MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY - County council has reviewed proposed bylaw amendments to the municipality’s Code of Conduct, including as it relates to the use of social media by councillors.
The review came during the recent regularly scheduled council meeting, held in person and online.
At the direction of council, the updated draft bylaw has been prepared, with revisions proposed to the investigation process and other parts of the bylaw.
The Code of Conduct governs the conduct of councillors in dealings with the public, administration, departments and business units.
The updated code was drafted and prepared by Brownlee LLP, with lawyer Alifeyah Gulamhusein providing comment.
Section 6 - Respecting the Decision Making Process, would read, in part: “A councillor must not purport to bind council or the county, either by publicly expressing their personal views on behalf of council when not authorized to do so or by giving direction to staff in administration, agents, contractors, consultants or other service providers of the county or prospective vendors.”
As well, the section would read: “No councillor may record any proceedings of council or any council committee without the express prior permission of council or the council committee, as applicable.”
Gulamhusein said, “We recommend generally addressing council conduct at meetings to ensure a comprehensive code of conduct, while not explicitly required by the MGA (Municipal Government Act) and regulations.”
Section 8 - Respectful interactions with councillors, staff, the public and others would read, in part: “Council shall refrain from any conduct that is discriminatory to any individual based on the person’s race, religious beliefs, colour, gender, gender expression, physical disability, mental disability, age, ancestry, place of origin, marital status, source of income, family status or sexual orientation.”
The wording of the section “mirrors language from the Alberta Human Rights Act and further clarifies the standard of behaviour expected of councillors,” said Gulamhusein.
Section 13 - Use of Social Media would read, in part: “As with any other activity, councillors must ensure that their use of social media complies with the law, the requirement of this bylaw and any related bylaws, policies or procedures. This bylaw applies to all communications a councillor makes, regardless of the social media account or device from which the communication is made.”
Gulamhusein said, “Given the pervasiveness of social media, we recommend that it be specifically addressed in the Code of Conduct to provide clarity that the requirements of the Code extend to social media conduct as well.”
Council asked administration to seek clarification from Gulamhusein on the use of social media by councillors serving in his/her official capacity as opposed to social media use as private individuals.
Section 17 - Formal Complaint Process would read, in part: “Upon receipt of a formal complaint, council will meet, in a private meeting, excluding the councillor or councillors alleged to have contravened this Code of Conduct and the councillor(s) who filed the complaint, if that is the case, and decide whether to proceed to investigate the complaint or not.”
Councillors asked for clarification on a number of parts of the draft bylaw, including the timeline of the complaint process.
Council passed a motion instructing administration to prepare bylaw amendments to rescind Bylaw 09/22 and develop a draft Code of Conduct bylaw.
Council also passed a motion requesting a virtual appearance by Brownlee LLP at the next council meeting discussing the draft Code of Conduct bylaw.
