Longtime Saskatoon city Coun. Darren Hill may be required to resign from his position, but he’s willing to leave his fate in the hands of his colleagues.
Hill was late to file his campaign expense disclosure. Roughly two weeks before the February deadline, Hill was diagnosed with COVID-19. He said he dealt with “every single symptom that you’ve heard of,” including brain fog, confusion and fatigue. Some symptoms still linger to this day.
He’s also been dealing with the effects of a traumatic head injury from a vehicle collision in late 2016.
“It was an inadvertent and honest mistake that I just didn’t get (the expense statement) in on time,” said Hill, who was first elected in 2006.
Following the November civic election, all candidates were required to disclose their financial statements by Feb. 16. Hill’s $14,977.49 in expenses — below the roughly $23,000 limit for prospective city councillors — were filed on March 4, according to a summary from the city administration.
Hill was re-elected in Ward 1 by a margin of 56 votes. Second place finisher Kevin Boychuk was also among the nine people who failed to meet the campaign disclosure deadline.
Under the Campaign Disclosure and Spending Limits Bylaw, any elected official who misses the deadline “is disqualified from council and shall resign immediately.”
However, a Court of Queen’s Bench judge can decide a candidate broke the bylaw through “inadvertence or by reason of an honest mistake.” In that case, an elected candidate would not have to step down.
Elected or not, anyone who breaks the bylaw could be fined up to $5,000 per day until they comply with the rules.
The report from returning officer Scott Bastian will be addressed at Monday’s city council meeting. Because Hill hasn’t resigned, the returning officer said the matter requires direction from Saskatoon city councillors.
Hill said he trusts his colleagues to consider all factors when they make their decision and will support whatever they conclude. He won’t participate in the meeting as a councillor, but will attend as a speaker.
During his 14 years on council, Hill said one of the hardest things he’s ever had to do is investigate and sanction another councillor.
“I apologize to my colleagues for making them have to do something similar in this situation. I apologize to the citizens of Saskatoon, (and) to the residents of Ward 1.”
Some leniency in Hill’s case wouldn’t be surprising, according to Ken Coates, professor of public policy at the University of Saskatchewan.
Coates noted how COVID-19 has upended countless political processes, and he said it would be “particularly inappropriate” to enforce a standard pre-dating the pandemic.
“It would actually take a very rigid person, adhering to the letter of the law, to look at this situation and see it as an egregious political error,” Coates said.
In a statement, Mayor Charlie Clark told Global News that council has received legal options and is following due process.
“Coun. Hill will have the opportunity to address city council on Monday and we will make a decision then,” Clark said.
All city council and mayor candidates registered less than the maximum expense limit. Clark spent the most ($203,335.41) followed by Rob Norris ($192,628.71) and Don Atchison ($114,436.00).
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