Independent Office of Integrity for Local Government
IT IS THEREFORE RESOLVED THAT Alberta Municipalities advocate for the provincial government to establish an Independent Office of Integrity to serve the public, elected officials and local government officials in an advisory, educational and investigative role in the application and enforcement of council code of conducts.
WHEREAS the Municipal Government Act requires that municipalities must establish a code of conduct bylaw which governs the conduct of councillors with the intent to build and inspire public trust and confidence in local government by upholding high standards;
WHEREAS there is an inherent conflict in that fellow council members have to determine and enforce the actions of their peers in a structure that needs to be cooperative and collaborative for effective governance;
WHEREAS responsible conduct of elected officials, both individually and collectively as a council, is essential to sound, fair and effective governance;
WHEREAS the current structure of code of conduct legislation places the chief administrative officer and other municipal administration in a difficult position as they are tasked with hiring an investigator and coordinating the investigation of individuals who oversee their compensation and employment;
WHEREAS it would be fairer and more impartial if a third party assessed and determined if a code of conduct complaint was valid and if so, conducted the investigation and recommended appropriate actions warranted by any breach; and
WHEREAS local governments are best served by resources and tools that reflect the legislative framework for local government in Alberta, which is based on democracy, transparency and accountability.
The sections of the Municipal Government Act (MGA) in regard to code of conducts came into force October 26, 2017, giving municipalities until July 23, 2018 to establish a code of conduct bylaw.
Under the previous MGA there was no requirements for a code of conduct and councillor conduct was addressed locally.
Municipalities can't remove councillors from office, but councillors can use codes of conduct to remove other councillors from committees and exclude them from some meetings. But councillors on the receiving end of those judgments argue that power can be wielded sometimes inappropriately.
Councils need to work collaboratively and cooperatively to effectively govern. This requires a concerted effort of working together and becoming a team that is respectful to each other and accepting different opinions. A code of conduct complaint can be counterintuitive to this essential aspect of a council in that it places council members in quasi-judicial role on a peer.
While the principle of code of conduct bylaws is important, it is just as important that it is implemented in a fair and unbiased manner. The creation of an independent third party such as an integrity office would alleviate this, whereas the office would evaluate and determine if a breach occurred, investigate and recommend disciplinary actions that are suitable to the breach.
The establishment of an inquiry office would also remove administration from being involved in any code of conduct process. This reinforces the dichotomy of council and municipal administration and potential conflict between the two.
There has been no previous resolution on the matter; however, based on significant input from members, ABmunis has used previous provincial consultations on the MGA to recommend the creation of an independent office. In June 2024, ABmunis met with the Premier and Minister of Municipal Affairs who were both receptive to the idea. This led to Municipal Affairs using its July 2024 consultations on the development of regulations related to the Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act (Bill 20) to include questions on how an Integrity Commissioner’s Office could be structured, its extent of power, and the funding source. The approval of this resolution would provide further confirmation that ABmunis’ members support the creation of an independent body to serve municipal councils in the investigation and recommendation of sanctions related to code of conduct violations.