Chestermere investigates three councillors over conduct allegations

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The embattled Chestermere metropolis council is once more launching a number of investigations into its personal members, accusing three councillors of a number of code of conduct and Election Act breaches. It’s a transfer one of many topic councillors is asking an act of retribution in opposition to himself as a whistleblower, and a distraction from the approaching outcomes of a provincial probe of the town’s governance.

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Following a closed-door assembly on Tuesday, council authorized an inquiry into allegations of 100 code of conduct infractions and 17 Election Act infractions. The 2 separate probes will give attention to councillors Shannon Dean, Ritesh Narayan and Sandy Johal-Watt, who earlier this yr triggered a municipal inspection — Alberta’s first probe of a local-level authorities since 2018 — after penning two complaints to the Division of Municipal Affairs about Mayor Jeff Colvin, deputy mayor Mel Foat and councillors Stephen Hanley and Blaine Funk.

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The town launched a code of conduct probe into Dean, Narayan and Johal-Watt’s correspondence in July, however the mayor mentioned the town has since found additional potential transgressions by the three, relationship again to shortly after the municipal election in October 2021.

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Colvin didn’t provide any info relating to the character of the 17 alleged Election Act infractions and the town didn’t reply to Postmedia’s request for clarification. In response to the Election Act, breaches are usually investigated by the election commissioner, both at their very own discretion or upon request.

Of the 100 alleged code of conduct infractions, the town pinned 50 on Narayan, 33 on Dean and 17 on Johal-Watt.

“These potential code of conduct violations could be categorised into the next classes: probably directing workers with out CAO approval, interfering with duties of a CAO, interfering with duties of mayor and council, not respecting majority choice of council, improper use of place of elected official, deceptive authorities companies and the general public, dangerous to the pursuits of the town as a complete,” mentioned Colvin throughout a Tuesday assembly, studying from a be aware written by metropolis director Kim Wallace.

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Narayan, who was absent from the assembly, claims that the potential violations discovered got here through a search of his, Dean’s and Johal-Watt’s metropolis e-mail accounts. He mentioned there was no council decision permitting the search of their emails, nor did they provide consent for administration to take action, and he has contacted Alberta’s info and privateness commissioner in regards to the “breach of privateness.”

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“(They’d) copies of our emails that we had been sending to and from everybody from Municipal Affairs to workers that had contacted us eager to share info . . . They arbitrarily and indiscriminately simply went via each e-mail that we had,” Narayan advised Postmedia on Thursday.

“I believe what they have been attempting to perform via that is discover out precisely what we have now advised Municipal Affairs in order that they might discover some kind of rationale to be able to refute our claims.”

Narayan dismissed the claims as baseless, calling them a “crimson herring” meant to discredit him and his colleagues and muddy the waters earlier than the province releases the outcomes of the municipal inspection to the general public.

“It’s a witch hunt. That is reprisal and retribution for being a whistleblower,” Narayan advised Postmedia.

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“That is the worth I’m paying for being one of many whistleblowers; frivolous accusations are being made in opposition to me to intimidate me and perhaps to drive me to perhaps step down. That is completely absurd.”

Dean was the one one of many three on the public sitting after the closed-door dialogue of the matter, with Narayan absent for the complete assembly and Johal-Watt leaving earlier than the eventual 4-1 vote that authorized each probes. Dean mentioned he needed it famous on the general public report that he was requested to depart the room for the dialogue.

“I simply suppose it appears to me to be a problematic approach, and an attention-grabbing approach, for this council to attempt to rebuild belief and relationships inside this council,” mentioned Dean in the course of the assembly.

The 2 new investigations comply with 5 others the town launched earlier this summer time: one probing irregular payout packages for 2 staff upon their resignations, one other trying into lacking tens of millions from its former arm’s-length utility firm, and three different code of conduct inquiries relating to Dean, Narayan and Johal-Watt. All the metropolis’s investigations are being dealt with by unidentified third events. 

The Division of Municipal Affairs is predicted to quickly reveal the findings of the municipal inspection, with a report now within the palms of officers for a choice. The inspection report can be introduced to council by Municipal Affairs officers in a closed session earlier than being introduced to the general public in an open council assembly at a to-be-determined date. At the moment, the minister will make suggestions or orders primarily based on the outcomes of the probe. 

mrodriguez@postmedia.com

Twitter: @michaelrdrguez