Retired judge takes on Calgary integrity commissioner post as 'chance to contribute'

Retired judge Sal LoVecchio has been appointed as Calgary's new integrity commissioner.

The integrity commissioner is tasked to investigate any complaints of ethical wrong-doing or policy breaches by city council members.

Calgary's first commissioner announced his retirement earlier this year. City council unveiled its choice for the part-time, two-year term job on Monday. 

LoVecchio served as a judge on the Court of Queen's Bench for 22 years before retiring last fall. That experience, he said, will help him be a good listener and treat both complainants and councillors with respect.

"What's interesting is — you see this in the court — oftentimes, people don't like what you say or like what you do, particularly if you rule against them," LoVecchio said.

"But if you've treated them with respect and you have listened to what they have to say and you explain why you don't agree with them, you move on."

'Systemic problems'

By coincidence, the appointment comes the same day as a CBC News article on a 2014 third-party investigation into city councillor conduct. The city fought for years to hide the findings from the public.

The investigator found substantiated complaints of councillor misconduct, including disrespectful behaviour and discrimination or harassment, and "systemic problems in the workplace."

Complaints about councillor behaviour now go through the integrity commissioner's office.

The first integrity commissioner, former judge Allen Sulatycky, submitted one public report during his term, after investigating a complaint regarding comments Mayor Naheed Nenshi made about Uber, the ride-sharing company.

In his first year on the job, the commissioner received 17 complaints. The report on his second year is scheduled to be released this month.

'Chance to contribute'

Despite the part-time nature of the job, LoVecchio says he hopes to make good strides toward maintaining the integrity that's important for all public officials to hold.

"It's a chance to stay involved and doing something say a quasi-judicial function," he said. "I'm still operating with all my marbles, so I'm not ready to play golf all the time or travel all the time.

"So this is a chance to contribute."

The position pays a retainer fee of $2,000 per month, plus an hourly rate of $200 for services, as needed.

• MORE CALGARY NEWS | 'Systemic problems' with councillor conduct found in report city fought to keep secret
• MORE CALGARY NEWS | 5 charged after allegedly selling carfentanil as heroin for higher price