Medicine Hat mayor apologizes for breaching code of conduct

Medicine Hat Mayor Linnsie Clark has formally apologized for her conduct toward her city manager last year.

"My intentions in my line of questioning that day (in 2023) were merely for me to carry out my duties as mayor of this city, and not to cause hurt," Clark said during Tuesday's council meeting.

"However, I do recognize that they did cause hurt around this table, and I apologize."

On Aug. 21, 2023, Clark got into a verbal exchange with city manager Ann Mitchell.

The incident resulted in Clark being barred from attending council meetings, acting as a city spokesperson or collecting her full salary.

A judicial review in late August found that while Clark did breach the city's code of conduct, the measures taken against her were unreasonable.

At Tuesday's meeting, Mitchell accepted the apology, but said she wanted more.

"I would ask that you extend the apology to the community and to everyone in the (city) organization as well as myself and everyone at this (council) table," she said.

Coun. Andy McGrogran said he appreciated the apology.

"I'm thankful that you did apologize tonight," McGrogan told Clark at the meeting.

'No positive outcome'

However, McGrogan still filed a notice of motion to council to ask Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver's office to conduct a formal inspection of Medicine Hat's governance under the Municipal Government Act.

In the notice of motion, McGrogan claimed the relationship between Clark, Mitchell and council has been "fractured" since the events of Aug. 21, 2023.

McGrogan said in the notice that there've been "multiple attempts to mediate the situation," including formal meetings with a third-party expert and a provincial minister.

"No positive outcome has come to fruition, and perhaps these meetings have further divided the already fractured relationships," the notice of motion read.

Clark objected to portions of the motion, saying they "were not factual."

"The two formal meetings were not mediations," she said.

McGrogan admitted he wrote the notice of motion before the results of the judicial review, and said some of the points may be irrelevant but he felt the request for an inspection will address "deeper issues."

"I don't know if they're going to be resolved unless we do have a provincial inspection. The purpose of bringing it here was to, 'Let's bring it out and talk about it.'"

The motion was approved by council.

In August, the provincial government said it had not received any formal inspection request from the City of Medicine Hat.

Heather Jenkins, press secretary for Minister McIver, said these typically come from municipal councils or from petitions created by a group of electors, but can also come from the minister.

"The minister may also order an inspection on their own initiative when allegations of irregular, improper, or improvident municipal management are substantiated through multiple channels and sources, and when immediate action is needed to protect elector interests," she said.

"Conducting an inspection is an extraordinary measure that is not undertaken lightly, and a petition that meets the legislated requirements provides evidence that the matter is of significant public concern."

CTV News has reached out to McIver's office for comment on the pending formal inspection.