Impact on Medicine Hat uncertain as Alberta poised to eliminate codes of conduct

Council triggered a third-party investigation that it used as a basis to strip Clark of her mayoral powers and cut her salary in half.

A Calgary judge later lifted most of the sanctions on Clark but upheld council’s finding she broke the conduct rules.

McIver, who attempted to mediate council’s division during a leadership crisis last year, echoed some of the language used by Clark’s supporters by saying that codes of conduct have been weaponized.

“We need a better, more impartial system to deal with conduct issues, one that can’t be misused for political gain or personal rivalry,” McIver said Tuesday.

When asked to provide an example, McIver urged reporters to “Google Medicine Hat.”

Mitchell, a publicly-reserved figure to most residents, refused an interview request from CHAT News and instead offered commentary on codes of conduct in general.

Through her research and professional experience, Mitchell said Thursday she’s seen many challenges with the code of conduct approach because it often lacks consistency from council to council and aren’t robust.

“The language in these codes can be vague, leaving too much room for interpretation, and enforcement mechanisms are typically weak, as the codes are non-binding,” Mitchell said in a written statement.

“In many cases, council members are hesitant to hold one another accountable or view the codes as limiting their freedom of expression and ability to represent their constituents.”

Graphic/CHAT News

In Medicine Hat, council voted — with the exception of complainant Coun. Shila Sharps and the mayor — to place a series of six sanctions on Clark on March 21, 2024.

It kicked off a dramatic battle between a frustrated Clark — who accused Mitchell of overreach — and her colleagues around the horseshoe — who believed to varying degrees that Clark was out of bounds.

Mitchell, in her statement to CHAT News, appeared to suggest an alternative approach to required codes of conduct.

“In response to these issues, some provinces have begun implementing provincial frameworks to help address these challenges,” she wrote.

Paul Salvatore,chief executive of Municipal Experts, said removing the code of conduct creates a hole in the system.

“What this does in the interim, at least, is create a bit of a gap,” Salvatore said in an interview Wednesday.

“It’s a reversion back to, we’ll say, a more primitive time when there was no code of conduct, and you’re sort of relying on just good behavior.”

Salvatore said the legislative process could lead to McIver finding a replacement.

Sometimes on a municipal level when something goes to first reading…that’s really when debate begins, and so maybe that’s what the minister’s thinking here,” Salvatore said.

For Medicine Hat, questions still remain.

It’s not clear if the public code of conduct created by council last year will be unaffected or if that, too, will be eliminated.

Council in February contracted the Kingsgate Legal to be its integrity commissioner to handle council and public code of conduct complaints. That role could soon face uncertainty.

The City of Medicine Hat did not respond Thursday to a general request for comment.

by Eli J. Ridder

Impact on Medicine Hat uncertain as Alberta poised to eliminate codes of conduct

Our Community