Q&A: Councillor Tony Mancini on code of conduct workshop
Posted Apr 20, 2018 05:30:58 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Municipal politicians gathered in Truro on April 19 to discuss rules governing their conduct standards and possible sanctions for misbehaving.
The three-hour meeting covered codes of conducts in various municipalities in other provinces, the use of social media, workplace bullying and related matters.
Three Halifax council members attended the session, which was hosted by the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities, including Coun. Tony Mancini (Harbourview-Burnside-Dartmouth East). He’s been leading the charge at council for an external consultant hired to look into alleged conduct violations.
The union’s workshop follows well-publicized complaints about Halifax councillors allegedly breaching the municipality’s conduct code for elected representatives. According to city staff, 21 complaints were filed over a brief period during the winter.
In February, Coun. Matt Whitman (Hammonds Plains-St. Margarets) was barred by council for three months from serving on city hall committees, after his colleagues determined he violated behaviour rules. He was at the UNSM’s meeting in Truro, as was Deputy Mayor Waye Mason (Halifax South Downtown).
Mason was also the subject of complaints, but council in late February accepted two apologies he issued and they were dismissed.
Mancini spoke with HalifaxToday.ca Friday about the UNSM’s recent workshop.
HT: What kind of turnout did the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities get at its code of conduct meeting?
TM: I think there were – that’s just my guess – 70 people. So it was a good turnout. There were municipalities from Cape Breton to Yarmouth represented.
HT: Which key elements of a behaviour code for municipal politicians were covered during the session?
TM: A real range, from things like bullying, harassment, to social media to getting in the way of council proceedings – those types of things. The conversations were: “Have you had these things happen? What impact does it have? How should we address this in a code of conduct?”
HT: Regarding social media, what came of that discussion?
TM: (There was) a lot of conversation around the need for some sort of a guideline or a framework to follow, when it comes to social media. If you’re using Twitter or Facebook, or whatever you may be using, there are no guidelines. In our orientation, we (received) some tips, but there were no real guidelines.
HT: Was there talk of making codes of conduct more robust, with more teeth and tougher penalties?
TM: Yeah, there was. (There was) lots of discussion around that, and it was all over the board when it came to punishment – everything from apologizing, to training, depending on what the infraction was, to other parts. Some had the desire to fine (an) elected official. Can we take him away from committees? Can we take them away from attending an actual council meeting? And right down to: Can that (conduct violator) be removed, or suspended?
HT: What was the best idea you heard at the workshop?
TM: It’s interesting. I think there was a desire from the group – the UNSM is going to go forward with that a little bit more – there was lots of discussion, after looking at examples across the country, on having an integrity commissioner for the province available to all the municipalities. That was one of the things that came quite strongly, and (we’ll) explore that further.
HT: Does Halifax council’s conduct code need to be updated, or is it fine as it is?
TM: I think the piece that needs to be updated is around social media. It’s such a grey area, you know, and you delve into freedom of speech and all that, too. That’s the piece. What I have proposed, and didn’t get agreement on from my (council) colleagues, is I think we should be reviewing our code of conduct annually.
Michael Lightstone is a freelance reporter living in Dartmouth. (Some questions and answers were edited for space and clarity.)
