Two Calgary city councillors are facing integrity commissioner sanctions after complaints were filed against them.
The findings of these investigation reports were made public after city councillors were behind closed doors for three hours discussing them at Tuesday’s combined meeting of council.
Two of the complaints involved Ward 9 Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra. The other involved Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean. Details of the incidents are attached, in full, at the bottom of this story.
Carra’s complaints involved a real estate disclosure and a social media incident.
According to Integrity Commissioner Ellen-Anne O’Donnell’s report on one incident, the complainant said that Carra failed to disclose interest in a property at 66 New Street SE in Inglewood prior to the municipal election.
The other involved a social media incident in which Coun. Carra quote tweeted a social media post and said he regretted not calling out colleagues for working with Coun. Sean Chu.
Carra initially apologized for the latter incident back in February.
McLean’s incident involved a Christmas event he hosted where he participated without a mask, in breach of provincial and municipal rules at the time.
Ward 11 Coun. Kourtney Penner, who introduced each of the reports, said this was a chance for council to accept and reflect.
“I think what will define us is how we move past what’s before us, and how we move on as a council, and how we reflect on our own actions and behaviours with respect to any of these matters, because I think what one does reflects on all of us,” Coun. Penner said.
Sanctions from the commish
McLean is being prescribed ethics training with the ethics adviser within 30 days.
Carra has to submit a letter of apology to Calgarians. He must also attend records management and ethics training for one of the reports.
The other report requires Carra to issue a letter of apology to the complainants within 30 days, that he be removed from any chair position he holds (Infrastructure and Planning) until October 2022, and that Carra undergoes respectful workplace and social media training.
In debate on his sanctions, McLean said that Calgary city council should be wary of voting in favour.
“It’s going to set a dangerous precedent. The public will be watching, and anybody who votes for this, don’t think that they may not be trying to find, dig up a photograph of you, too, and then filing a complaint against you as well,” McLean said.
In general, other councillors said that they need to respect the ruling of the Integrity Commissioner.
“I think it is incumbent on us to listen to what the Integrity Commissioner is saying because that is the oversight of us as elected officials,” said Ward 3 Coun. Jasmine Mian.
“I think if we were to go against the integrity commissioner’s recommendations, we will be inherently politicizing the process.”
Coun. Terry Wong said that elected officials need to be held to a higher standard.
“At the end of the day, there is an expectation that we need to uphold, and it’s a higher standard higher expectation than the general public,” he said.
Councillors also approved the creation of an updated social media interpretation bulletin.
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