Coaldale Council to investigate only a portion of community complaints

Bullying, harassment, and discrimination by the municipal government towards current and former town employees. 24 letters have been given to Citizens for a Better Coaldale
Many discussions and decisions made by town council being done during closed meetings
A lack of consultations and openness on major capital projects including the new town office known as Civic Square, along with others such as a new high school and a recreation centre
Residents feeling that their concerns are not being heard by the town
Businesses getting “blacklisted” by the town and losing opportunities to bid on projects for not working with the municipality in a specific way

What is a municipal inspection?

Municipal inspections are conducted by the provincial government’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs.

The scope of the inspection can include management, administration, or the operation of the municipality. If requested, it could take a broad look into all aspects of how a local government functions.

Municipal inspections can be requested by the municipality itself under the Municipal Government Act or can be initiated by residents by having at least 20 per cent of the entire population sign petitions.

Upon completion, the inspectors would make a town hall presentation to the public, town council, and town administration with all aspects of their report including any recommendations they may have.

Typically, municipal inspections can cost between $50,000 to $70,000, which would be paid for by the local government.

Depending on the scope of the inspection, they can often take at least one year to complete.

The Town of Coaldale’s side:

As noted at the top of this article, Coaldale town council voted Tuesday to decline the request from Citizens for a Better Coaldale to initiate a council-sponsored municipal inspection.

The group made a presentation to council in late September, outlining their reasons for wanting the inspection to be done.

Mayor Kim Craig told LNN that “we didn’t find that any of the comments from the group warranted that level of action from the department of municipal affairs. We felt we could take steps immediately to rectify any discrepancies or shortfalls.”

They have instead opted to “hire an independent external investigator from an approved roster of mediators from the Government of Alberta, mediation services branch.”

The firm will “conduct an internal assessment of the Town’s workplace environment, considering applicable and relevant workplace legislation and polices, and to rule out or identify any instances or evidence of discrimination, harassment and bullying in the workplace.”

As the so-called HR review is a council-led initiative, the investigators will report directly to mayor and council, independent of administration.

Craig says he and town council take the allegations of bullying, harassment, and discrimination very seriously. He gave a firm commitment to take any and all recommendations seriously.

“There would be no reason why we wouldn’t. If we engage an investigator to do that kind of work and they bring forward any deficiencies that need rectification, of course, it would be negligent for us not to address them.”

The mayor was worried that a municipal inspection would take far too much time to complete, and therefore, it would likely be at least a couple of years until any actions could be taken. By then, the 2021 municipal elections would have already taken place and a new set of councillors would have been sworn in.

Although Craig believes they can do the independent review for less money, he says the cost would not be an obstacle if he believed a municipal inspection was warranted.

He hopes that the people of Coaldale will see the “reasonability” of their response, adding that council is not trying to hide or say that they are above reproach.

Craig is working with independent legal advisors on putting together the terms of reference for the independent review. It is unclear at this time when the investigators will be hired but the mayor hopes to have them in place promptly.

Citizens for a Better Coaldale to launch campaign for a municipal inspection

Spokesperson Jack Van Rijn was not pleased to learn about town council’s direction on this matter.

He believes the independent external investigation will not be adequate to address their wide range of concerns.

“The HR review will only look at one specific area like the complaints of town employees. An HR review miss questions and concerns from Coaldale residents about many other issues.”

Van Rijn is also concerned about the potential for bias and omissions to be made as the reviewers would be hired by the town itself and report directly to council. He told LNN that there is the possibility that council could “pick and choose” what parts of the final report they want to release to the public.

Considering the nature of the allegations made by town employees, Van Rijn says some of them might be hesitant to speak openly and honestly to investigators who are paid by their employer.

By going the route of a municipal inspection, the Alberta Government would send an arms-length team to Coaldale that would have no formal attachments to the municipality.

Citizens for a Better Coaldale is launching a campaign to garner petitions from residents of the community to trigger a municipal inspection.

The group will hold two open house events at the Coaldale Community Centre. They will take place Tuesday, October 20 and Thursday, October 22 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

In order to reach the threshold of garnering signatures from 20 per cent of the population, approximately 1,850 people will need to sign.

“I am very optimistic that we’re going to be successful in a very short period of time. We have 60 days to get it done and we have a very large team of volunteers and we’re ready to go.”

LNN will continue to follow this story as it develops.

by David Opinko

Coaldale Council to investigate only a portion of community complaints

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