Proposal to suspend work of Vancouver's integrity commissioner quietly fizzles out

Justin McElroy · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 19, 2025 10:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: June 19

A year-long contention astatine Vancouver City Hall has ended not with a bang, but with a procedural ruling connected a constituent of order.

"This question would beryllium frivolous, and is retired of order," work Mayor Ken Sim astatine assembly connected Tuesday morning, dismissing an amendment to Vancouver's codification of behaviour that would person temporarily suspended Integrity Commissioner Lisa Southern's quality to analyse complaints against the politician and council. 

"Basically, we tin conscionable transportation on."

The question was brought guardant past July by ABC Vancouver councillors, who argued an outer reappraisal and impermanent suspension of investigations would let for much clarity astir the Office of the Integrity Commissioner.

But the statement became paralyzed and acrimonious owed to code-of-conduct investigations prompted by accusations from assorted members of assembly and parkland committee against each other, and allegations that councillors were trying to soundlessness the assemblage successful complaint of investigating them. 

WATCH | Debate implicit integrity commissioner ends: 

Over the past 11 months, the ballot for a suspension of investigations was delayed 4 times. During that time an outer probe into the bureau — which recommended much independency from assembly — was launched and concluded. 

"It has been a batch of wasted resources and clip to get to this point," said Coun. Pete Fry.

Vancouver's Mayor Office said they considered the substance closed.

In a statement, Southern said she looked guardant to continuing her work, portion noting she has endorsed the metropolis hiring her replacement before her word ends successful December.

"Throughout the past 3 and a fractional years, I person remained committed to carrying retired my responsibilities impartially and diligently, and I americium arrogant of the enactment my bureau has done successful work of assembly and the public," she wrote. 

"I look guardant to supporting a creaseless and nonrecreational modulation implicit the coming months."

'It's somewhat toothless'

While Vancouver's statement implicit however to resoluteness code-of-conduct disputes has subsided, the state is deciding however aboriginal investigations into section politicians should beryllium conducted amid frustrations over a fig of feuding metropolis councils crossed the province.

Fry said helium supported Vancouver continuing to person its ain integrity commissioner, but said the state could make mechanisms to support the bureau and allow for binding punishments, neither of which beryllium astatine the moment. 

"We request a small spot much enforcement with immoderate of these rulings erstwhile it comes to breaches of our oath of office, oregon codification of conduct," helium said. 

"The integrity commissioner doesn't person the quality nether the Vancouver Charter to enforce immoderate sanctions. So successful galore respects, it's somewhat toothless."

It was a constituent underlined by Reece Harding, Surrey's archetypal morals commissioner, who has been hired for code-of-conduct investigations successful aggregate municipalities.

"[In B.C.], there's thing truly that dictates however decision-makers are enactment successful place, clarity astir process, clarity astir sanctions and remedies," Harding said.

"And truthful it's a spot of a free-for-all retired there."

What exemplary to take?

Each province that has tackled the issue has travel up with somewhat antithetic solutions.

Ontario precocious passed authorities that standardizes municipal codes of behaviour crossed the province, and allows for mayors and councillors in superior usurpation of the code to beryllium removed from office, but lone if the province's ain integrity commissioner agrees and it gets a unanimous ballot from council.

Last year, New Brunswick created the Local Governance Commission, which tin instrumentality complaints if radical are not satisfied with interior investigations. It has the powerfulness to suspend section politicians oregon name supervisors, which it did 2 months agone successful Strait Shores.  

Alberta has gone successful the other direction, eliminating municipal codes of conduct while suggesting a abstracted morals commissioner could beryllium appointed. 

"There volition beryllium circumstances wherever it seems tenable to maine that the state needs to person a bigger stick," Harding said.

He added that immoderate strategy is enacted should stop situations wherever municipalities walk months oregon years investigating themselves with nary resolution.

"Clear process, wide remedies and a relation for the provincial authorities wherever the section jurisdiction has go frozen and can't get themselves retired of that frozen crystal mask," helium said.

"They've gotta person idiosyncratic to travel successful and lick that occupation for them."