Saskatoon administration to make council conduct documents more accessible

Saskatoon city councillors voted 9-1 for administration to gather a report outlining what governance options are available to council, including legislative framework, when public concerns are raised regarding the conduct of members of council.

Ward 5 Coun. Randy Donauer recused himself from the vote.

The motion was originally put forward by Mayor Charlie Clark, in response to numerous questions about Donauer.

Donauer is the subject of abuse complaints filed to Saskatoon police by at least one former student of Legacy Christian Academy. He’s a long-time attendee of Mile Two Church, which is affiliated with the former Christian school.

A number of former students at the school have filed a class-action lawsuit and criminal complaints, alleging serious abuses during their time there.

During Monday’s Governance and Priorities Committee meeting, Ward 1 Coun. Darren Hill raised concerns about the motion, adding the public already had access to any council conduct reports and other related documents.

“I find this motion disingenuous. We have all the information before us and available to us. If we have constituents asking us questions, all we simply need to do is direct them to where those answers are,” said Hill.

“For somebody that has not even officially been charged, they’re only allegations. We are not judge, jury and executioner, and I just do not like the path that this is going on,” Hill continued.

Hill related the experience to his recent censure for violating the Code of Ethical Conduct for city councillors on several occasions, and said he would not support the motion as it related to Donauer.

However, Clark said the intention of his motion was not to be the “judge, jury and executioner.”

“Certainly, I am being asked to provide an explanation for the public about what the options for council are under these circumstances. Rather than each of us trying to answer separately, the intention here is just so the public can see, here’s how our governance process works,” said Clark.

Clark said it was the only way he could think of to provide that opportunity.

The report from administration will be presented at the next Governance and Priorities meeting.

It will include a framework for decisions council can and can’t make, based on the Cities Act legislation and Code of Conduct. It would not suggest any alternate plans or revisions, but would report on existing rules that are already public documents.