Greater Sudbury city council dismisses integrity commissioner

David Boghosian's time as integrity commissioner for the City of Greater Sudbury ended rather abruptly on Tuesday night after city council voted to dismiss him. 

The move came shortly after three code of conduct complaint reports were presented to city council, with councillors opting to reject the recommendations that emanated from one of them.

"These reports have been a distraction for council and to the public," said Coun. Bill Leduc, who presented the motion to fire the integrity commissioner. 

"I'm hoping by moving on from Mr. Boghosian this evening that we can finally concentrate on the major issues for our city." 

Leduc himself was the subject of one of Boghosian's investigations after some complained the Ward 11 councilor was making misogynistic social media posts. 

In his report on Leduc, which was tabled during Tuesday's meeting, Boghosian concluded the matter was outside his jurisdiction. 

In another unrelated code of conduct investigation, Boghosian recommended Coun. Natalie Labbée's pay be docked for five days over comments she made about city staff on social media.

Labbée dismissed his findings, saying Boghosian inserted too much of his personal opinions in his reports instead of focusing on facts. 

"This is what the media picks up on, and it causes considerable reputational damage," she said. 

Several council members expressed similar concerns, with Fern Cormier describing Boghosian's reports as "exceptionally commentarial." 

Coun. Mike Parent, who was also the subject of a code of conduct complaint, said there wasn't much support for the integrity commissioner's recommendations around the council table. 

"I don't believe in [integrity commissioner] shopping," he said. "But I also believe there's just been a genuine lack of quality in the reports we received." 

Six months to appoint a new integrity commissioner

Boghosian was appointed integrity commissioner in 2023 after Robert Swayze declined to submit a bid to extend his contract with the city.

The role of the integrity commissioner is to provide advice, education and code of conduct complaint resolution services, among other things.

The city must have a person appointed to this role as per the Municipal Act. 

Boghosian will remain Sudbury's integrity commissioner for the next six months as city staff work to replace him. As it is a contract position, there is no severance pay attached to the dismissal. 

That doesn't mean the transition won't come at a cost, however. City clerk Eric Labelle says staff will spend at least a 100 hours working to fill the role. 

Council also voted on Tuesday to publish the amount of money being spent on integrity commissioner services on the city's website.

In an email to CBC News, Boghosian said he will "comment in detail" on the decision to end his employment following the end of his term. 

The dismissal of the city's integrity commissioner comes on the heels of another high profile firing. In October, city council ended CAO Ed Archer's employment with the city in a move that could cost taxpayers up to $600,000 in severance pay.