Vancouver council upholds integrity commissioner report into councillor's 'inappropriate' online comments

Vancouver city council has upheld an investigative report from the city's integrity commissioner over a breach of the city's code of conduct, choosing not to further sanction a councillor for allegedly inappropriate online comments.

The report, from earlier this month, was before councillors on Tuesday, who were asked to review it and endorse its recommendations on sanctions, or to come up with alternatives.

In the Oct. 20 report, integrity commissioner Lisa Southern found that Coun. Christine Boyle was in breach of the code for comments in an email and on social media about the appointment of Harrison Fleming, whom Mayor Ken Sim had hired as his new communications director.

"Today, we found out some astonishing news: Ken Sim has hired an operative from some of Canada's worst and most right-wing governments to work in his office," said part of the email from Boyle sent in late August.

It also commented about Fleming's work with the Doug Ford provincial government in Ontario and the Jason Kenney provincial government in Alberta.

Sim subsequently filed a complaint, saying that Boyle had breached a section of the code which requires that "all communications by, and on behalf of a member, including communications made via social media, are respectful and do not discriminate, harass, or defame any person."

Boyle said upon reflection that her comments "crossed a line," and were personal in nature. Southern wrote in her report that Boyle ultimately recognized the comments were inappropriate.

"These are the remedies I would have made in this case," said Southern's report. "Given they have already been implemented by Cllr. Boyle, on her own initiative, I do not recommend any sanction."

Council decided Tuesday that commissioner Southern's assessment that Boyle's apology over the comments, which included pinning it to her X account and directly to Fleming, was enough of a sanction and no further action was required.

Sim and Boyle abstained from the vote over the motion, which passed without further discussion.

2nd integrity commissioner ruling

Around the same time the investigative report over Boyle's Harrison comments was made public, the city's integrity commissioner provided another ruling involving Boyle and the city's code of conduct.

Southern ruled in that instance Boyle did not contravene the city's code when she revealed she voted against the city's decision to stop being a Living Wage Employer. 

The decision was made in a private council meeting — known as in camera — in January, and then made public by the city in March. 

Mayor Ken Sim filed a complaint a week after Boyle's statement, arguing it was a breach of the code, and declined an offer by Southern to resolve the dispute through an informal resolution. 

Boyle successfully argued the city's official communication plan for the announcement, along with the advice she received from staff, allowed her to state how she voted. 

It was the first time since Vancouver council created a code of conduct in 2021 that a mayor had used it to file a complaint against a fellow councillor.