What’s appropriate behaviour?
For elected officials everywhere, it should be obvious; keeping your nose clean and doing the right thing ought to come with the territory.
But ethical lines are sometimes crossed, and there’s no doubt some of the people who voters have put into municipal office sometimes behave badly, even criminally.
Kelowna city council is looking at a procedure for establishing a council code of conduct that would outline how council members should conduct themselves while carrying out their duties and responsibilities.
“A code of conduct establishes expectations for how council conducts themselves following the principles of integrity, accountability, respect, and leadership and collaboration,” writes Kelowna city clerk Stephen Fleming, author of the report.
“Responsible conduct supports good governance by promoting accountability, transparency, respect, and effective and efficient decision-making.”
If council goes ahead, the code of conduct would address social media use (including during council meetings), meetings with developers, gifts to councillors and election activities at all levels. It would also deal with protection of third-party privacy and confidential information, security of corporate assets and add a lobbyist registry.
The timing of the report is being driven by a change in the province’s community charter requiring all municipal governments in B.C. to consider establishing a code of conduct, within six months of last fall’s municipal elections. It isn’t mandatory that they create and adopt a code, only that they consider it.
Fleming said council is at the beginning of a multi-step process. “The legislative change is that every council in B.C. has to consider whether they want to have a code of conduct or not, so this is the first step. If council says yes, this report outlines what we think should be in it,” he said.
How complaints would be submitted and reviewed should be included in the code, said Fleming in the report. If a councillor violates the code, options for resolution include a council motion of censure, restricted access to city buildings, removal from committees, and a reduction in pay.
It’s best to address conduct violations informally, said Fleming in the report.
The report is coming after the provincial amendment to the Local Government Act that would force local politicians to take a leave of absence if charged with a criminal offense, and to be removed from office if convicted of serious crimes.
Had the new rules already been in place, former Kelowna mayor Colin Basran, charged with sexual assault in December 2022, would have been required to temporarily step aside had he been charged when still in office, regardless of an eventual verdict.
That trial is ongoing.
Fleming said the report’s recommendations on possible code of conduct content is based on a framework developed by a provincial working group formed in 2017. The Union of B.C. Municipalities, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Local Government Management Association are working group members. “Lots of work has been done through that working group, and the provincial government made the decision to make this mandatory for councils to at least consider, starting this term,” he said. “It varies by provinces. A code of conduct is mandatory in Ontario, but B.C. is not at that stage yet.”
Kelowna councillor Mohini Singh said she will support establishment of a council code of conduct. “I think a code of conduct is a valuable exercise in the sense that everything will be clear. It sets the parameters for how you work and let’s live within these goalposts. Clear for us, clear for the public,” she said.
Singh said she thinks citizens want to see a council code of conduct too. “I think citizens are ready for this. Citizens want to know what the parameters are, and how we behave reflects on the city,” she said.
“Who we reach out to, how we behave at meetings, that has to be clear. We always have to do right by our citizens, and this helps to maintain their interests.”
Singh said she believes no councillor wants to do anything wrong but ethical boundaries are not always clear, especially for new council members. “I am an experienced councillor but a reminder and a refresher is good for all of us,” she said.
Developing a code of conduct is an organic process unique to each city, said Fleming, and like any bylaw or policy, it can be amended in the future. “Each code of conduct will reflect that particular council and that particular community. Codes of conduct do get amended from time to time, they evolve as they’re used,” he said. “It’s meant to be able to be amended by council as they see fit and as the circumstances warrant.”
Kelowna isn’t the only Okanagan community considering a code of conduct.
Shane Mills, senior communications advisor with the city of Penticton, said Penticton is moving ahead with a code of conduct. “We’ve started the discussions and we’re working on it collaboratively with the regional district and other municipalities like Oliver and Summerland. We’ll have something going to council possibly in the next couple of weeks,” he said.
West Kelowna council last week received a draft code of conduct. But in response, council directed staff to amend the already-existing 2012 code of ethics policy to bring it in line with the new provincial requirements.