A second letter from Alberta’s Municipal Affairs minister, directed to Ward 14 Coun. Landon Johnston, described his September budget document leak action as “unacceptable.”

The letter, obtained by LWC, comes after initial reporting on a letter from Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams that addressed concerns over Calgary city council’s closed session activities and asked it to review its policies to ensure it’s following legislation.

The direct correspondence to Coun. Johnston, dated Oct. 21, was sent to “address the seriousness of your admitted disclosure of confidential information” delivered to council in a closed session.

Johnston admitted to leaking budget documents reported on by local media, saying in September that he felt it was important to daylight the documents so Calgarians knew how property tax dollars could potentially be spent.

It came alongside LWC reporting on the city council direction for a budget revenue scenario that examined a four-year property tax revenue increases of 15 per cent, 12.5 per cent, nine per cent and six per cent, respectively.

Those numbers were confirmed in a public release of preliminary budget documents in late September, along with the projected spikes in water rates and waste and recycling fees.

Williams wrote that elected officials are entrusted by Calgary residents to exercise the office with integrity, and that access to sensitive information comes with a clear obligation to protect it.

“Disregarding it undermines trust among council members and erodes public confidence in municipal governance,” he wrote.

The minister also acknowledged that closed meetings should only be used where authorized under the Municipal Government Act, and that municipal decision-making must be done in public unless the legislation allows otherwise.

“Those principles do not excuse the unauthorized disclosure of confidential information,” Williams wrote.

“Your actions are inconsistent with your duties as an elected councillor and were unacceptable.”

Williams acknowledged that Johnston has committed to upholding confidentiality moving forward and has acknowledged the consequences of his actions.

Johnston said he understood the consequences of the budget leak

Coun. Johnston acknowledged receipt of the letter from Williams in a phone conversation with LWC.

“I read the letter. I understood the consequences before, and, like I said, I was willing to deal with consequences after,” Johnston said.

“Would I still do it? Yes, 100 per cent.”

Williams’ letter to Johnston also discussed the upcoming councillor accountability framework, in which it mentions confidentiality and potential disclosures from closed sessions.

“Conduct of this nature could result in a complaint, investigation, and sanctions under the framework, underscoring the seriousness with which breaches of confidentiality must be treated,” it read.

Johnston told LWC he understood the ramifications of a potential new framework — and wanted it applied to all potential breaches of confidentiality, not just his.

“The whole purpose of this was to highlight the absurdity of hiding tax dollars from taxpayers, and then the other would be that confidentiality has been broken dozens of times all year. I’ve put in major concerns and complaints regarding those, and the mayor and admin’s response was basically to push it under the rug,” Johnston said.

“I felt it was my duty to blow the whistle on the lack of accountability at City Hall, even if it meant putting myself in the line of fire. That’s the only way you can get things changed is by disrupting the system.”

On Wednesday, Mayor Jeromy Farkas said he welcomed the upcoming councillor accountability framework.

“The fact that he’s recognized the importance of us respecting personal privacy, as well as respecting confidentiality of law enforcement, addresses my concerns,” he said.  

“And even further than that, he’s indicated that, as of January 1st, there will be a mechanism to ensure that Calgarians who may feel that their private information has been improperly disclosed by an elected official have the ability to hold that elected official to account.”