A rare summer meeting of city council has been called for Aug. 6 related to a decision made last week by the ABC Vancouver majority to suspend the work of the Office of the Integrity Commissioner.
Mayor Ken Sim called the “special council” meeting based on recommendations from the city manager and city clerk, given that the next regular council session isn’t until late September, according to an email Wednesday from the mayor’s office.
“The special council meeting is for council to consider amendments to the code of conduct bylaw as a result of the motion carried at the last standing committee meeting,” the email said. “Special council meetings are often called to wrap up outstanding council business.”
Though seven “special” council meetings have already been held this year, any type of council meeting in August is rare, with council historically on summer break.
'Not always clear'
Sim was absent from the July 24 meeting when council voted 6-2 to temporarily pause any new or ongoing investigations being conducted by the independent agency headed up by Integrity Commissioner Lisa Southern.
The move led by councillors Brian Montague and Lenny Zhou was related to Southern writing in her 2023 annual report that that the scope of her role in providing oversight of the conduct of council and advisory board members “is not always clear.”
Southern made recommendations for amendments to the code of conduct bylaw to mitigate her concerns, but they have yet to go before council for adoption or discussion.
“I'm concerned that what I feel is a fairly significant issue around scope and authority and jurisdiction raised by the integrity commissioner's office itself hasn't been addressed,” Montague said in introducing his motion for an independent review of the scope of the office.
'Unobstructed review process'
Zhou then successfully tabled an amendment to Montague’s motion to suspend Southern’s work until the review is completed, arguing it was “best practice” to take such an approach.
“It is crucial to have an unobstructed review process,” Zhou said. “Pausing ongoing investigations will prevent any potential conflicts or overlaps that might arise if the current operations of the integrity commissioner are found to be out of scope or misaligned with the best practice.”
At the same time, Zhou added, Southern’s office can continue to receive complaints but cannot investigate them until a review is completed and council makes a decision on the findings.
The number of complaints or investigations currently before Southern’s office was not disclosed at the meeting, with city manager Paul Mochrie telling council that such information was confidential.
No timeline was given on how long it would take to find an independent reviewer or conduct a review. A budget was also not provided during the meeting.
'Reasons of confidentiality'
Southern declined to take a position on council’s move, or provide the number of complaints received by her office this year — or whether any have resulted in investigations.
“I feel it best in my role to not comment regarding the motion of council,” she said in an email Wednesday. “I have fielded numerous questions in the last few days regarding investigations, which I am not able to comment on for reasons of confidentiality.”
ABC Vancouver’s move was criticized by council’s opposition councillors, who initially supported a scope review but were not prepared to pause investigations.
“I hope nothing is being swept under the rug here, and I hope that this isn't an excuse to reduce the scope of the integrity commissioner's office,” said OneCity Coun. Christine Boyle.
“My experience is that it does important work. I have been involved [in investigations] and had two different outcomes. I think it does important work. I think it's an important role to have in the city, and that we should strengthen and not weaken it, and we should support their work and not mute it.”
Mayor, five councillors investigated
Green Party Coun. Adriane Carr said it was difficult for her to support ABC’s move because of the many unanswered questions related to the review and pausing investigations.
“I find it absolutely impossible to be able to vote with any degree of competence that I have enough information to vote on,” Carr said.
One of the office’s main roles is to provide advice and recommendations to council and advisory board members regarding their ethical obligations and responsibilities.
Another is to assess and potentially mediate and/or investigate code of conduct bylaw complaints made against council and advisory board members.
Boyle, Sim, Montague, Sarah Kirby-Yung, Mike Klassen, Peter Meiszner and Kennedy Stewart — when he served as mayor from 2018 to 2022 — have all been subject of integrity commissioner investigations.
Southern also conducts investigations related the park board.
Politics
In Southern’s 2023 annual report, recommendations she made for amendments to the code of conduct bylaw included modifying language related to politics.
“Our understanding is the intention of council in establishing the office was for the integrity commissioner to oversee the ethical conduct of council and advisory board members, not to scrutinize political or policy decisions,” she wrote.
Another recommendation was for council to consider the feasibility of amending the code of conduct bylaw to include “sanction provisions for reduction in remuneration and/or restriction from holding roles that enhance remuneration in appropriate circumstances” when a breach of the bylaw is found.
Southern, a lawyer, was retained in January 2022 as the city’s first-ever integrity commissioner. Her staff includes lawyers Deanna Brummitt and Michael Oland.
The meeting on Aug. 6 at city hall begins at 9 a.m.
