Judge lifts sanctions against Medicine Hat mayor, but council may seek provincial inspection

A Calgary judge has reversed most of the sanctions Medicine Hat city council placed on Mayor Linnsie Clark earlier this year, restoring her mayoral duties and her full salary. 

But the agenda for city council's next meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, includes notice of a motion that asks the province to conduct a municipal inspection of the mayor, council and city administration, as a result of the dispute from earlier this year.

In March, council found that Clark breached the city's code of conduct bylaw in her treatment of city manager Ann Mitchell at a council meeting last August. It said she failed to treat Mitchell with "courtesy, dignity and respect."

As a result, council approved a list of sanctions, which included suspending Clark's presiding duties and cutting her pay in half.

The sanctions also included:

• Publishing a letter of reprimand.
• Requesting an apology.
• Removing Clark as the official council spokesperson.
• Prohibiting her from entering city hall's administration area.
• Prohibiting her from contacting city staff outside council meetings.
• Barring her from communicating with Mitchell outside of email messages that must be copied to all council members.

A Court of King's Bench Alberta decision by Justice Rosemary Nation, released earlier this week, struck down most of the sanctions against Clark. It described the decision to suspend her presiding duties, slash her pay, remove her as spokesperson and bar her from administration committee meetings as disproportionate and unreasonable.

As a result, Clark will resume her presiding duties as well as her role as council's official spokesperson and her attendance at administrative committee meetings. Her salary will be restored retroactively.

Tuesday's meeting presents the first opportunity for Clark to discuss with council how to move forward and work together effectively.

"Ultimately, these jobs are given to us by the public, and through the election, they've put trust in us to work in their benefit. So that's what I plan to continue to do," Clark said.

The meeting is also scheduled to include a discussion about whether to call for a municipal inspection by the provincial government, which would examine whether the mayor, council and city administration are acting appropriately and in accordance with provincial rules.

The upcoming meeting's agenda includes a discussion about whether to call for the province to conduct a municipal inspection of Clark, council and city administration, which examines whether these groups are acting appropriately.

The notice of motion comes from Coun. Andy McGrogan and states that it's a result of the "fractured relationship" between the mayor, council and city manager, which may have been "further divided" by mediation attempts that haven't led to a positive outcome.

Clark said she's open to a discussion about a potential inspection but wants to hear about potential consequences associated with it, including how long it could last as a municipal election is scheduled for next year.

The mayor and council will look to work together after Nation wrote "no reasonable municipal council" would have imposed the now lifted sanctions.

Nation added that council members "appear to have no sense of proportionality" in crafting sanctions, imposing penalties with "no rational connection" to Clark's breach of conduct.

But Nation did find the letter of reprimand and request for apology to be reasonable. Clark has not confirmed if she will apologize to council.

Nation also wrote that while restricting or monitoring Clark and Mitchell's communication is reasonable, she's sending that sanction back for council's review, because a total prohibition against the mayor entering city hall's administration area, or having direct contact with city staff other than Mitchell, unreasonably restricted her.

Council can now reconsider a measure that protects Mitchell but doesn't restrict Clark's duties.

After Nation's decision, Clark urged the province to create an independent Office of the Municipal Integrity and Ethics Commissioner that can offer a third-party perspective or guidance on matters such as the dispute between Clark and council.

"It would take the investigation and decisions around sanctions potentially out of the hands of council," Clark said.

"So council isn't investigating themselves, isn't drawing lines and taking sides. They're putting it out externally for someone else to do that, so you don't inadvertently disrupt the flow or relationships within council."