Proposal to suspend work of Vancouver's integrity commissioner quietly fizzles out
Year-long debate highlighted growing tensions in B.C. over how council dysfunction should be overseen
A year-long controversy at Vancouver City Hall has ended not with a bang, but with a procedural ruling on a point of order.
"This motion would be frivolous, and is out of order," read Mayor Ken Sim at council on Tuesday morning, dismissing an amendment to Vancouver's code of conduct that would have temporarily suspended Integrity Commissioner Lisa Southern's ability to investigate complaints against the mayor and council.
"Basically, we can just carry on."
The motion was brought forward last July by ABC Vancouver councillors, who argued an external review and temporary suspension of investigations would allow for more clarity around the Office of the Integrity Commissioner.
But the debate became paralyzed and acrimonious due to code-of-conduct investigations prompted by accusations from various members of council and park board against each other, and allegations that councillors were trying to silence the body in charge of investigating them.
Over the last 11 months, the vote for a suspension of investigations was delayed four times. During that time an external investigation into the office — which recommended more independence from council — was launched and concluded.
"It has been a lot of wasted resources and time to get to this point," said Coun. Pete Fry.
Vancouver's Mayor Office said they considered the matter closed.
In a statement, Southern said she looked forward to continuing her work, while noting she has endorsed the city hiring her replacement before her term ends in December.
"Throughout the past three and a half years, I have remained committed to carrying out my responsibilities impartially and diligently, and I am proud of the work my office has done in service of council and the public," she wrote.
"I look forward to supporting a smooth and professional transition over the coming months."
'It's somewhat toothless'
While Vancouver's debate over how to resolve code-of-conduct disputes has subsided, the province is deciding how future investigations into local politicians should be conducted amid frustrations over a number of feuding city councils across the province.
Fry said he supported Vancouver continuing to have its own integrity commissioner, but said the province could create mechanisms to protect the office and allow for binding punishments, neither of which exist at the moment.
"We need a little bit more enforcement with some of these rulings when it comes to breaches of our oath of office, or code of conduct," he said.
"The integrity commissioner doesn't have the ability under the Vancouver Charter to impose any sanctions. So in many respects, it's somewhat toothless."
It was a point underlined by Reece Harding, Surrey's first ethics commissioner, who has been hired for code-of-conduct investigations in multiple municipalities.
"[In B.C.], there's nothing really that dictates how decision-makers are put in place, clarity around process, clarity around sanctions and remedies," Harding said.
"And so it's a bit of a free-for-all out there."
What model to take?
Each province that has tackled the issue has come up with slightly different solutions.
Ontario recently passed legislation that standardizes municipal codes of conduct across the province, and allows for mayors and councillors in serious violation of the code to be removed from office, but only if the province's own integrity commissioner agrees and it gets a unanimous vote from council.
Last year, New Brunswick created the Local Governance Commission, which can take complaints if people are not satisfied with internal investigations. It has the power to suspend local politicians or appoint supervisors, which it did two months ago in Strait Shores.
Alberta has gone in the opposite direction, eliminating municipal codes of conduct while suggesting a separate ethics commissioner could be appointed.
"There will be circumstances where it seems reasonable to me that the province needs to have a bigger stick," Harding said.
He added that whatever system is enacted should stop situations where municipalities spend months or years investigating themselves with no resolution.
"Clear process, clear remedies and a role for the provincial government where the local jurisdiction has become frozen and can't get themselves out of that frozen ice mask," he said.
"They've gotta have somebody to come in and solve that problem for them."
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