Councillor's way of proposing change violated conduct code, investigator says
Strait Shores council asked for investigation after feeling disrespected by newest member
An investigation into Strait Shores Coun. Andy MacGregor, who was only allowed at two council meetings before being banished from municipal property, has found he violated the council code of conduct.
In his decision, the investigator said MacGregor needs training in how to be a councillor and should take part in mediation with his colleagues.
MacGregor won a January byelection in the rural municipality southeast of Moncton.
But he rubbed his fellow councillors and municipal staff the wrong way with his questions and his proposed changes in how things are done at the municipality, according to the investigator's report.
MacGregor has said he joined council to promote transparency, so he introduced motions that included having meeting minutes and documents posted quickly.
What followed were resignations by two councillors and by the mayor, Jason Stokes, who issued a blistering letter calling MacGregor the "town bully." The two councillors later rescinded their resignations, although one has since resigned again.
The remaining councillors, through a motion, then ordered MacGregor to stay away from municipal property, staff and fellow councillors while an investigator looked into whether his behaviour violated the code of conduct.
The investigation was conducted by Rollie King of MC Advisory, which describes itself on its website as a human resources advisory firm affiliated with McInnes Cooper, a law firm.
In the report, which CBC obtained, King said he interviewed all councillors, MacGregor, municipal CAO Donna Hipditch and clerk Angela Grant. Stokes declined to participate.
King said most of the staff accusations against MacGregor were about his behaviour before he joined council, chiefly about his asking questions and his demanding requests for information. Staff said the volume of requests and MacGregor's behaviour hurt their health.
King said this was important context, although his job was to consider accusations made about MacGregor's official time as a councillor.
King wrote that members of council, whom he didn't name, felt MacGregor demonstrated a lack of respect toward them, had an agenda and was aggressive.
King did not include any examples of this or any proof of the accusations against MacGregor.
CBC News requested an interview with Local Government Minister Aaron Kennedy, or anyone from his department who could speak to the problems at Strait Shores, one of the new municipalities created in 2023 under local governance reform.
Department spokesperson Jennifer MacNeil denied this request but sent an email saying the department is "aware of ongoing governance and administrative challenges" affecting Strait Shores.
"As stated previously, the department remains committed to providing advice, guidance and additional training and support opportunities to all local governments," MacNeil said, without including specifics.
Was councillor sanctioned?
In finding that MacGregor broke the code of conduct rules, King highlighted the councillor's speech about his proposed changes as an example of disrespectful behaviour.
King found MacGregor has an agenda and his behaviour did not promote a spirit of co-operation. He added that he feels MacGregor "holds some animosity" toward the CAO.
King also wrote that he does not believe council was actually sanctioning MacGregor when it voted to bar him from meetings.
"Councillor MacGregor was, in my words, 'sent home' until the investigation was complete," King wrote. "This is common in workplace type of complaints."
MacGregor has shared an email with CBC News that he received from the Local Government Commission, which described the sanctions he received as a "suspension."
Municipal government experts have questioned the legality of those sanctions because they were different from the list of allowed sanctions in the Strait Shores council code of conduct. They were also handed down before the investigation was completed.
King recommended that all members of staff and council participate in a "facilitated" mediation.
"I observed a fractured relationship between Councillor MacGregor and council and staff. It is my view that it is repairable."
King ended by saying MacGregor clearly has a passion for improving local governance.
"It is my opinion that it was completely misguided and his approach was doomed to fail," King wrote.
"His objectives for stronger governance are laudable. His methods to achieve it were not."
When reached by phone Thursday, King declined an interview, directing questions to the municipality. CBC News requested an interview with Annamarie Boyd, the acting mayor, but did not get a response.
Councillor stands by actions
In an interview, MacGregor said the investigation process felt fair, but he stands by his actions. He said he "respectfully disagrees" with the characterization that his conduct amounted to bullying and harassment.
Before joining council, MacGregor said, he asked for things such as meeting minutes or documents that hadn't been posted on the website. He also said he filed several right to information requests with the municipality.
"I never demanded anything, he said. "Asking for something multiple times — I mean, is that a demand, or just persistence?"
He also took issue with the investigator's finding that he was acting with an agenda.
"I'm speaking on behalf of the people. This isn't my objective, right? I mean, I'm just the messenger here, this is the people of Straight Shores' agenda. This is what they want."
Next step not clear
King's report makes no mention of allowing MacGregor back to council.
The sanctions MacGregor received in February said they were in effect "until such time as an investigation is complete."
It's also unclear if the council can even accept the report.
Coun. Stacy Jones has resigned for a second time, and her name and contact have been removed from the municipal website. The council, which normally has five members, including the mayor, is now down to three, including MacGregor and the acting mayor.
Although MacGregor is barred from participating in meetings, Oley said he is still a member of the council, which requires a quorum of three.
"There is a difference between a council having quorum and the same council having the necessary quorum for a meeting," Oley said.
CBC has asked both the CAO and municipal clerk for clarification on when MacGregor will be allowed back, but there's been no response.
Strait Shores council's April neeting was cancelled because the municipal office had to move one building over. The next meeting would be in May.
"So it's kind of odd," MacGregor said. "We have quorum, but we don't have quorum. What we have here is a non-functioning council.
"We can't make any decisions. Council can't even get together to accept this report, and they can't even act on the report because they need me there to do that."
MacGregor said he still has complaints lodged with the province's ombud and the Local Governance Commission, which is not an appeal body, and must wait until a council's investigation into conduct allegations is complete before starting its own.
Mary Oley, the Local Governance Commission director, confirmed in an email April 3 to MacGregor that the commission "is aware of the resignation of former councillor Stacey Jones." But in an email to CBC News on April 10, Oley said the commission "has not been officially advised that a councillor has resigned from Strait Shores."
"In order for the LGC to be officially aware of a vacancy, we must be advised by Elections NB after they have received notification of the vacancy from the local government. To date, we have not received such a notification from Elections NB for Strait Shores."
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