East St. Paul mayor breached election bylaw, conflict of interest act while working as councillor: ombudsman

A former East St. Paul councillor, who is now mayor, breached municipal and provincial bylaws by using the municipality's logo in their mayoral campaign and participating in a vote in which she had a personal interest, the Manitoba Ombudsman has found.

The independent office received a complaint regarding separate incidents involving a councillor who became a mayoral candidate in the 2022 election for the rural municipality just northeast of Winnipeg.

The ombudsman's report on the complaint, released on Jan. 28,  doesn't identify the councillor by name, and a spokesperson for the office declined to release it, citing privacy reasons. 

However, Carla Devlin, the municipality's current mayor, was the only councillor who ran for the post in 2022. She beat the only other mayoral contender, Lawrence Morris, who wasn't on the council at the time of the election. 

When CBC News reached out to Devlin's office for comment, she didn't explicitly confirm she was the councillor mentioned in the investigation, but did refer to her campaign and her past work as a councillor in addressing the issues raised by the ombudsman.

The then-councillor was accused of breaching municipal bylaws by including the East St. Paul logo on campaign materials.

'Unintentional error'

"In this case, it is not disputed that the councillor used the municipal logo for their election campaign," the ombudsman's report said.

But "we accept it was an unintentional error," it said. "[It] is supported by the councillor taking steps to remedy the situation once it was brought to their attention." 

The RM's chief administrative officer told the ombudsman that the councillor's marketing team used the logo without "adequately confirming permission" from the councillor, the report said. 

In her statement, Devlin said the RM's logo was used on door hangers created during her campaign, which included information about polling station locations.

"Unfortunately, in gathering the polling locations from the RM website, my printer mistakenly included the RM logo," she said, describing it as "an honest oversight."

"Running a municipal campaign is a challenge," she said in the emailed statement. "We do our best to navigate the rules, and I have always conducted myself with integrity and transparency."

She said when the issue was brought to her attention, she "ensured that no further materials with the logo were used."

The CAO also said the councillor "showed a willingness to comply … and destroy any remaining election materials" using the logo, the ombudsman's report said.

The ombudsman's report also noted "the councillor's willingness to address the situation." 

Still, the report said "any allegation against the election process has the potential to jeopardize public confidence." 

It said the municipality could improve its efforts to ensure staff are aware of regulations and protocols for using municipal resources ahead of the 2026 municipal election. 

Personal interest with developer 

A separate complaint addressed in the report concerned an alleged conflict of interest during the process of refunding a developer in 2021.

Under an agreement, the developer was required to pay $210,125 to East St. Paul to contribute toward future road upgrades as part of a 48-unit, multi-family development, the ombudsman said.

But in December 2021, the municipality eliminated the developer's access to the planned area, as the improvements were no longer necessary.

The developer asked the municipality to refund the payment for the road upgrades, and the request came before council for a vote. 

The complaint to the ombudsman's office argued that the councillor, who had a private business that was a contractor for the same developer, should not have participated in that vote.

The ombudsman's report says that according to the RM, an "administrative oversight" resulted in the matter going to council for a vote, and that "ordinarily, such approvals are handled at the administrative level."

The report noted if that had happened, "any alleged conflict of interest would have been avoided."

But the ombudsman's office agreed the councillor had indirect pecuniary and personal interests in the vote given the relationship with the developer. 

Identified conflict of interest: mayor

Devlin said in her statement she identified the potential conflict of interest and that her decision to vote "was based on the understanding that there was no pecuniary interest in the outcome, as I did not profit from the release of funds." 

Her business was contracted to construct the developer's apartment building, and would not have been hired to perform the road infrastructure upgrades, Devlin said.

The report said that while the councillor was correct in pointing out the conflict, they didn't follow established city procedures. 

Under the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, the councillor would have been required to withdraw from the meeting without voting, the ombudsman said.

"The appearance or perception of conflict can be as harmful to public trust and confidence as an actual conflict," the report said. 

"Once a connection between the personal and the public interest has been made, it can be very difficult to demonstrate a decision was not unduly influenced and remained procedurally fair." 

But Devlin said "while the report highlights a procedural inconsistency, it is important to note that the refund itself was never in question."

The ombudsman suggested the RM strengthen compliance with the Municipal Council Conflict of Interest Act, which council members and the CAO reviewed at a meeting in December. 

In response, the rural municipality reported that moving forward, it will maintain a central record with conflict of interest disclosures available to the public.

The report said the ombudsman "is satisfied with the action taken by the RM," and the office has concluded its investigation.