Region’s code of conduct getting tune-up

Motion would change some rules for elected officials, private citizens on advisory committees

It’s not a high-profile Niagara Region body, but procedural bylaw review committee members have some work to do.

Regional council recently referred a couple of political hot potatoes to the review committee that involved the Region’s code of conduct and the process for dealing with the integrity commissioner complaints against councillors.

Niagara Falls Coun. Bob Gale started the process in December with a motion that revamps parts of the complaint process and adds mediation to the possible outcomes.

Gale’s motion specifically addresses councillors who file complaints against each other. The rule changes would apply if the integrity commissioner deems a complaint frivolous or vexatious. In that case, the councillor making the complaint would be forced to pay the cost of the investigation if mediation was rejected. A fully adjudicated complaint can cost upwards of $20,000.

The procedural committee referred Gale’s motion to the integrity commissioner for comment in time for its next meeting in February. The full council will have to approve any changes.

When Gale introduced the motion, he said mediation has the potential to reduce taxpayer costs because “disagreements can be avoided, especially when the complaint process is used for political purposes.”

Lincoln Coun. Rob Foster, a member of the procedural committee, said some parts of Gale’s motion will likely run afoul of the Municipal Act.

“The Municipal Act is clear you cannot implement a financial charge against someone who’s bringing in a integrity commissioner complaint,” Foster said. “There’s nothing within the legislation that allows for that.”

There is also the thorny issue of a code of conduct for private citizens who serve on the Region’s advisory committees — which run the gamut from economic development working groups to a women’s advisory committee. The Region’s current code only applies to elected officials.

Gale’s motion seeks to have the code extended retroactively to citizens already serving on advisory committees.

A memorandum from Region clerk Ann-marie Norio said staff created a draft code of conduct for members of the public serving on regional committees. The code was developed using best practices from municipalities that already have codes of conduct in place for their advisory committees.

Norio’s memorandum also advised council not to put any changes into effect until the next term begins after October’s municipal elections. That way, it can be provided to advisory committee members and posted on Niagara Region’s website to ensure that anyone considering a role is aware of the expectations and obligations respecting their conduct.

“I think anyone who’s representing the region in any capacity should have to abide by some kind of code of conduct,” St. Catharines Coun. Laura Ip said. “We need to have rules, however casual they might be. Many municipalities already have codes of conduct for their advisory committee members.”

In the interim, someone with a complaint about an advisory committee member could send it in writing to the regional clerk, who would determine the best approach to address it. Ip said there are concerns that the changes might have a chilling effect on people who seek to file complaints or join advisory committees.

“But I just don’t know that we can use that as a reason to not look at these things,” Ip said.

The committee is also reviewing a draft code of conduct policy that was put together by former interim integrity commissioner John Mascarin, an acknowledged expert on the Municipal Act, who regularly appears before municipal councils, committees and boards across the province. The draft policy was shelved by the previous council.

There have also been changes to the Municipal Act regarding codes of conduct and integrity commissioners.