Councillor sanctioned for code of conduct breach

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A Saint John councillor has been sanctioned for breaching a code of conduct, council heard Monday, although neither the details of the allegation nor the sanction have been made public.

Saint John common council voted Monday to accept the findings of a March 22 investigator’s report regarding a code of conduct complaint against Coun. Paula Radwan. The motion came from the closed committee of the whole meeting that happened beforehand, which also recommended “remedial sanctions” against Radwan, according to the motion.

The motion stipulates “that Coun. Radwan breached sections of the code of conduct bylaw and accepts the remedial sanctions recommended by committee of the whole, including that the details of the sanction imposed remain private,” as read aloud by city clerk Jonathan Taylor.

The motion passed 5-0, with Couns. John MacKenzie, Greg Norton, Gary Sullivan, David Hickey and Barry Ogden voting in favour. Radwan left the room before the motion was read, as did Couns. Greg Stewart and Gerry Lowe. Couns. Brent Harris and Joanna Killen did not attend the meeting.

The city’s code of conduct bylaw, first passed in 2019 and revised in 2022, governs the roles and responsibilities of council members, including their performance of official duties, how they conduct business with each other and communicate with the public.

It covers everything from directing a councillor not to “impugn or malign a debate or decision or otherwise erode the authority of council” to use of social media, conflicts of interest, sexual harassment, discrimination and bullying.

When asked about the nature of the code of conduct allegation against Radwan, Mayor Donna Reardon said the motion itself “was it,” and said no information will be made available.

“What I’ll say is, it’s an internal document for us,” Reardon said. When asked whether council is an internal or public body, she said, “I can’t get into that.”

When reached by phone Monday night, Radwan acknowledged that she broke the code of conduct and said that while council was “as fair as they can be” in handling the complaint, the process “needs to change.”

“I just hope that council can come together and work as a team going forward, and move on from it,” Radwan said. “I’m looking forward to pushing the city along in a good direction.”

Radwan said she would only address the code of conduct generally, saying it “ends up being a very one-sided thing.”

“If someone puts a code of conduct (complaint) in about another person, they can only look at what that one person did, and not the whole situation,” Radwan said.

She referred to former Saint John mayor and MP Elsie Wayne, who she described as “well-respected” and “a good fighter for Saint John.”

“I think that if Elsie Wayne was around these days, she’d have a heck of a lot of code of conducts against her,” Radwan said.

Under the bylaw, formal complaints are received by a council committee, which decides whether to retain an external investigator. The investigator is required to allow 10 days for a written response, explore informal resolution and provide a written report no later than 90 days after the complaint.

Possible sanctions can include a letter of reprimand, exclusion from committees, an apology or a restriction on pay for up to ninety days. The investigator may also recommend no punishment be taken if the breach was trivial, inadvertent, “a genuine error of judgment” or if the council member took steps to prevent it.

In October, Couns. Harris and Killen were stripped of committee roles pending a code of conduct investigation following complaints regarding comments supporting CUPE 486, the union representing the city’s inside workers, during a strike.

The pair filed a lawsuit alleging that the councillors were not given chances to respond to the comments before council imposed a sanction, which was settled in January.

At the time, the city said in a statement that there were code of conduct breaches but “no malice or ill will involved,” and that the councillors “apologized for any error on their part.”

When council accepted the settlement agreement and reinstated the councillors Jan. 22, Radwan spoke to say she would vote against the motion “just because I didn’t want to take this step.” At the time, she continued to say Killen and Harris “had their best intentions” before Reardon cut her off, with the mayor saying what was in the statement “was what we can state.”

Brunswick News has requested comment from the City of Saint John and did not receive a response by press time.