Court order halts hearing on sanctions for misconduct of Edmonton’s District Administrator Rice pending judicial review

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Edmonton City Council’s hearing on punishing Councillor Jennifer Rice for alleged misconduct was halted after she was granted a court order on Wednesday.

The city’s integrity commissioner concluded that Rice violated the council’s code of conduct by harassing and discriminating against a former employee. Rice disputes the findings and has requested a review of her case by the Alberta Court of Justice. Rice wants integrity commissioner Jamie Pytel’s investigation report to be thrown out, or alternatively, for a judge to decide which council members get to determine their punishments, as she claims some are biased against her.

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Judge John Henderson of the Court of Kings Bench granted Rice’s application for a judicial review and made a court order preventing the council from holding the sanctions hearing until that review is completed. Her next court date could be months away.

Rice did not appear in court and was not at city hall as she attended Wednesday’s city council meeting virtually. Her lawyer, Janice Agrios, argued at the Edmonton courthouse that any allegations of misconduct should be reviewed by a judge before a sanctions hearing takes place.

“I argue that there is no point in proceeding with the sanctions hearing until the actual underlying findings are established,” Agrios said.

Lawyers for the City of Edmonton and the Office of the Integrity Commissioner did not object to the adjournment.

Rice argues that the integrity commissioner did not have the authority to investigate the complaint, the investigation process was unfair and the report’s conclusions were unreasonable.

This newspaper first reported in November on allegations made by five former Rice employees who accused her of bullying, creating a “hostile work environment” and disorganization in her office. Postmedia obtained a recording of a heated argument in Rice’s office between her and two employees that corroborated some of her accusers’ allegations.

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The council must meet high standards: Mayor

Mayor Amarjeet Sohi told reporters he could not comment on the case as it was being heard in court.

However, he said the integrity commissioner’s role in investigating complaints about council’s code of conduct is important. Anyone who works for the City of Edmonton or members of council has a right to a respectful workplace, he said.

“We are all held to very high standards and we must maintain those high standards to retain our positions and to live up to the expectations of the people of Edmonton,” he said. “There’s a reason we have a code of conduct, there’s a reason we have an impartial, independent integrity commissioner who can investigate our conduct.”

He stressed that the process is impartial and “there is no influence from council members or the administration (of the City of Edmonton).”

Documents filed in court by Rice’s attorney in early August confirmed publicly for the first time that the commissioner had investigated Rice and completed a report in March. Pytel found four cases in which Rice allegedly harassed an employee and one case of discrimination. It also recommended sanctions and scheduled a City Hall hearing for the council to decide on penalties.

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If the court does not dismiss the integrity commissioner’s investigation, Rice wants a judge to decide which council members, if any, will be allowed to determine their punishments.

Rice claims some council members, including the mayor, may be biased against her because of statements they made to this newspaper and other reporters after the bullying allegations first surfaced last fall. She also claims the mayor and council member Andrew Knack “pressured” her by suggesting she speak to the integrity commissioner when the bullying allegations surfaced in this newspaper.

Rice argues that she was kept in the dark about some details of the investigation and that the identities of all confidential witnesses interviewed – including council members and their staff – must be disclosed. She said she was not allowed to see all the evidence, including the testimony of confidential witnesses.

She wants her legal costs to be covered by city funds.

[email protected]

@laurby

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