Dear Editor,
It’s with continued shock and disgust that I watch the RM of McKillop council and Reeve continue to behave unprofessionally and unethically in their dealings with tax payers, the media, and the continued attempts to keep their actions behind closed doors and in private sessions, away from the public eye.
All RM councillors/Reeves are required to have (and most importantly follow) a Code of Ethics as per Sec. 93.1(1) of The Municipalities Act. Also, The Municipalities Act, sets out in Sec. 92 and 93, the General Duties of Councilors and Reeves. Sec. 92 (a) of the Act clearly states councillors have the duty: “to represent the public and to consider the well-being and interests of the municipality;”. This means councillors and Reeves should not be pushing personal beliefs, agendas, or interests. Reeve Schmidt, in particular, seems to make decisions and take actions based on his own personal beliefs and agendas, which is NOT the role of RM council/Reeve. I would suggest the current RM council and Reeve have likely never actually read The Municipalities Act in its entirety, or clearly don’t understand it. I want to believe that there must be at least one or two RM councillors that believe that the Reeve and other councillors are not following The Code of Ethics Bylaw and/or The Municipalities Act, but I’m guessing maybe due to peer pressure, or timidness, are afraid to speak up and call other members of RM council out for their poor behaviour. Or maybe, I’m wrong and no one on RM council really cares to follow the rules?!
Back in 2019, SARM brought forward Resolution #12-19A to the Ministry of Government Relations. The resolution was in regards to enforcement of the Code of Ethics for RM council members. The resolution was requesting “that SARM advocate to the provincial government to develop regulations for The Municipalities Act that allow municipalities to present the Minister of Government Relations with sufficient evidence of repeated code of ethics violations and have the Minister order the offending council member removed from office.”. The response from The Ministry of Government Relations was this:
“The ministry believes fellow council members are in the best position to determine the seriousness of a member’s breach of the code of ethics and act on it. This is why councils have authority to deal with breaches through censure, suspension, training or other consequences to address bad behaviour and make it known to residents of the municipality.
No legislative or regulation amendments are needed for councils to act and respond to improper conduct. These actions cannot include removal from office - council members are elected by the voters and residents of the community who ultimately decide if the member should be re-elected if he or she runs again for office.
The minister also has the ability to inquire into the conduct of a council member and order his or her removal. This authority is rarely used, however, no legislative or regulation amendments are needed if the minister considers such an inquiry and removal necessary.
Conflict of interest, violating legal rules and breaking the law are less value-based and subjective than code of ethics violations. Therefore, there are more serious consequences for elected officials beyond disciplinary actions, including removal and disqualification from office, and legal action.
Warren Kaeding - Minister of Government Relations”.
So basically, RM councillors should be policing themselves and ensuring their fellow colleagues are following their code of ethics as per RM Bylaw 326/2017 and the duties as per The Municipalities Act. I would be suffice to say that the Reeve and some councillors are clearly not abiding by their own code of ethics or the duties prescribed in The Municipalities Act. For instance, the RM Code of Ethics Bylaw 326/2017 mentions several things, including Section 3.3.1 - Honesty, which states: “Members of council shall be truthful and open in their roles as council members...”, well clearly this isn’t happening. In Section 3.3.3 - Respect, it states in 3.3.3.2 - “...shall not use derogatory language towards others, shall respect the rights of other people and groups, shall treat people with courtesy and shall recognize the importance of the different roles others play in local government decision making.”, I’d suggest the derogatory and negative comments made towards LMT and its local reporter have been anything but respectful, and I’d go on to say that LMT as a local paper is a positive source of information sharing within the RM and the local area. In Section 3.3.4 - Transparency & Accountability, well, this RM council doesn’t believe in transparency or accountability, and simply hides behind closed sessions, and blames others for the issues within the RM.
Maybe any of the RM councillors who want to do the right thing but maybe feel pressured to “toe the line” should approach the Minister of Government Relations to make a formal complaint, or better yet RM residents need to start contacting the Minister of Government Relations to voice our concerns. The fact RM of McKillop council wants to continually have multiple private/closed meetings (on the RM tax payers dime) and in violation of Sec. 120 of The Municipalities Act, demand RM residents get building permits (when there is no legal authorization to do so), and avoid being transparent and open with the RM residents, makes me believe there are more than enough grounds to remove Reeve Schmidt (at the very least) if not most of the RM of McKillop council.
I’ll also add that my family and I started out as seasonal residents of this RM about 8/9 years ago. We loved the RM and the area so much that three years ago we moved from Regina, bought an acreage and now reside in the RM full time. This RM has so much potential, and has so much natural beauty. RM of McKillop has some of the best recreational opportunities around thanks to the RM bordering Last Mountain Lake, and last but certainly not least, the RM has a huge, and vital, farm/agricultural community within the RM that deserves the same respect, fairness and consideration as the residential/recreational segments of the RM. I believe if this RM had a Reeve and councillors that believed in transparency, honesty, respect and professionalism, that the infighting, financial irresponsibility, and political games that are currently common place would all but be a distant memory, and this RM would be better off.
Hoping things change for the better soon, Sincerely;
Scott Taylor, RM of McKillop resident
- Idea’s and opinions expressed here are those of the author
