As a new government year kicks off, some parts of Canada have councils that are still wet behind the ears, while others have councils that are headed right into the maelstrom of election season.
Elected officials and administrators alike are well aware that the environment for public officials in this country and beyond has been problematic for a few years and that it’s getting increasingly toxic. While it is ultimately up to the voting public to demand good behaviour from themselves and their elected officials, our governments are needing to step into the breach and establish some rules for themselves.
Sometimes, like in the cases of Alberta and Nova Scotia among others, the provincial governments have required all local governments to adopt codes of conduct or codes of ethics, while most other provinces have not. This has meant there is a patchwork of rules around Canada, and I suspect that generates at least some confusion when our media sources do not really have to honour any geographical boundaries.
Rules of Civility
To cover most scenarios, the sets of rules for civility are two-fold:
One set of rules looks inwards at how local governments, and in particularly the legislative branch, treat one another, their staff, and the public with whom they engage.
The other set of rules reaches outwards, identifying and requiring appropriate public behaviour from those people who would choose to interact with their local governments.
There is really also a third set of rules. That set applies in situations of staff-to-staff interaction. In this case, provincial occupational health and safety legislation applies. Corporate entities like municipalities are required to abide by this legislation, but they cannot change it. The local government role here is to ensure that all staff are aware of the law and that any alleged breaches of the law are taken seriously.
Requirements for Effectiveness
In the two cases where the rules for civility and respect are set by the local government itself. I believe there are three requirements that need to be in place for the rules to be effective:
The rules have to be in place and current;
Individuals have to know the rules and how the rules apply to them; and
The local government must be willing to enforce the rules.
Whether inward-facing or outward-facing, if one or more of these tenets of respectful governance are not in place, not followed, or not enforced, then the rules do not really exist.
The specifics of codes of conduct or public behaviour bylaws are sometimes governed by the province, but in the majority of provinces and territories that do not mandate codes of conduct, there are several topic areas these codes should cover.
What is acceptable behaviour?
What is unacceptable behaviour?
How can a complaint be made informally and formally?
Who decides whether the rules were breached?
What sanctions are available for recognized breaches of the rules?
Right Tool for the Job
I know that the recent requirement by the government of Nova Scotia to implement mandatory codes of conduct required them to be approved by bylaw, policy, or resolution. Any of the three methods will meet the letter of the new legislation.
I believe that codes of conduct should be approved by bylaw as a way to signify their importance. Hopefully more and more councils will go that route in coming years.
Keeping it Current
As councils are considering their calendars for the year, where does a review of the code of conduct fit in? Where does a review of the public behaviour bylaw fit into the schedule?
Even if the bylaws are not changed every year, it is important that the details of these bylaws are known and understood. Bringing them before council each year, or every second year will help with that attempt.
Under the premise that ‘no good deed goes unpunished’, I do understand that there are malevolent or narcissistic forces in many communities and sometimes on their councils, that will choose to weaponize these rules. For this reason, I am also a proponent of including penalties for the misuse of the codes of conduct and the public behaviour bylaws right within the legislation itself.
Hopefully one day soon, incivility will cease to grow, self-entitlement will erode, and these types of bylaws will become less and less necessary.
Your Opinion
What have you seen in your own community in this vein. Do you have something unique in your civility bylaws that might help other local governments around Canada?
As always, you can reach me at ian@strategicsteps.ca
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