'A bit of a gong show': Former Vancouver mayor weighs in on integrity commissioner suspension

Kennedy Stewart carries his civic election ballot after marking it as he votes at an advance poll in Vancouver, B.C. on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Vancouver’s former mayor is criticizing his successor and the ABC-majority council for deciding to launch a third-party review of an oversight body.

At its last council meeting, ABC voted to suspend the work of the integrity commissioner indefinitely while it initiates a review of its scope and mandate. Complaints can still be submitted, but no investigations will take place. 

Kennedy Stewart, who was mayor when the commissioner's position was created in 2021, said he’s alarmed by the decision and hopes council does not do away with the office altogether.

“This is a real setback,” he said. “If they in the end get rid of all the ethics oversight at the city –which they can do under the (Vancouver) Charter – then the only recourse for the public is to go to court.”

Before Stewart created the position of the integrity commissioner, the mayor was in charge of any ethics complaints lodged at councillors or advisory board members. Independent oversight to deal with complaints about elected officials is something he says is crucial.

“It really gives confidence to the public that these institutions have integrity and removing it would not be good,” he said.

Coun. Brian Montague introduced the motion at the end of the council meeting, citing a recommendation in the December 2023 annual report from Integrity Commissioner, Lisa Southern.

"through the handling of inquiries and complaints to the Office in the last two years, we recognize that the scope of the integrity commissioner’s role in providing oversight of the conduct of council and advisory board members is not always clear. We recommend this be mitigated through amendments to the code of conduct bylaw,” the report said.

This, according to Montague, provides the grounds for the review. 

“When the integrity commissioner themselves comes forward and says they’re not clear about what their role is, their scope is, that's a problem,” Montague said.

Stewart said he thinks council misunderstood Southern’s recommendation.

“I think it’s been taken out of context by council, and used as an excuse to really ramp down the accountability at council, which should be alarming to people,” he said.

Following Montague’s motion was an amendment by Coun. Lenny Zhou to pause Southern’s work until the review is completed.

Independent park board commissioner Laura Christensen called Zhou’s amendment, “problematic" and questioned the motive behind the move.

“We don’t know how many investigations are in the queue, how serious they are. It’s really an erosion of transparency and accountability at city hall,” she said.

Christensen also wanted to know why council was focusing on this issue now, six months after the report was published.

When asked about the timing, Montague told CTV News staff did not prepare a report for council based on Southern’s recommendations.

“I thought it was prudent to bring it forward,” he said.

It’s not clear how many investigations are currently underway because that information is confidential.

CTV News asked the mayor and councillors if they were aware of any open investigations involving them.

Each councillor said no.

Mayor Ken Sim’s office said Southern has reviewed dozens of complaints against him, the majority stemming from one person.

“Of the other complaints investigated, most were found to be frivolous or out of scope and were dismissed by the integrity commissioner,” his office added.

In a rare move, Sim called a special council meeting Tuesday to consider amendments to the code of conduct bylaw.

Stewart said he thinks the special meeting was called because the amendment was made on the fly. He believes ABC should have consulted with every member of council and the public before pushing this motion through.

“I did chair council for four years and I've pretty well seen everything. And that is a bit of a gong show,” Stewart said.

Montague said the motion has nothing to do with ABC trying to hide anything or to halt any particular ongoing investigations.

“I’m not being secretive about anything,” he said. “I’ve been pretty clear.”