Sudbury considers tighter rules for integrity commissioner complaints

City council in Sudbury will review a report next week that includes changes to the rules governing investigations by the integrity commissioner. (File)

City council in Sudbury will review a report next week that includes changes to the rules governing investigations by the integrity commissioner, including not releasing the results of an investigation when a councillor breaches the code of conduct “in good faith.”

The report to the May 26 council meeting includes several recommendations aimed at reducing the number of investigations, such as encouraging the person making the complaint “to pursue concerns with members prior to proceeding with a formal complaint.”

The proposed changes come almost two years after Sudbury fired David Boghosian, its previous integrity commissioner for being too political.

Fired previous commissioner in 2024

“Certainly, the reports that were received, there were lots of editorializing and a lot of commenting,” Mayor Paul Lefebvre said at the time.

“Some integrity commissioners like to, certainly, provide more of their opinions and their perspectives. That is their choice. Certainly, I think for some councillors that is what pushed them over to make this decision.”

Also in 2024, city council directed staff to investigate a number of changes to the way integrity commissioner investigations are conducted.

The report said the changes “related to the need for individuals making complaints to be properly identified, limiting the ability for complainants to remain anonymous and requiring the integrity commissioner to provide a copy of a complaint and supporting evidence to a member whose conduct is in question.”

“The motion further directed staff to conduct a review of the code and return with suggested revisions by May of 2025.”

Provincial legislation

Not long after, however, the province announced it was going to impose a code of conduct for all municipalities, and so Sudbury waited for the provincial law before making any changes.

But that legislation is not expected to pass before this fall. The city sent several proposed changes to the complaint protocol to the new commissioner, Jeffrey A. Abrams of Principles Integrity.

Other recommendations include making the name of the person making the complaint known to the city councillor who is subject of the complaint unless there are “serious and extenuating circumstances” requiring anonymity.

And in cases where the code of conduct is violated, but the violation is “trivial, inadvertent, or an error of judgment in good faith,” the report would only be released to the councillor, not the public.

“The integrity commissioner will not report to council in those circumstances but will instead dispose of the matter by explaining the reasons for doing so to the complainant, with a courtesy copy of the explanation being shared with the respondent,” the report said.