CALGARY -- Several Calgary councillors are exploring a motion to ask for the city’s integrity commissioner to be removed.
“I think it would be very helpful for council to bring in the previous commissioner,” said Coun. Jeromy Farkas.
It comes after integrity commissioner Sal LoVecchio announced he is stepping away from a formal investigation into expenses filed by Ward 2 Coun. Joe Magliocca.
LoVecchio is recusing himself from the inquiry because he and Magliocca had a $163 "social lunch" last year on the taxpayers’ dime.
“I think it’s disappointing. I feel in some ways hurt and betrayed,” Farkas.
“This is somebody council should trust to give a fair and impartial."
Documents on the city’s website show Coun. Magliocca expensed a $163 meal with LoVecchio at Franca’s Italian Specialties under his ‘business meeting’ section of his councillor budget in August of 2019.
Late Tuesday afternoon, LoVecchio issued a statement regarding the situation.
"In the last 24 hours, it has come to my attention that Councillor Magliocca expensed that lunch to his Councillor Account and obtained reimbursement," it read.
"The taxpayers of the City of Calgary should not be paying for a social lunch of mine and I am deeply concerned to find out that this has occurred.
"But this is not the real problem. The real problem is I have now been formally asked to investigate the matter of his expense claims and I must recuse myself from doing so."
LoVecchio declined an interview with CTV News.
Magliocca did not speak to reporters after Wednesday’s committee meeting.
Code of conduct
Wednesday evening, Mayor Nenshi issued a statement. "I've been deeply concerned about transparency and accountability since before I was elected," he said. "That's why I've championed the Code of Conduct and better disclosure of Council expenses since I took this office. Clearly, we need to examine the conduct of the Councillor in this case, and we should close the loophole around disclosure of centrally claimed expenses that this incident has unearthed. Furthermore, the Integrity Commissioner did exactly the right thing in recusing himself from this case."
Following Wednesday's committee meeting, Coun. Jeff Davison said there has been "enough of a negative shadow" from the issue that LoVecchio should be removed.
"To me, I believe the integrity commissioner should always be an independent body. That means you should not be having a relationship with council, you should not be going to dinner with them, you should not be having coffee with them. Your job is oversight and governance of the code of conduct that councillors are bound by," he said.
"Going forward there's obviously some governance issues here that need to be changed."
But Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra said council should look at a governance rather than removing the integrity commissioner.
"I think we have to address the real issue, which is that we have a member of council whose expenses are obviously not operating where they should be and we should be addressing that specifically," he said.
"All the other things that come out of that, I think obviously this is a time for a governance overhail and I support that as well. I think we should be a lot more transparent in how we provide our expenses. I think we should be a lot clearer on what we can and can't expense."
Davison added there "could be a role" for police to get involved in any investigation moving forward.
"They would be an unbiased body that has the experience to look into something like this," he said.
"Whether or not council directs CPS to move forward with the that investigation is to be determined."
