BANFF – The Town of Banff will move forward with searching for an investigator to look into council code of conduct complaints.
Town staff will begin the process for a request for proposal to find either an individual or company to complete the work of an investigator when a code of conduct complaint is filed against council.
The person or company selected will have previous experience in mediation and complaints, according to the staff report.
“Our intention is to specifically look for individuals that have experience in mediation and investigation, which may be an individual and it may be more of a business setting,” said Libbey McDougall, the Town’s municipal clerk.
“We’re not limiting to it at this point in time, but our intention is to be specifically looking for someone with this mediation and investigation process who has dealt with municipal governments and the idea of municipal law and how an organization such as this would operate, which leads me to believe it will likely be someone with a legal background but it’s not necessarily going to be that.”
She told council the person or business selected would come back to be confirmed by council, but elected officials wouldn’t be part of choosing who is hired.
McDougall said the investigator will examine any complaint to see if it’s worthy of a more detailed investigation.
“Frivolous and vexatious will not necessarily make it past the complaint stage,” she said.
The complaint form requires a person to give their address, full name, phone and email address. It asks the person to fully explain the alleged breach or breaches of code of conduct and allows the complainant to request their name be public or withheld.
However, the investigator can decide if a complainant is made public or kept private.
“It is possible council may never know who filed the complaint, but it is equally possible that an individual will have no concerns with letting their name be known or it may be something they do ask to be confidential and the investigator decides it is not warranted, but it is ultimately their call,” McDougall said.
Town staff also contacted Alberta’s Office of the Ombudsman to include the Town of Banff in its jurisdiction. Under the instrument of entrustment for the incorporation agreement, the Town doesn’t fall under the ombudsman’s jurisdiction.
“There is a process that the Town can engage in with the federal minister should you wish to amend the incorporation Agreement to allow for ombudsman oversight,” stated the March 29 letter from the ombudsman to the Town.
Town Manager Kelly Gibson also noted they had gone through the instrument of entrustment process for it to be reconsidered by Parks Canada. He said the Town has discussed it with former Banff National Park Superintendent Dave McDonough, who retired earlier this year.
The governance and finance committee directed staff at its March 28 meeting to seek request for proposals. A lengthy debate that lasted more than two hours examined potential options before directing staff.
The code of conduct bylaw has been in place for about a year-and-a-half.
There was a formal conflict of interest complaint levelled against former Coun. Peter Poole last July. The complaint was based on his involvement in discussions on the area redevelopment plan discussions for the train station lands and the proposed aerial gondola from the townsite to Mount Norquay.
Poole owns Juniper Hotel on the lower slopes of Mount Norquay.
The complaint came from Liricon partner Adam Waterous, who was bringing forward the ARP and proposed gondola, and it was ultimately dismissed due to their being insufficient grounds to be investigated.
In 2020, there were allegations of conflict of interest made by residents Jamie MacVicar and Barry Kelly against former Mayor Karen Sorensen and her husband Carsten Sorensen’s company being involved in providing benefits packages to the Town since 2005.
Sorensen had publicly declared a conflict of interest.
The RCMP and an investigation by an independent investigator contracted by the Town cleared Sorensen – now a Canadian senator – of any allegations.
Following the investigations, Kelly – a former high-ranking RCMP officer – asked for greater accountability and for the creation of a public ethics committee.
Town staff looked at an independent ethics committee last year and ultimately recommended against the committee or an ethics commissioner.
McDougall told governance and finance committee March 28 that the 2020 complaint cost $12,550.
An April 24 letter from Kelly stated he believed it “was very clear that a local ethics committee was not an option but that an independent investigator was.”
He added concern for history repeating itself, but that not having council involved on who decides code of conduct complaints was a positive.
“It will now become the job of an independent investigator. It is also refreshing to know that anyone can make an anonymous complaint to this same investigator. These are positive steps. Now is the time to make a clean break and select a totally independent investigator or at least rotate a shortlist of qualified investigators for incoming public complaints,” Kelly wrote.
Coun. Barb Pelham noted how the complaint form doesn’t get as specific to it only coming from a Banff resident.
While it leaves the option open for both Banff residents and non-residents to file a complaint, McDougall said any complaint is only likely to come from locals.
“In theory, it will most likely only ever be Banff residents, but a complaint could be received from somebody else outside of Banff,” she said. “Quite honestly, I’ve not seen that in my time working with councils, but there’s nothing that says they couldn’t file one.”
