An independent investigation has found the former mayor of Shaunavon did commit Code of Ethics violations.
Five complaints had been made against former Shaunavon mayor Kyle Bennett. Of those, three have been substantiated, one is unclear, and one has been found unsubstantiated.
Namely, the investigation commissioned by town council found the complaint of Bennett making inappropriate comments during the Region Municipal Governance Committee meeting on June 25, 2024, to be true.
The release stated that "complaint #1 was substantiated. In making the inappropriate comments, Mr. Bennett breached the Privacy, Good Governance, and Communications with Public & Media Relations provisions of the Code of Ethics Bylaw."
The second confirmed complaint was the sharing of confidential emails with a third party.
In the release, "In sharing the emails with a third party, Mr. Bennett breached the Confidentiality provisions of the Code of Ethics Bylaw."
The third matter that Bennett has been deemed guilty of is complaint four. That issue stems from contracting services without council approval.
Once again, the release from the Town stated, "By contracting work without Council approval, Mr. Bennett breached the Statutory Obligations provisions of the Code of Ethics Bylaw, as well as section 192(1) of The Municipalities Act."
Complaint number three, improper reimbursement of expenses incurred on March 1, 2024, was unsubstantiated. The ethics reviews found that, as stated in the release, "While there was a process for pre-approval of expenses, that process was not always followed or strictly enforced. This expense was ultimately approved by Council, after the fact."
The fifth complaint was listed as inconclusive. The issue of an improper classification of SUMA Convention liquor purchase was found to have been a possible coding error that Bennett would not be responsible for.
As a result of Bennett resigning from the position of mayor in Shauavon on August 2, 2024, he is no longer a member of town council. This means that he is no longer subject to any remedial sanctions that could result from these findings.
The Town has released the following statement on where they go from here.
"The events surrounding the Complaint and Mr. Bennett’s resignation have been challenging and stressful for Council, Town staff and ratepayers. Throughout this difficult process, Council has been, and remains, committed to transparency, ethics and good governance. Council and administration will utilize what it has learned through this investigation process to improve transparency, ethics and good governance. For example, one of the issues identified by this investigation process was the lack of strict adherence to the Remuneration Policy of Council dated September 15, 2020. Council will be reviewing this policy to ensure that the approval of Council expenditures occurs in accordance with principles of transparency and good governance."