Cornwallis council calls for reeve’s resignation

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This article was published 19/10/2024 (593 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The council for the RM of Cornwallis passed a motion at its Thursday meeting calling for Reeve Sam Hofer to resign after an investigation by the Manitoba Ombudsman allegedly found he had inappropriately shared privileged information.

However, Hofer has defied those calls to resign, instead saying the matter will be left to the courts to decide.

The motion read at Thursday’s meeting by Deputy Reeve Terry Ross states that Cornwallis chief administrative officer Holly Krysko received a final report on Oct. 10 from the Ombudsman’s office on the results of an investigation into “the disclosure of confidential information by the reeve.”

The motion’s preamble further alleges that the Ombudsman found Hofer violated section 83(1)(d) of The Municipal Act, which requires council members “to keep in confidence a matter that is discussed at a meeting closed to the public under subsection 152(3) and that the committee decides to keep confidential until the matter is discussed at a meeting of the council or of a committee conducted in public.”

Breaching this clause can result in an elected council member being disqualified from holding their position.

Finally, the motion put forward three recommendations from the Ombudsman for council to vote on:

• For the whole council and the CAO to receive training on their responsibilities under section 83(1)(d),

• That council consider the reeve disqualified from serving on council and call for him to resign. Should the reeve not resign, the CAO is directed to get the municipality’s legal counsel to apply to the courts regarding his disqualification and

• Council issue a formal apology to the complainant.

Under Manitoba’s Ombudsman Act, a head of council is required by law to hold a closed meeting to discuss a report provided to them by the Ombudsman at the next regular council meeting. Thursday’s meeting started with a lengthy in-camera discussion.

The motion calling on Hofer to resign passed four to one, with Hofer voting against.

“To council and to the ratepayers out there, I will not resign,” Hofer said. “I am not resigning and as far as I’m concerned, I’m going to continue as reeve until such time that the courts decide if I’m disqualified or not.”

The specifics of the Ombudsman report or the complaint against Hofer were not discussed.

Reached by phone, Ross wouldn’t comment, saying only the CAO and the reeve are allowed to comment on matters to the media.

At the RM’s office, Krysko said she didn’t feel comfortable commenting and said the reeve would be the person to speak with.

Hofer did not return a phone call requesting comment.

The website for the Manitoba Ombudsman does not list any investigation reports into the RM of Cornwallis.

Amie Lesyk, the Ombudsman’s communications director, said all the office’s investigations are done in private as required by legislation.

“The purpose of an investigation under the Ombudsman Act is to determine whether government and public sector bodies acted in a fair, open and transparent manner in the administration and delivery of public programs and services,” Lesyk wrote in an email.

“In all investigations where the Ombudsman has made findings, public bodies are afforded the opportunity to review and respond to the report. On occasion, we publicly publish final reports with recommendations or reports that are of significant public interest on our website.”

The motion passed Thursday does not appear to be the only evidence of friction between council members.

At the Sept. 17 meeting, council read a letter from Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Ian Bushie.

“Over the past number of months, a number of concerns about the overall conduct and

functioning of the council in the RM of Cornwallis have been brought to my attention.”

Bushie encouraged all council members uphold the value of respect as well as comply with their own bylaws, code of conduct and provincial law.

“Going forward, I will continue to monitor the situation in the RM of Cornwallis, and I look forward to hearing of the progress that you make in building consensus and improving the conduct and effectiveness of your council.”

The minister was not available for comment on Friday.

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