Vancouver council should amend the city’s code of conduct to enhance the structural independence of the integrity commissioner “to the greatest extent possible,” says a municipal law expert.
Lawyer Reece Harding, who served as Surrey’s ethics commissioner from 2020-22, recently reviewed the role of Vancouver’s integrity commissioner and the city’s code of conduct.
His report was released publicly last week.
“Absent provincial legislation, it is not possible for the city to create a fully independent office of the integrity commissioner,” Harding wrote.
“Until there is provincial legislation in place, however, we very strongly believe that these offices can only be successful if given as much independence as can possibly be created through bylaw amendment.”
'Unpopular or controversial'
To arrive at his conclusion, Harding and his staff conducted 24 interviews with council members, integrity commissioner Lisa Southern and her team, city staff and “others knowledgeable in the area of elected official conduct.”
He said he heard “from many” that the code was not providing Southern with sufficient independence.
“It was felt by many that the integrity commissioner needed better structural protections from being removed from office in circumstances where, for example, one of her decisions was unpopular or controversial,” he said.
He added there was a “near unanimous feeling” that the city needs provincial guidance in the form of new and enhanced legislation to support both the code and the office of integrity commissioner.
British Columbia remains one of the only — if not the only — jurisdiction in Canada to not have substantive provincial legislation around council codes of conduct. This lack of provincial legislative guidance was identified by Harding as one of the central challenges to improve the city’s code.
That gap was highlighted by B.C. Ombudsperson Jay Chalke in an August 2024 letter to Anne Kang, who was municipal affairs minister at the time. Chalke urged the ministry to take steps to develop a consistent, province-wide and legally binding approach to complaints and investigations into the conduct of council members.
“As you know, some local governments have established ethics or integrity commissioners by bylaw,” he wrote.
“However, given the mechanism through which they are established, such locally established municipal integrity regimes remain vulnerable to political interference by the very body whose activities the commissioners are intended to superintend.”
'One area of vulnerability'
Southern said in an email Wednesday that she appreciated the work that Harding and his team have done “and the spotlight he has put on the frailty of these roles” if they are not created and protected in some manner through provincial legislation.
“Currently, they exist as creatures of bylaw where the very body we are meant to hold accountable is also the creator, changer or canceller of the oversight role,” she said, noting Harding’s role as commissioner in Surrey was also reviewed.
“We both experienced councils attempting or successfully achieving the freezing of our functions. In the absence of legislative protection, that is one area of vulnerability for the role that will continue in this province.”
Harding was hired by the City of Vancouver to conduct a review after council voted 6-2 in July 2024 to temporarily pause any new or ongoing investigations being conducted by the independent agency headed up by Southern.
The move led by ABC Vancouver councillors Brian Montague and Lenny Zhou was related to Southern writing in her 2023 annual report that the scope of her role in providing oversight of the conduct of council and advisory board members “is not always clear.”
Southern made recommendations for amendments to the code of conduct bylaw to mitigate her concerns, but they have yet to go before council for adoption or discussion.
Park board commissioners
Opposition councillors from OneCity and the Greens suggested the timing of the pause could be connected to ongoing investigations, with then-councillor Christine Boyle saying during the July meeting: “I hope nothing is being swept under the rug here, and I hope that this isn't an excuse to reduce the scope of the integrity commissioner's office.”
Two months later, Zhou attempted to rescind his amendment from July after citing pushback from citizens since he announced his intention. But he was unable to do so because he and his ABC colleagues had since become the subject of complaints from Green Party Coun. Pete Fry.
A vote on rescinding the motion would put the ABC politicians in conflict because the complaints from Fry were before Southern’s office. At the time, none of the ABC councillors, nor Fry would discuss the nature of the complaints, citing privacy reasons.
The public has since learned one of Fry’s complaints was related to his concerns over ABC park board commissioners meeting several times in private to discuss park board business.
Southern released her report Feb. 21.
She found Fry’s complaint to be “well-founded” and concluded that six of seven commissioners named in the complaint breached their obligations under the park board’s code of conduct policy.
Fair, independent, accountable
Now that Harding’s review is complete, it’s unclear when or whether council will adopt his recommendations. Council has a “special meeting” scheduled for April 6 regarding amendments to the code of conduct, but they deal directly with independent reviews.
City manager Paul Mochrie said in an email Thursday that council is currently reviewing the report and Harding's recommendations.
“At such a time that council provides staff direction pertaining to any updates to the code of conduct in a forthcoming public council meeting, staff will work to implement council's direction,” Mochrie said.
Mayor Ken Sim noted in an email that Southern herself raised concerns about the scope of her role in her annual report. The mayor didn’t indicate when Harding’s recommendations would be considered by council, but said he takes them seriously.
“We’re committed to working with council and city staff to make smart, thoughtful changes that improve transparency and fairness to a process that isn’t just flawed, but also costly to taxpayers,” he said. “Vancouverites deserve a system that’s fair, independent, and built to uphold accountability.”
X/@Howellings
