Iqaluit council passes new code of conduct

The three council members who got into a spat over Iqaluit City Council’s code of conduct, Mayor Mary Wilman, Coun. Kenny Bell and Coun. Stephen Mansell, did not attend the July 14 meeting that passed the controversial bylaw. (FILE PHOTO)

Iqaluit City Council passed their controversial councillor code of conduct bylaw at a meeting July 14.

The code of conduct is a rulebook governing how councillors are supposed to act — both inside and outside council, towards the public and towards each other.

That new rulebook was passed by a vote of three to one since only four councillors attended the meeting, along with Deputy Mayor Romeyn Stevenson.

Simon Nattaq, Terry Dobbin and Joanasie Akumalik voted in favour of the code of conduct. Papatsie was the only councillor to vote against it.

The third and final reading of the new code was a lot less heated than the last time councillors read the bylaw, on June 23.

That’s because there’s no debate at this stage of a bylaw’s reading.

Ironically, the three who sparred with each other over the content and intent of the code of conduct last time were not even present for the vote.

Mayor Mary Wilman and councillors Kenny Bell and Stephen Mansell were absent from the July 14 meeting.

On June 23 both Wilman and Mansell bickered with Bell and at one point, Mayor Wilman actually turned Bell’s microphone off.

Bell said he had “a million issues” with the code, but was particularly concerned about a line that stipulates the mayor has the final authority “to recommend any of the sanctions above or other remedial action at his or her discretion.”

That line is still in the code.

Some highlights from the code of conduct include:

• Councillors shall not act as if she/he were above the law;

• respecting each other’s right to hold different views and debate strongly on matters of difference;

• respecting the right of each councillor to speak and represent their views on the needs of citizens;

• always speaking well of each other and council in public;

• always being punctual to council meetings and civic events;

• always behaving with the appropriate level of decorum at council meetings and in public; and,

• demonstrating leadership by focusing on issues and refraining from personalizing matters particularly in relation to making personal remarks regarding other councillors, citizens or city staff.

Some of these rules might be hard to legally enforce.

Other parts of the code of conduct outline rules on accepting gifts and event tickets, conflict of interests and what can and can’t be communicated to the public.

“They are not above the law and do not have carte blanche to conduct themselves in any way they please. Councillors shall not demonstrate an attitude that because they are elected they may ‘do as they please,’” the code says.

Under the title of “enforcement of code of conduct,” councillors can receive anything from a “reprimand” to “restriction of access to city hall or other city facility,” to “such other recommendations as are deemed appropriate in the circumstances,” if they don’t abide by the rules set out in the new bylaw.

Kenny Bell actually seemed pleased with the passing of the code on Twitter.

“Although it needs changes I’ve been pushing for two years for it so I was hoping to call in to say thank you for approving the code of conduct,” Bell said in a tweet July 14.

“The brilliant politicians, they fell right into my trap and now they have to show up, read their materials, follow bylaws and follow law,” he wrote.

“You can expect real policy and procedures from [the city of Iqaluit] now because I will be pushing for it and issuing complaints when council fails.”