CANMORE – Members of Town of Canmore committee and boards will have a new code of conduct to follow.
Canmore council approved the creation of the new code of conduct at its September meeting, which will also outline eligibility and roles of members that were previously indicated through terms of references and bylaws.
“Right now, we have no guidance for the public when they consider applying for a committee and we also have no guidance for council when you’re making committee appointments, so this bylaw is attempting to fill that gap,” said Town CAO Sally Caudill.
The new code of conduct for committees and boards will also include a formal complaint process, with Town staff having reviewed similar documents in Spruce Grove, Airdrie and Edmonton.
“To date, we have not had anything that provides guidance on who cannot be appointed to a committee,” a staff report noted. “This bylaw sets out the criteria for who is ineligible for consideration for appointment to a committee. Having this bylaw in place provides council clear eligibility criteria to assist in their decision-making.”
The bylaw outlines people applying for such roles have to be a Canmore resident at least 18 years old, be free of conflict of interest for the position to which they are applying for, have no known unethical behaviour or violation of professional standards, and not be in financial arrears with the Town or have unresolved tickets with the municipality.
“Sometimes we do have people who apply who are in the process, mainly around municipal enforcement issues or it might be a legal issue regarding the Town of Canmore, and probably that’s not the best time for them to be on a board or committee until that issue is managed,” Caudill said.
If a person is accepted to a committee or board position, they aren’t allowed to miss three consecutive meetings unless the absence is medical-related or has been authorized by the committee or board.
The policy comes into effect before council has its annual organizational meeting on Oct. 23, at which time new members for various Town-led committees, boards, commissions and task forces are selected.
“It is important that public members understand their role and what is expected of
them when representing the Town of Canmore on a committee,” according to the report.
Caudill said anyone applying for committee or board positions would receive a copy of the bylaw.
Council previously directed Town staff in 2023 to create the bylaw, with its return to come before the annual organizational meeting in October.
The report noted the intent is to eventually expand the bylaw to include all council committees into one bylaw.
Council already has its own code of conduct policy, which was discussed earlier this year to possibly update the code to have new methods for the way council receives complaints from an investigation, how mediation can take place and when an investigator’s report is provided to council.
The Municipal Government Act requires councils to have a code of conduct, which Canmore did in 2018. A council has to review and potentially update it at least once a term.
The Town uses Banff-based Barbara McNeil as its code of conduct investigator and has Sage Analytics as its backup investigator.
The provincial government has a guide developed with Alberta Municipalities to help both residents and council members with code of conducts.
Council’s code of conduct outlines how they adhere to policies, procedures and bylaws as well as respectful interactions, confidential information and abstaining from voting when there’s a conflict of interest.
The Town is accepting committee and board applications until Sept. 23, with more than 20 positions open on nine different boards and committees such as Canmore Community Housing, Subdivision and Development Appeal Board, Canmore Library Board and Assessment Review Board.
“I feel that council recognized in providing direction to administration to bring back a bylaw that there’s a gap and this aims to fill a gap,” said Mayor Sean Krausert. “Of course, we’ll learn as we go as there’s likely to be situations that arise and we may need to amend over time. For now, I think this is a very good bylaw and it covers what we need covered.”
