Edmonton city councillors voted almost unanimously to send back proposed changes to the code of conduct on Wednesday, citing concerns about transparency.
Currently, when a councillor is accused of doing something wrong, the Integrity Commissioner gets involved. A report will be posted online and if wrongdoing is found, it goes to a public council meeting for a decision on sanctions.
The proposed changes, if passed, would mean the report will not be published publicly unless council approves it. A report presented to council said the changes would increase transparency but councillors disagreed.
“I don’t know how keeping a report private about the violation of the code of conduct increases transparency. It does not,” Mayor Amarjeet Sohi told reporters.
Councillor Erin Rutherford pointed out the proposed changes came when there was already significant distrust in politicians.
“If information was to come on a sanction hearing for a councillor if we don’t provide that information to the public, then the public fills that void with their own information be it right, wrong or otherwise and that’s also very dangerous,” the Ward Anirniq councillor said.
She added that council does currently and still will have the option to make certain information public, including the identity of people who raise concerns about councillors.
In 2022, Councillor Michael Janz was investigated after retweeting a post calling police “pigs.” That process was public.
Councillor Tim Cartmell says there is nuance and that he could see a situation where the rule that was broken isn’t necessarily related to council work.
“Maybe you want to talk about that first before all of that detail and all of the salaciousness and everything that follows becomes a public conversation. because once it’s public, you can’t privatize it,” Cartmell told Global News.
Still, he and every councillor except Jennifer Rice rejected the changes, sending them back for fixes.
“As elected officials, we are held to a very high standard through the code of conduct and that we are living up to that standard and if we are not living up to that standard, the public needs to know that,” Sohi said.
The new proposal is expected back in the fall.