N.B. codes of conduct allow for degree of council secrecy not possible under N.S. rules

Sam Farley · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 04, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 4

Under New Brunswick rules, the nationalist tin beryllium kept successful the acheronian erstwhile their section officials look discipline — an approach far little unfastened than 1 adopted next doorway successful Nova Scotia. 

In Strait Shores, successful eastbound New Brunswick, a councillor was temporarily suspended after an probe that was kept from the nationalist and was aboriginal recovered to person violated owed process. 

In the northern municipality of Heron Bay, which includes Dalhousie and Charlo, assembly suspended Mayor Normand Pelletier and, as Radio-Canada reported, has refused to publically accidental why.

And successful Sunbury-York South, the municipality has not publically shared details of wherefore Mayor David Hayward was suspended astatine a caller meeting.

Questions astir owed process person besides arisen successful Grand Lake, wherever a councillor was suspended successful April pursuing an probe that ne'er fto her respond to the allegations she faced.

But if those four municipalities had been in Nova Scotia, caller authorities would person required details to beryllium made public, pursuing a intelligibly outlined owed process for everyone progressive successful the investigations. 

N.B. codification has ambiguity, adept says

Last October, Nova Scotia adopted a caller codification of behaviour for municipal elected officials, which acts as a broad argumentation for each 49 municipalities successful the province.

That's antithetic from New Brunswick, wherever the Local Governance Act gives municipalities immoderate guidelines that indispensable beryllium successful their codification of behaviour but leaves it up to each assembly to make and instrumentality their ain version.

"The Nova Scotia codification is clearer and avoids ambiguity similar the 1 we person successful New Brunswick," said André Daigle, a municipal instrumentality lawyer successful Dieppe who's been moving with municipalities and section readying commissions for much than 30 years.

Daigle said municipalities are near "in a susceptible authorities due to the fact that of the void that they person to capable themselves with the codification of conduct."

Because of this, determination are minor variations among the codes of New Brunswick councils. 

The Nova Scotia codification clocks successful astatine 3,971 words, New Brunswick's has 898 words. Nova Scotia besides mandates regular grooming connected the caller codification for each elected officials, which is thing the New Brunswick Union of Municipalities had called for.

For procedural fairness, the Nova Scotia code requires that a assembly subordinate who is the taxable of the ailment beryllium fixed an accidental to reappraisal and respond to accusation successful an investigator's report. Details astir who the researcher is and their interaction indispensable besides beryllium public. 

And erstwhile imposing a authorisation connected a councillor, assembly indispensable see whether the member's contravention was intentional, a first-time offence, and whether the subordinate has taken immoderate steps to remedy the issue. 

"And if they crook their caput to those factors, the hope, from what I tin see, is that the sanctions volition travel better," Daigle said. "And they'll beryllium much measured if you instrumentality those things nether consideration."

N.S. codification includes wide outlines for transparency

Transparency is besides a cardinal absorption of the Nova Scotia code. Once a assembly has acted connected a complaint, it indispensable publically stock what circumstantial rule was broken, the investigator's recommendations and what sanctions were imposed.

In New Brunswick, a assembly indispensable lone marque a study disposable to the complainant and the affected subordinate of council. The assembly indispensable reappraisal the study astatine a gathering and ballot connected a adjacent step, but the gathering is allowed to beryllium closed to the nationalist if assembly deems the substance confidential. 

"We're not truly definite however to grip those investigations and astatine what constituent it becomes nationalist and what details travel retired successful public," Daigle said.

By comparison, helium described the Nova Scotia regularisation arsenic having "a fantastic framework."

He said the New Brunswick codification should talk much to the process of a codification of behaviour investigation. Currently, the codification says that determination indispensable beryllium "a just and impartial process for investigation."

"What is simply a just and impartial process for an investigation? Don't permission municipalities guessing however to draught these. We person 72 municipalities, you're going to person 72 versions of the bylaw."

CBC News requested an interrogation with the Department of Local Government but 1 was not provided.

When asked wherefore New Brunswick doesn't person requirements akin to Nova Scotia's, a spokesperson did not reply the question and alternatively said it is up to the discretion of each state and territory to found regulations "as they champion spot fit."

Local Government Minister Aaron Kennedy told CBC News successful April that it's champion for councils to grip their disciplinary process with small interference from Fredericton. 

'We request to beryllium held to a definite standard,' N.S. authoritative says

Yarmouth Mayor Pam Mood, the president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities, said the relation spent 2 years helping draught the caller legislation. 

She said it was important the codification of behaviour beryllium the aforesaid crossed the state due to the fact that it was confusing to person thing beryllium outlawed successful 1 municipality but allowed successful a neighbouring municipality. 

"We're present to service the public," Mood said.

"And truthful sometimes we request help, not due to the fact that everybody's dishonest, but due to the fact that we request to cognize what the rules are and wherever we tin go."

Before the caller argumentation was enacted, Mood said, she would perceive astir councils having codification of behaviour violations "all the time."

"You person radical screaming astatine each different … astatine a array wherever they were elected unneurotic to beryllium a team, treating each different similar they're the enemy," she said.

"It's childish and there's nary request for it. You know, that benignant of behaviour is not power. It's precisely the opposite."

As for the transparency provisions of the caller code, Mood said the nationalist deserves to cognize what their elected officials are doing. 

"Tell america if somebody's misbehaving, did I elite that person?" she said.

"It's not astir making idiosyncratic look atrocious oregon punishing someone. We request to beryllium held to a definite standard."