By Cheryl Jahn

New legislation impacts City Councillors

Oct 12, 2022 | 2:38 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – There is no shortage of Mayors and Councillors that have misbehaved legally. Locally, former Burns Lake Mayor Luke Strimbold pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual assault. Surrey Mayoral candidate Doug McCallum is facing charges of public mischief. Former Vernon Mayor Sean Hartley pleaded guilty to breach of trust. It’s what prompted the Province, at the behest of the Union of BC Municipalities, to make legislative changes.

“We listened to you and we acted and we changed the law in this Province,” Minister of Municipal Affairs, Nathan Cullen told a crowd of elected officials at the last Union of BC Municipalities convention in September. “That anyone charged in such a situation will take a leave of absence at the time of being charged. And if convicted of an indictable offence, will be removed immediately from serving in local government.”

Council Candidate Wesley Mitchell is no stranger to the inside of a courtroom. He admits to a criminal record but says those days are long behind him.

“I was definitely a different time, you know. Suffering from intergenerational trauma, feel less than others. Not having any identity within my cultures. And mind-altering substances didn’t help the situation out.”

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But there comes the question of a double-edged sword. Should a Councillor with an otherwise clean record be stripped of their seat with a conviction, while a sitting Councillor with a past criminal record be allowed to remain?

“I think we have a justice system in which, if you’ve been convicted and served your time, you can then re-integrate into society and participate in democratic politics,” explains Hamish Telford, Association Professor of Political Science for the University of the Fraser Valley. “I think it is incumbent upon such people to have full disclosure. People have to know who they’re voting for. And that criminal record would be part of the resume.”

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs issued this statement …”Ineligibility under the recent legislative changes do not include past criminal convictions. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees all Canadian citizens the right to be involved in the election of their governments. It gives them the right to vote in federal, provincial or territorial elections, along with the right to seek public office themselves.”

In the meantime, Mitchell is not the only Council Candidate with some questionable pasts. But he says while that person has changed, he can draw on those to help others.