Eddie Rice back on Charlottetown city council after 10-month leave

Eddie Rice has returned to Charlottetown city council after a 10-month medical leave.

Charlottetown Mayor plans to ask P.E.I. government for guidelines to cover returns from medical leave

CBC News · Posted: Jul 10, 2018 10:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 10, 2018

Ward 1 Coun. Eddie Rice was back at city council Monday night. (Sarah MacMillan/CBC)

Eddie Rice has returned to Charlottetown city council after a 10-month medical leave.

The Ward 1 councillor was back at the regular council meeting Monday night. He told CBC he had had a brain bleed that required him to take leave.

The province needs to look at that legislation of when is it appropriate for a member of council to be a member of council, and when is it not.— Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee

Rice said he's glad to be back and is looking forward to getting back to his work with the water and sewer utility.

"I know what's going on. I kept current on what's going on," he said.

Rice also said he plans to run for re-election this fall.

Charlottetown Coun. Eddie Rice taking medical leave

Petition calling for dismissal of Charlottetown Coun. Eddie Rice

No need for medical note

Mayor Clifford Lee said he had thought Rice would require a medical note to return to council, and that council had been operating under that assumption.

Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee believes there should be guidelines in place for what requirements are needed to return to council from a medical leave. (Sarah MacMillan/CBC)

However, he said city staff recently discovered that is not required in the Municipal Government Act.

"I was surprised to discover it [the act] was silent," Lee said.

"I do think the province needs to look at that legislation of when is it appropriate for a member of council to be a member of council, and when is it not."

The province confirmed decisions to take and end leaves of absence are left to individual councillors.

Lee said he plans to send a letter to the minister suggesting some guidelines be created.

Holland College stay-away notice

At the time Rice went on leave last September, he was also the target of a petition to remove him from office.

More than 200 people signed the petition after a stay-away notice was issued to Rice by the Prince of Wales Campus of Holland College.

The college said Rice had been involved in a verbal and physical altercation with a staff member. The college has confirmed to CBC that the stay-away notice is still in effect.

At the time, Rice said he didn't know why the college had instructed him to stay away.

No criminal charges were laid for that incident.

Charlottetown Coun. Eddie Rice told to stay away from Holland College

No code of conduct review yet

When Rice went on leave, the deputy mayor said the city would review the matter in relation to its code of conduct.

Deputy Mayor Mike Duffy says he was advised by legal counsel to wait until Rice returned from medical leave to conduct a review. (Sarah MacMillan/CBC)

Mike Duffy was acting for the mayor since Lee declared a conflict of interest at the time, since he was working for Holland College.

Duffy told CBC Tuesday he was advised by legal counsel to hold off on conducting a review until Rice returned to work.

Now that Lee is no longer employed by Holland College, Duffy said the matter would fall to him. However Lee said he still feels he has a perceived conflict of interest, and that he has no plans to take on the issue.

Rice declined to comment on the matter.