N.S. municipalities welcome provincewide code of conduct, but not without questions

Municipalities in Nova Scotia are welcoming rules for council member behaviour, but some have concerns about the provincewide policy. 

It was introduced by the province after the Oct. 19 municipal elections in Nova Scotia. The code of conduct covers collegiality, respect, integrity, professionalism, transparency and responsibility.

All municipalities are required to sign on to the legislation by Dec 19. 

On Monday, Truro town council voted 5-2 to implement the code of conduct. 

"We feel the code of conduct is needed," said Truro Mayor Cathy Hinton in an interview. "The majority of the document is very good, but there's no option to raise concerns at this point except to advocate for amendments from the province." 

Finding an investigator 

The code, which includes processes for investigating complaints and imposing sanctions, was developed based on recommendations of a working group established in January 2022.

The Association of Municipal Administrators is developing "a list of qualified investigators that municipalities could engage to meet mandated obligations" under the new code, according to a statement from the organization. 

During Truro council discussion, members questioned the feasibility of finding and paying for an investigator to complete reports when a complaint is received. Councillors also raised questions about how the code would affect CAO relations, and wanted clarity around gifts and donations policies. 

"In reality, we feel it's a bit too broad and not specific enough," Hinton said, adding the questions will be raised with the province. 

The Department of Municipal Affairs declined an interview request by CBC News, and said it has yet to hear negative feedback from municipalities.

"We're confident in the level of consultation that was undertaken with municipalities, and we'll continue to work with municipalities to bring them on board," said a department spokesperson in a statement.

Pam Mood, president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities, said she also had yet to hear complaints. She said it took two years to develop the code of conduct, and training for council members is scheduled for the new year. 

"It's meant to be completely positive, to help individuals understand — I can't believe I have to say this — how we need to behave at the table," Mood said in an interview.

"Some people, you know, need a little bit of guidance, and others need the ability to be able to say, 'You know what this is? This is not appropriate.'"

The code is also a guide to help elected officials determine an appropriate response to complaints once an investigator completes their report. Elected officials will be asked to consider factors such as the length of the rule break, whether it was intentional, previous infractions, and any other factors contributing to the council member's conduct.  

Warden James Fuller of the Municipality of the District of St. Mary's said the sanctions, which range from warning letters and training to a six-month suspension from duties or $1,000 fine, are welcome. He said despite the municipality having a code of conduct previously, punishments were limited. 

"Nothing hits harder than a sanction that might affect your pocketbook," Fuller said in an interview. 

Still, he hopes it won't have to be enforced. 

"Municipalities in Nova Scotia are not Chicago politics. I'm not going to have the town crew here building me a deck, and I just don't think you'll see that. But in the event something happens, we do have this to fall back on," he said. 

While municipalities welcome the code many asked for, some are concerned about an overwhelming number of conflict-of-interest declarations by elected officials in rural communities. 

"You're not going to have your whole council stepping away," said Mood.

"Discuss that with your solicitors, see where you stand on it and ... go from there. But, you know, everybody's involved in non-profits. We just have to do our best to make sure that we're not crossing any lines." 

What's a conflict?

Allen Webber, warden of the Municipality of the District of Chester, said members of council who devote time to volunteering are concerned how the code might impact those activities.

"We're relatively small communities. And the half of the reason we got elected in the first place is because we're involved with all of these community organizations," said Webber, a volunteer firefighter and legion member.

Webber said there was hope the issue could be clarified at last month's annual general meeting of the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities, but that didn't happen on the heels of back-to-back elections. 

"The timing was not perfect," he said. "New councillors aren't even aware of what we do, hardly, let alone how they would be in conflict."