Councillor's way of proposing change violated conduct code, investigator says

An probe into Strait Shores Coun. Andy MacGregor, who was lone allowed astatine 2 assembly meetings earlier being banished from municipal property, has finished with a blameworthy verdict.

An researcher found MacGregor violated the Strait Shores codification of conduct, needs grooming successful however to beryllium a councillor, and should take part successful mediation with his colleagues.

MacGregor won a January byelection successful the agrarian municipality southeast of Moncton.

But helium rubbed his chap councillors and municipal unit the incorrect mode with his questions and his projected changes in however things are done astatine the municipality, according to the investigator's report.

MacGregor has said helium joined assembly to beforehand transparency, truthful helium introduced motions that included having meeting minutes and documents posted quickly. 

What followed were resignations by 2 councillors and by Mayor Jason Stokes, who issued a blistering letter calling MacGregor the "town bully." The 2 councillors aboriginal rescinded their resignations, though 1 has since resigned again.

The remaining councillors, done a motion, then ordered MacGregor to enactment distant from municipal property, unit and chap councillors portion an researcher looked into whether his behaviour violated the codification of conduct. 

The probe was conducted by Rollie King of MC Advisory, which describes itself connected its website arsenic a quality resources advisory steadfast affiliated with McInnes Cooper, a instrumentality firm.

WATCH | 'His attack was doomed to fail':

In the report, which CBC obtained, King said helium interviewed each councillors, MacGregor, municipal CAO Donna Hipditch and clerk Angela Grant. Stokes declined to participate.

King said astir of the unit accusations against MacGregor were astir his behaviour before helium joined council, chiefly astir his asking questions and his demanding requests for information. Staff said the measurement of requests and MacGregor's behaviour hurt their health.

King said this was important context, though his occupation was to see accusations made astir MacGregor's authoritative clip arsenic a councillor.

King wrote that members of council, whom helium didn't name, felt MacGregor demonstrated a deficiency of respect toward them, had an docket and was aggressive.

King did not see immoderate examples of this oregon immoderate impervious of the accusations against MacGregor. 

CBC News requested an interrogation with Local Government Minister Aaron Kennedy, oregon anyone from his section who could speak to the problems astatine Strait Shores, 1 of the caller municipalities created successful 2023 nether section governance reform.  

Department spokesperson Jennifer MacNeil denied this petition but sent an email saying the section is "aware of ongoing governance and administrative challenges" affecting Strait Shores. 

"As stated previously, the section remains committed to providing advice, guidance and further grooming and enactment opportunities to each section governments," MacNeil said, without including specifics.

Was councillor sanctioned?

In uncovering that MacGregor broke the codification of behaviour rules, King highlighted the councillor's code astir his proposed changes arsenic an illustration of disrespectful behaviour. 

King recovered MacGregor has an docket and his behaviour did not beforehand a tone of co-operation. He added that he feels MacGregor "holds immoderate animosity" toward the CAO.

King besides wrote that helium does not judge assembly was really sanctioning MacGregor when it voted to barroom him from meetings.

"Councillor MacGregor was, successful my words, 'sent home' until the probe was complete," King wrote. "This is communal successful workplace benignant of complaints."

MacGregor has shared an email with CBC News that helium received from the Local Government Commission, which described the sanctions helium received arsenic a "suspension."

Municipal authorities experts person questioned the legality of those sanctions due to the fact that they were antithetic from the database of allowed sanctions successful the Strait Shores assembly codification of conduct. They were besides handed down earlier the probe was completed.

King recommended that each members of unit and assembly enactment successful a "facilitated" mediation. 

"I observed a fractured narration betwixt Councillor MacGregor and assembly and staff. It is my presumption that it is repairable." 

King ended by saying MacGregor clearly has a passionateness for improving section governance. 

"It is my sentiment that it was wholly misguided and his attack was doomed to fail," King wrote.

"His objectives for stronger governance are laudable. His methods to execute it were not."

When reached by telephone Thursday, King declined an interview, directing questions to the municipality. CBC News requested an interrogation with Annamarie Boyd, the acting mayor, but did not get a response.

Councillor stands by actions

In an interview, MacGregor said the probe process felt fair, but helium stands by his actions. He said helium "respectfully disagrees" with the characterization that his behaviour amounted to bullying and harassment. 

Before joining council, MacGregor said, helium asked for things specified arsenic gathering minutes oregon documents that hadn't been posted connected the website. He besides said helium filed respective close to accusation requests with the municipality.

"I ne'er demanded anything, helium said. "Asking for thing aggregate times — I mean, is that a demand, oregon conscionable persistence?"

He besides took contented with the investigator's uncovering that helium was acting with an agenda.

"I'm speaking connected behalf of the people. This isn't my objective, right? I mean, I'm conscionable the messenger here, this is the radical of Straight Shores' agenda. This is what they want."

Next measurement not clear

King's study makes nary notation of allowing MacGregor backmost to council.

The sanctions MacGregor received successful February said they were successful effect "until specified clip arsenic an probe is complete."

It's besides unclear if the assembly tin adjacent judge the report.

Coun. Stacy Jones has resigned for a 2nd time, and her sanction and interaction have been removed from the municipal website. The council, which usually has 5 members, including the mayor, is present down to three, including MacGregor and the acting mayor.

Although MacGregor is barred from participating successful meetings, Oley said helium is inactive a subordinate of the council, which requires a quorum of three. 

"There is simply a quality betwixt a assembly having quorum and the aforesaid assembly having the indispensable quorum for a meeting," Oley said. 

CBC has asked some the CAO and municipal clerk for clarification connected erstwhile MacGregor volition beryllium allowed back, but there's been nary response.

Strait Shores council's April neeting was cancelled due to the fact that the municipal bureau had to determination one building over. The adjacent gathering would beryllium successful May.

"So it's benignant of odd," MacGregor said. "We person quorum, but we don't person quorum. What we person present is simply a non-functioning council.

"We can't marque immoderate decisions. Council can't adjacent get unneurotic to judge this report, and they can't adjacent enactment connected the study due to the fact that they request maine determination to bash that."

MacGregor said helium inactive has complaints lodged with the province's ombud and the Local Governance Commission, which is not an entreaty body, and indispensable hold until a council's probe into behaviour allegations is implicit earlier starting its own.

Mary Oley, the Local Governance Commission director, confirmed successful an email April 3 to MacGregor that the committee "is alert of the resignation of erstwhile councillor Stacey Jones." But successful an email to CBC News connected April 10, Oley said  the committee "has not been officially advised that a councillor has resigned from Strait Shores."

"In bid for the LGC to beryllium officially alert of a vacancy, we indispensable beryllium advised by Elections NB aft they person received notification of the vacancy from the section government. To date, we person not received specified a notification from Elections NB for Strait Shores."