M.D. council puts together committee to further Code of Conduct Bylaw discussions

Posted on September 29, 2022 by Vauxhall Advance

By Cole Parkinson
Vauxhall Advance
cparkinson@tabertimes.com

Code of Conduct Bylaw talks are still a ways off for the Municipal District of Taber council. After their previous discussion at their Aug. 16 meeting around the bylaw, more discussion was brought back again for council consideration on Sept. 13. Jennifer Sykes, from Caron & Partners LLP, also attend the meeting via Zoom to provide more detail and answer some questions.

“There was some discussion that we didn’t want our administration responsible or involved in a council code of conduct complaint,” started Reeve Merrill Harris.

“The only issues with having all of council decide whether there are any issues with any of the individual council members being put on the review committee is they would then need to disclose any of the particulars of any relationship with any of the people involved,” replied Sykes. “So, you have an extra step, also we have it set up so the complainant’s name was not necessarily disclosed to all council members at first — that would have to change.”

Council also asked about potentially moving away from a review committee comprised of councillors to a third part investigator.

“I’d be hesitant to say that you should pre-set who it’s going to go to because, of course, that assumes they’re available and it assumes you are selecting the right person in advance without knowing what the issue is going to be — that assumes they won’t have any conflicts,” continued Sykes.

To read the full story, pick up a Vauxhall Advance issue or subscribe to an ePaper digital subscription! You can sign up for digital or traditional subscriptions on vauxhalladvance.com by clicking subscribe under ePaper on the home page.