Olympic document leak leads to investigation call
Mayor stresses importance of confidentiality and conduct code
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi is calling for a full investigation by the city’s integrity commissioner after municipal documents were leaked detailing the risk of Olympics-related cost overruns in the construction of an athletes’ village.
Nenshi said the leak, first reported last week, was a clear breach of council’s code of conduct and a contravention of rules under the province’s Municipal Governance Act.
“I will be asking the integrity commissioner to use his full authority to conduct that investigation, which includes a forensic audit of (council members’) devices, personal and city-owned, as well as email and text messages,” Nenshi said at Monday ’s council meeting.
“So, I take this very, very seriously.”
CBC reported last week that the city was concerned about the risk of rising costs resulting from plans to locate an athletes’ village at Victoria Park. The report, based on confidential documents authored by the city’s Olympic secretariat, suggested the city could be on the hook for replacing the Victoria Park transit garage and the costs associated with remediation work that would be required at the site.
While the identity of the leaker is not public, Nenshi targeted his fellow council colleagues in comments condemning the disclosure.
“Not only do you have a responsibility under the (Municipal Governance Act) ... you have an obligation, a moral obligation, to keep confidential things that council votes to keep confidential,” Nenshi said in chambers Monday morning.
Nenshi later acknowledged that a city staff member could also have been responsible for the leak. Meeting minutes show that nearly 30 senior staff members were present at the meeting where the leaked document was discussed.
City manager Jeff Fielding told Postmedia that since the city’s integrity commissioner does not have jurisdiction over administration, he will be directing corporate security to investigate “to ensure that a fulsome investigation is completed.”
Council had previously voted to keep the documents confidential on the basis that making them public could damage the competitiveness of the city’s bid — though administration agreed at a Sept. 10 council meeting to release a partially redacted version of the report.
Nenshi’s call for an investigation came after Coun. Jeromy Farkas introduced a motion Monday seeking the public release of the confidential Olympic report.
The mayor slammed Farkas’ proposal, suggesting it set a bad precedent.
“What that precedent sets is anyone who leaks anything can then get it released publicly and I think that’s ridiculous,” he said.
Council subsequently voted 12-3 against releasing the confidential report with Farkas, Sean Chu and Joe Magliocca voting in favour of making it public.
Speaking to reporters following the vote, Nenshi downplayed the significance of the confidential document, suggesting a redacted version of the report could still be made public once speculative information and details regarding government negotiations were removed.
But even if the majority of the report is eventually released, Nenshi said, it’s still important the leaker is identified and punished.
“The real issue is that if a member of council conducts what is essentially an illegal act, then I have no choice, as the chair of the council, but to ask for that to be investigated and that’s where we’re at,” he said.
Farkas categorically denied being the source of the leak following Monday’s vote, but told reporters he views an investigation as a distraction from the issue of potential Olympic cost overruns.
“What really bothers me is that all the shenanigans really just muddies the water,” he said.
“Calgarians deserve to know what the actual costs are, what the benefits are and what the related financial, legal and security risks are. And the longer city council holds onto this document without coming clean to Calgarians, the more I call the entire process into question.”
Council elected Monday to again go behind closed doors to discuss the leak and council’s obligations around confidentiality.
But before council went in-camera, Coun. Diane Colley-Urquhart urged the mayor to push for a provincial investigation into the leak.
“With today’s IT abilities, we’re in a position where we’re much more capable of tracking these things down than we used to be,” said Colley-Urquhart, pointing out municipal affairs has investigated past breaches at the city.
“It certainly should send a chilling effect through the chamber.”