Judicial Review Was Avoidable
The decision handed down by Justice Rosemary Nation on August 26 2024 set a precedent for Code of Conduct Cases in Alberta.
Once again, Medicine Hat was first!
Justice Nation upheld the finding that Mayor Clark violated the Code of Conduct by the interaction between Clark and City Manager Ann Mitchell at the Aug 21 2023 Shitshow Showdown. Justice Nation found the sanctions excessive and removed most of them.
The question is, how did we get to this point? Mayor Clark had presided at Council for nearly two years before Aug 21 2023 with no issues whatsoever. No Code of Conduct complaints, no hint that anything was wrong.
There Are Some Clues In The Decision
An interesting part is the portion called
“FACTS”
Paragraph 4 says “The facts are not in dispute.”
It goes on to describe how City Manager Ann Mitchell bypassed both the MGA (Municipal Government Act)and Bylaw 4662 (8 whole pages), Mitchell saying she had the authority to make these changes without going to Council first. (Councillor Dumanoswki said “ This is how it’s done - period.” He was wrong.)
Nation said “Ms. Mitchell did not believe approval was necessary, and this was discussed between Mitchell and Clark. Clark is a lawyer, and she understood that governance rules required Council approval.”
Paragraph 5 says “Between the July 4 and August 21 meeting, Mitchell apparently changed her mind, and accepted that approval was necessary, but this was not communicated to Clark before the August meeting. Also, during this period, Clark privately requested and obtained a legal opinion about the issue, the opinion was not disclosed by her to anyone until the August 21 meeting.”
This whole thing could have been avoided if Mitchell
had disclosed to Clark that she was wrong
had told Clark that she accepted that she did the reorganization out of order. Clark would’ve had no reason to seek an external legal opinion.
had communicated with Clark about how it happened and how to prevent it from happening again.
You cannot fix a problem without first admitting there is a problem and then defining it.
I have all the respect in the world for people who can admit when they are wrong.
Mitchell never did that. Instead, on August 21 2023 Mitchell deflected and said things like
This is the way it’s always been done, and
The AO Bylaw used to have 5 divisions and there hasn’t been five for quite some time.
No acknowledgement that she was wrong
No apology for doing the wrong thing
Just deflection
I have no respect for someone who tries to shift blame.
Bypassing the MGA is a rookie mistake.
Bypassing a bylaw is a rookie mistake.
When we have a City Manager making well over a quarter million dollars per year, we expect to get our money’s worth; rookie mistakes are not an option.
If the bylaw bypass was intentional, that’s even worse.
Either way, it appears as if we cannot trust the judgement of this City Manager. Council might have confidence in Ann Mitchell but many residents do not.
I know I can forgive a lot of things. An unrepentant incompetent and/or liar is not one of them.
