The mayor of Essex calls provincial legislation to create a standard code of conduct for all municipalities along with stiffer penalties "a move in the right direction."
Sherry Bondy says she still needs to learn a lot more about the legislation but believes there could be cases where elected officials feel they're untouchable, and that should never be the case.
"We represent members of the public, and we should have those standards that we have to live by, and if we don't follow those standards, we should lose our jobs just like anyone else out there in private industry would lose their job," she says.
Municipal Affairs Minister Paul Calandra introduced a bill on Dec. 12 that would allow for the creation of a standard code of conduct for all municipalities and penalties of removing and disqualifying a member from office if they are in serious violation of the code.
In July 2021, Bondy, a then-councillor in Essex, was docked 30 days pay after the council endorsed a recommendation from the town's integrity commissioner, who ruled that Bondy's posts on social media directed at E.L.K. Energy Inc. staff violated the town's code of conduct.
Then-mayor Larry Snivley brought the ELK issue to the integrity commissioner in April 2021, but Bondy maintained the situation stemmed from her part in an investigation that led to charges being laid against Snively following the 2018 municipal election.
Snivley would resign as mayor of Essex in January 2022, days after he was issued a $10,000 fine following a guilty plea to a charge under the Municipal Elections Act.
Bondy says she thinks integrity commissioners should also be licensed in the province.
"Right now you don't need any legislation, any licenses, or requirements to be an integrity commissioner," she says. "So I think we have to have more checks and balances there, and they're screened, and there's more accountability of actual integrity commissioners. Because it seems like integrity commissioners can also have a bias."
The government says that removal and disqualification could only happen if the municipal integrity commissioner recommends it, if Ontario's integrity commissioner agrees, and if councillors, except for the member in question, unanimously agree to it in a vote.
Bondy says she's not sure if the removal process is too much and that it could take a long time.
"There could be some serious concerns or serious incidents that cause a council member to be removed quicker. I think we need to look at how and why council members are removed. Maybe it's not just related to the code of conduct," she says.
The proposed changes through the Municipal Accountability Act, 2024., if passed, would also include mandatory code of conduct training for members of council and certain local boards.