Saskatoon city council withdraws support of Darren Hill to run in FCM election

Ward 1 councillor Darren Hill will not be able to run in the next Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) election after Saskatoon city council voted 10-1 to withdraw support for his nomination at a special city council meeting held late Monday afternoon.

During the meeting, Coun. Mairin Loewen referenced a letter written to Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark by FCM board of directors president Garth Frizzell. The contents of the letter were not divulged publicly, but references to it were made repeatedly during the meeting.

She said the FCM was an important strategic partner for the City of Saskatoon and that council had an obligation to ensure its representative is able to fulfil the role and the expectations of the role.

“The president of FCM has written a letter outlining serious concerns with patterns of behaviour that he’s observed from Councillor Hill, and the impacts of these behaviours that they have had on the governance and on the staff of FCM,” she said.

What those concerns exactly were, when they occurred, or how they impacted staff was not directly discussed, although a reference was made about an incident in 2019 in Penticton, B.C. as well as an apology Hill said he made at the time.

“I apologized to the staff, and I received a response back from each of the staff members, with regards to the apology that I sent them … That was really the first alarm bell for me that something was not quite right, and so I started watching myself more when I was chairing meetings,” said Hill.

Hill has served 14 years on the FCM, and is currently listed as its second vice-president.

Those actions were serious enough for Coun. David Kirton to also ask Hill whether he felt he was well enough to continue on in his position with the FCM.

“The role you would be moving into speaks to and works with the most powerful people in Canada — prime minister (and the) Prime Minister’s Office,” said Kirton.

“I have concerns about your behaviour and the fact that … and the possibility that you could take that to the Prime Minister’s Office. I would like you to respond to that.”

Hill said there had never been a situation or an incident where he had not behaved “properly” when meeting with senior levels of government, the prime minister or other ministers.

“There has never been anything that has been out of line. I take that role very responsibly and I am always on my best behaviour. We have never had a situation,” explained Hill.

Hill in fact said he felt “shocked and betrayed” by his colleagues. He claimed that sometime before April 14, Clark contacted Frizzell and asked him for a letter. Frizzell then sent a letter to city council outlining some concerns with his behaviour.

Hill acknowledged some of the concerns were in line with some of the mental health issues he’s been facing, and for which he’s being treated.

Clark denied he reached out to the FCM and, in fact, in a statement to CKOM, said the opposite had occurred.

“FCM reached out to me by phone in April and indicated that they had concerns regarding Councillor Hill,” wrote Clark. “I responded and said that given that it is Saskatoon City Council who makes governance decisions regarding our appointees to external Boards, if there were concerns that FCM wanted to bring to our attention, a letter to City Council would be the most appropriate way to do so.  While this was a difficult decision, based on the information we had, it was the most responsible decision for our governance and fiduciary responsibilities.”

At an April 19 Governance and Priorities Committee meeting, Hill also claimed council voted to rescind his FCM candidacy, without his knowledge. Hill said he was at the meeting, although the meeting minutes indicate he was absent.

“(I) was purposely not told of the letter, and council let me leave the meeting without telling me that this was an item to be discussed,” he said.

Ten days later, he said he was invited to a meeting with the mayor, Loewen and Coun. Randy Donauer.

“Without giving me a chance to speak to the decision, I was threatened with the choice of either voluntarily resigning or they would hold a public meeting to rescind their support. I felt shocked and betrayed,” said Hill.

He said after going public with his mental health diagnosis, his traumatic brain injury and his subsequent treatment plan, he felt shunned.

“There have been many statements made by members of the public, including the disabled community, who are shocked at the lack of support I’m receiving,” Hill said. “Yes, I have a diagnosed disability, but I am being treated for it. And I have submitted medical documentation to you that supports my ability to do this very important work.”

Loewen said the letter from the FCM president did not have anything to do with Hill’s late campaign paperwork related to November’s civic election.

Clark, meantime, said he was very concerned about Hill’s mental health.

“We’ve had a number of conversations … about how we can support him to be able to fulfil his roles as a council member and to make sure we are doing everything we can to help him through this,” Clark said.

CKOM has contacted Hill and Frizzell for comment.

A statement from Frizzell indicated the contents of the letter would not be revealed out of “respect for the privacy of everyone involved.”

“The recent decision by Saskatoon Council means that Councillor Hill will not renew for this upcoming term on the Board of Directors for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities,” the statement read. “FCM thanks Councillor Hill for his long-standing service as a member of the Board. We wish him well as he continues serving his constituents in Saskatoon.”