around changes to its procedural bylaw.
The expectation is the new code of conduct would be before Canmore’s elected officials for consideration in April, but Hyde said many of the requirements the MGA sets out are already contained in municipal policies.
“When it goes to council they will have a chance to talk about it and add whatever they like,” Hyde said. “Some of the stuff they ask us to address in the regulation is addressed in other ways.
“Hardly any other municipalities have passed their bylaws yet, so this is uncharted territory for all of us.”
Canmore currently has a respectful workplace policy, which addresses some of the requirements of the MGA changes.
Other areas that must be included are how elected officials represent the municipality; communicating on behalf of the municipality; respecting the decision-making process; adhering to policies, procedures and bylaws; respectful interactions with councillors, staff, the public and others; confidential information; conflicts of interest; improper use of influence; use of municipal assets and services; orientation and other training attendance.
The code of conduct must also establish a complaint system, including who may make a compliant, the method by which it is made, the process to determine validity and process to determine sanctions if a complaint is determined to be valid.
The MGA regulation sets out that sanctions may include a letter of reprimand; request for a councillor to issue a letter of apology; publication of a letter or reprimand or request for apology and the councillor’s response; requirement to attend training; suspension or removal of the elected official; suspension or removal from committees or boards; reduction or suspension of remuneration.
Hyde said the process to submit a complaint would be part of the recommendations to council and could include a third party. She added the process would be introduced as a pilot projegct and be revisited in the future to determine if it was meeting the intent of the MGA.
Banff’s municipal clerk Tara Johnston-Lee indicated a code of conduct bylaw has been on the municipality’s work plan since Bill 20 passed in 2016, but the Town must also wait for a change to the instrument of entrustment of local government functions from the federal government as well.
Banff’s director of communications and marketing Diana Waltmann, meanwhile, indicated new regulations don’t apply to that municipality because the town falls under the jurisdiction of its incorporation agreement.
Changes would be needed to that part of the incorporation agreement first, as it sets out the functions of the local government for the resort community located inside the national park.
“While the Town currently has in place several council policies and bylaws that address the council standards listed below, in anticipation of an instrument of entrustment coming into force for the Town of Banff in the future, administration will be working with council in the coming months to prepare a code of conduct bylaw that meets the requirement of the act and the legislation that council deems appropriate for the Town of Banff council,” Johnston-Lee wrote in an email.
Municipalities in Alberta have until July 23, 2018 to have a code of conduct in place.
