North Battleford council has now started the ball rolling towards a new code of ethics.
A council code of ethical conduct bylaw was introduced at council Monday.
It is the response to the new provincial legislation that came into effect on the day of the municipal election requiring more stringent ethical and disclosure requirements of councillors. The legislation was a response to recommendations from the inquiry into the scandal in the RM of Sherwood, in which Reeve Kevin Eberle was removed from office due to conflict of interest.
The more stringent disclosure forms for mayor and council were approved at the Nov. 14 meeting.
The provisions of the council code of ethics are based on other codes adopted elsewhere in the country, with many provisions based on the City of Ottawa’s code, according to city officials. However, it is also designed to follow the provincial legislation requirements.
First reading took place of the new bylaw later at council and passed unanimously, which means the bylaw on the new code of ethics will come back for second and third reading and further debate at a later meeting. Mayor Ryan Bater praised the work done on the code so far.
“This is obviously a step in the direction of greater accountability for elected officials,” said Bater.
On a related note, also coming in is a new employee code of conduct, which has already been legislated. City Manager Jim Puffalt and Human Resources Director Chandra Veer Singh reported the union has already been consulted with respect to the code over the past few months, and all the parties have agreed to the draft.
It covers broad categories including integrity, respect, trust, professionalism, teamwork and communication. It also includes employee disclosure forms for every employee with respect to “actual or perceived conflict of interest” situations.
