Visibly shaken mayor says he will not be intimidated by 'vexatious' complaint from Yellowknife councillor

Five Yellowknife city councillors have commented on a simmering dispute between Mayor Mark Heyck and councillor Niels Konge, saying that a report into complaints made against Konge and brought to council was conducted outside of the jurisdiction of their stated policy.

Heyck held a press conference Wednesday in which he announced he was facing a code of conduct complaint filed by Coun. Niels Konge. The complaint alleges Heyck failed to remove himself from a closed-door meeting, which Konge says created a conflict of interest.

Heyck called the complaint against him "vexatious and frivolous," saying it was retaliation for how he dealt with complaints against Konge in 2015.

Heyck said an external investigation determined Konge acted "inappropriately" towards the employee, but council decided not to pursue the complaint.

"Fundamentally this is about an employee's right to a safe and healthy work environment. I will not tolerate the abuse of city staff, nor will I be intimidated," said a visibly shaken Heyck at the news conference.

'Kangaroo court'

However, in a letter sent to Yellowknife media outlets Thursday afternoon, councillors Rebecca Alty, Adrian Bell, Linda Bussey, Julian Morse, and Rommel Silverio said Heyck did not follow proper procedure in investigating the complaint.

The letter states that when Heyck presented the results of the investigation to council, "several Councillors raised concerns regarding the legitimacy of the investigation in relation to Council's Ethical Principles and Rules of Conduct Policy.

"Council ultimately concluded that the investigation process was conducted outside of the jurisdiction of the policy," the letter reads, "and suggested that Mayor Heyck consider submitting a complaint through the established process for such matters ... it is our view that the correct process is now being followed."

In an email to CBC Thursday, Heyck explained that "if this issue could be resolved more informally, then I was willing to entertain an alternative approach."

In one of the 2015 complaints, a city employee alleged Konge had mistreated him on a job site.

Konge admitted he yelled at a city employee, but says he did so as a contractor, not as a city councillor.

"Yes. That did indeed happen. Did I handle myself 100 per cent the best way ever? No, but I admitted that, " Konge said.

In a phone call to CBC Thursday afternoon, Konge said he also took issue with the fact that the rest of council was not informed Heyck was pursuing an external investigation into the 2015 complaints. He also said the investigation focused on three complaints, clearing him of two.

Konge said he wants a review on how complaints are handled within the city, calling the current system a "kangaroo court."

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