Council Members' Codes of Conduct Regulation

Council Members' Codes of Conduct Regulation, M.R. 98/2020 The Municipal Act , C.C.S.M. c. M225 Regulation 98/2020 Registered October 20, 2020 bilingual version (HTML) Table of Contents Section 1 Interpretation 2 Code of conduct 3 Procedures 4 Code of conduct review 5 Council decision 6 Sanctions 7 Appeals director 8 Making an appeal 9 Stay of proceedings 10 Council submissions 11 Response submissions by member 12 Deciding the appeal 13 Decision is final 14 Coming into force Interpretation 1 The following definitions apply in this regulation. "Act" means The Municipal Act . («  Loi ») "code of conduct" means a code of conduct by-law established by a council for the purposes of subsection 84.1(1) of the Act. (« code de conduite ») "investigation report" means the report of a complaint investigation to council under clause 3(f). (« rapport d'enquête ») Code of conduct 2 A code of conduct must be based on and incorporate the following values: Respect (a) treating others with courtesy, dignity and fairness; (b) appreciating difference and welcoming learning from others; (c) supporting and encouraging others to participate in council activities; (d) fostering an environment free of harassment, including sexual harassment and bullying. Professionalism (a) following council decision-making and communications processes; (b) behaving in a manner that upholds public confidence in local government; (c) respecting the impartiality of municipal employees; (d) making reasonable efforts to resolve complaints in an expeditious, informal, collaborative and restorative manner; (e) avoiding the use of irrelevant or false considerations when carrying out duties. Accountability (a) using municipal resources appropriately; (b) taking responsibility for decisions and actions. Procedures 3 A code of conduct must (a) establish a process for filing complaints with the council, including (i) the time period for filing a complaint, and (ii) designating a person responsible for receiving complaints on behalf of the council; (b) set out the information required in a complaint; (c) establish a fair and impartial process for the expeditious determination of complaints that are frivolous, vexatious or filed after the required time period; (d) establish a process for referring complaints to mediation; (e) establish a fair and impartial process for investigating complaints that cannot be resolved by mediation; and (f) provide for investigation reports, including the form of the report, the information required in the report and the period for submitting the report. Code of conduct review 4 A council must undertake an annual review of its code of conduct to ensure the code effectively meets its needs. Council decision 5 A code of conduct must require the council to do the following at its next meeting after receiving an investigation report: (a) close the meeting to the public and review the report; (b) when the review is finished, re-open the meeting to the public and hold a vote for the following purposes: (i) to determine if the member breached the code of conduct, (ii) to determine the appropriate sanction, if any. Sanctions 6(1) A code of conduct must include only the following sanctions for disciplining a member of the council: (a) censuring the member; (b) reprimanding the member; (c) requiring the member to issue a letter of apology within 30 days after being directed to do so; (d) requiring the member to attend training as directed by the council; (e) suspending or removing the member's presiding duties under subsection 83(2) of the Act, if applicable; (f) suspending or removing the member as the deputy head of the council, if applicable; (g) suspending or removing the member as chair of a committee, if applicable; (h) suspending or removing the member from any or all council committees or bodies on which the member serves; (i) suspending the member from carrying out a power, duty or function as a member for a period not exceeding 90 days; (j) reducing or suspending the member's compensation for the duration of any suspension imposed under clause (i); (k) imposing a fine of not more than $1,000, to be paid within 30 days after being imposed. 6(2) A member who does not comply with or complete a sanction in the time period required by the council may not carry out a power, duty or function as a member until they do so. 6(3) A code of conduct must require the council to consider the following factors when imposing a sanction on a member: (a) the nature of the code of conduct contravention; (b) the length or persistence of the code of conduct contravention; (c) if the member knowingly contravened the code of conduct; (d) if the member took steps to mitigate or remedy the code of conduct contravention; (e) if the member previously contravened the code of conduct. Appeals director 7 The minister must appoint an appeals director. The appeals director is responsible for hearing and deciding appeals made under this regulation. Making an appeal 8(1) A member may appeal a sanction solely on the basis that their conduct did not contravene the code of conduct. 8(2) To appeal a sanction, a member must provide written submissions to the appeals director within 30 days after the sanction is imposed. The member may provide the submissions by e-mail or registered mail. 8(3) The member's submissions must be in a form that is approved by, or acceptable to, the appeals director and must include a statement setting out the reasons for the appeal. Stay of proceedings 9 The filing of an appeal stays the sanction pending the resolution of the appeal. Council submissions 10(1) The appeals director must provide a copy of the member's appeal to the council as soon as practicable. 10(2) The council must, by resolution, direct its municipality to provide the following to the appeals director: (a) a copy of the investigation report; (b) a copy of the resolution sanctioning the member; (c) any written submissions considered necessary or advisable by the council. 10(3) The municipality must provide the director with everything required under subsection (2) within 30 days after its council receives an appeal. The municipality may do so by e-mail or registered mail. Response submissions by member 11 The member may provide to the appeals director a written response to the municipality's submission within 15 days after receiving it. The member's response must address only the matters raised by the municipality under subsection 10(2). Deciding the appeal 12(1) As soon as practicable after receiving all possible submissions from the parties, the appeals director must make a written decision and provide the parties and the designated employee with a copy of the decision. 12(2) When deciding an appeal, the appeals director may confirm the council's sanction or quash it. Decision is final 13 A decision made by the appeals director is final and is not subject to appeal. Coming into force 14 This regulation comes into force on November 1, 2020, or the day it is registered under The Statutes and Regulations Act , whichever is later.