Town of Fort Macleod reprimands councillor for involvement in Coutts blockade

A member of council for the town of Fort Macleod, Alta., has been publicly reprimanded for his involvement as an organizer of the Coutts border blockade.

Coun. Marco Van Huigenbos was read a letter of reprimand by Mayor Brent Feyter at the March 28 meeting of Town Council — a letter that the town has made public for the purposes of accountability and transparency.

The letter began by saying council had “grave concerns” about Van Huigenbos’ behaviour.

“As a member of town council, you are a public figure and your words and actions reflect not only on yourself, but also on council as a whole and the town at large,” the letter read.

Van Huigenbos was found to have violated the Council Code of Conduct bylaw, which states that members must conduct themselves in a manner that promotes public confidence, as well as uphold federal and provincial laws, and policies and procedures adopted by council.

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“Provincial, and even national, media reports quote you as being ‘one of the organizers’ and ‘a spokesperson’ of the Coutts border blockade and identify you as being a ‘town councillor in Fort Macleod,'” the admonition continued. “Your admitted, and very public, involvement with the Coutts border blockade is in direct violation of your obligations under the Council Code of Conduct bylaw.”

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“To be clear, council respects the right of peaceful protest, but that does not extend to organizing an illegal blockade of a highway and border crossing that halted international travel for over two weeks and disrupted our municipal neighbour the village of Coutts.”

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Feyter told Global News that the town received complaints from the public regarding Van Huigenbos’ involvement in the protest, and council followed the strict rules and guidelines laid out by the Municipal Government Act.

“We rely on them a lot and the code of conduct bylaw also has been something the government implemented a few years back, which I appreciate. It gives us a bit of a level understanding of what we can and cannot do, and how we respond if something does go wrong,” he said.

Global News reached out to Van Huigenbos, he replied that he has no additional comment on the matter.