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Code of conduct could increase council’s accountability

City preparing official code of conduct governing council's behaviour
BainConduct
City Councillor Mac Bain’s latest motion instructs city staff to prepare a code of conduct unique to North Bay “so that the greater public good will be protected.” Photo by Liam Berti

It appears some city councillors don't trust their fellow councillors to keep a secret, so the city is developing an accountability framework to outline the expected behaviour for members of council.

Councillor Mac Bain is championing the development of a new system to govern council’s accountability and admonish those who step out of line and breach confidentiality.

Bain’s motion, which passed with a unanimous vote at Monday night’s meeting, instructs the city solicitor to prepare a code of conduct unique to North Bay “so that the greater public good will be protected.” 

The move comes after Ontario Ombudsman Paul Dubé suggested all municipalities in Ontario create a code of conduct for members of council at the Annual Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities conference in Timmins earlier this month. 

“It protects the community and it also protects ourselves,” Bain explained. "In the realm of this council table, unfortunately there’s been times when things that should be held in the back room or in confidence have made it into the media and it’s unfortunate." 

Council currently has no means to address those breaches, but Bain said he thinks some slips around the current council table could have been prevented, on top of a list of other ethical issues addressed in most codes. 

“If we divulge those to the media or public at large, there’s no mechanism in today’s procedural bylaw and we don’t have a code of conduct for council to say you’ve done something wrong or said something out of place,” said Bain. 

Beyond the ombudsman's recommendation, the catalyst for the motion was to protect the sensitive information shared in the private in-camera session, most of which revolves around legal, property and personnel issues. 

“There have also been examples where, in my opinion, there have been observations made in-camera that are now in the public domain that should not be in the public domain,” Bain explained. “I’ve seen these things this term. 

“I want to see a mechanism in place for any instances in the future,” he added. 

Many backroom confidential issues involve local businesses, but Bain doesn't think it’s up to his colleagues to announce or share information that they might not want released. 

“That message should be brought out into the public domain by the business,” he said. “It’s not the council of the City of North Bay’s announcement to make that a business is going to expand or locate in North Bay - that message belongs to that business.”

As an example, Bain said if a councillor were to leak details about a potential property acquisition at the coffee shop, it could have a detriment on the a neighbouring property, it could impact the price, or it could also affect the business that was going to move to that area.

“We need, as a council, to be respectful to property owners and the people we do business with, as well as to the business community at-large and the citizens at-large,” said Bain. “We have to be held to a higher standard.

“I get to know information and, sometimes, I want to know more,” he added. “But when I see things in the media that should not be in the media, that makes me question whether I should have the ability to be asking for more information. Honestly, if things don’t change, then I’m going to suggest as a councillor that I see even less." 

If a member of council shows signs of non-compliance, an integrity commissioner or ombudsman would do an investigation and if a breach was identified, that individual could be admonished according to the code.

As Coun. Chris Mayne suggested, the discipline could range from a simple reprimand, written or verbal apology, suspension of remuneration up to 90 days, or a council member could be removed from a committee or chairship.

“One of the important parts of it is the repercussions - if someone is found to be sharing in-camera information inappropriately, accepting gifts or something inappropriate, what are the consequences?” said Mayne. 

While very few municipal councils have to adhere to a code of conduct, Bain said it’s a trend that will change very soon. 

“I would hazard a guess that there’s less than 50 code of conducts across the province,” Bain said of the 455 municipalities in Ontario. “But I would anticipate that with the present ombudsman being involved in the community and giving out messages and addressing municipal conferences, I would not be surprised within two years if every single municipality has a code of conduct.” 

One of the communities that does employ a code of conduct is Temiskaming Shores, which Bain suggested North Bay mirror in developing its own. 

Even though Bain was granted permission by Temiskaming Shores to simply copy and paste their “excellent” code, the motion calls for city staff to return to council with a recommendation within 30 days. 

The city’s legal department has also been looking at the City of Ottawa’s code of conduct as a benchmark for the last six months.

“I would hope that staff doesn’t spend an onerous amount of time on this code of conduct, that they review the one from Temiskaming Shores and that they will be back to us in the 30 day period,” said Bain. 

Council will then have the opportunity to read and review the city’s recommendation and speak to it before being adopted.


Liam Berti

About the Author: Liam Berti

Liam Berti is a University of Ottawa journalism graduate who has since worked for BayToday as the City Council and North Bay Battalion reporter.
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