County Councillor censure lifted; motion to apologize on Knight’s behalf defeated

Miriam Ostermann
Times Associate Editor
With notes from Justin Seward

 

Wheatland County council was engaged in a fiery discussion last week, seven months after Councillor Brenda Knight had her wrists slapped with a censure, which was lifted during the Oct. 27 organizational meeting.
Knight was censured on March 24, when the majority of council voted in favour of the action, after much discussion of a series of breaches over a year pertaining to the Wheatland County Councillor Code of Conduct and the statutory obligations of Councillors and Council as set out in the Municipal Government Act (MGA).
While the details regarding the censure have not been made public, council was aware that her behaviour would come under review at the 2015 organizational meeting, which was last week.
“If she was following all of the procedures that they had laid out for her up until then, they would lift it, and she had been,” said Lisa Bastarache, communications officer for Wheatland County. “She’s still expected to (apologize). She wants to go through her lawyer with that. Council decided that they would rather have Brenda apologize for her actions rather than have council apologize for her actions.”
After council voted to lift the censure, Councillor Ben Armstrong proposed a motion to have council draft a letter to apologize on Councillor Knight’s behalf – an undertaking she was unwilling to perform at this time and without discussing the situation with her lawyer. The proposal was heavily disputed by Councillor Knight, Councillor Booth, Councillor Bland, and Councillor Harwood. During the meeting, Councillor Knight demanded to know why she was censured and for the information to be made public. However, Bastarache confirmed that Councillor Knight was presented with all the information on March 24, that a copy was retained by her and her lawyer. Furthermore, council was not permitted to discuss the allegations, as they were originally presented in an in-camera meeting – a private meeting not open to the public.
“I have the right to defend myself,” said Councillor Knight at the meeting. “I haven’t done anything wrong … if I have, the judge will make me apologize.”
Councillor Alice Booth was also outraged over a blunder by Councillor Ben Armstrong, where he accidentally accused her of lying. Although he meant Councillor Knight with the assertion, Councillor Booth was worried that it was a public meeting and her constituents might believe the claim.
According to Wheatland County, the two public figures met afterwards, and Councillor Armstrong apologized for the slip-up he hadn’t realized happened at the time.
Earlier in the year, Reeve Glenn Koester had stated that Councillor Knight took actions contrary to her obligations as a councillor in her communications with other municipalities, third parties, and Wheatland County staff. Her involvement in the county’s administrative functions also came under review. The censure required Councillor Knight to draft a formal written apology to the Village of Hussar, the Village of Standard, the Village of Rockyford, and the Town of Strathmore, for comments she had made that did not reflect the position of Wheatland County.
The county continues to expect Councillor Knight to make a formal apology to the town and the villages, and said she is currently discussing the situation with her lawyer. As a result of last week’s decision, Councillor Knight is no longer bound by the procedures laid out by council under the censure.