A former municipal councillor involved in years-long conflict at Medicine Hat city hall says rewriting rules for councillors is “absolutely” needed to avoid or solve disputes in the future.

Much of what Bill 28, which is before the Alberta legislature, would do aligns with Mayor Linnsie Clark’s position over the last term.

Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams said it will create a provincewide code of conduct and appeal process, formalize a division of powers between top bureaucrats and councils, and provide a formal avenue for elected officials to request sensitive information.

All of those items were points of debate during the last term of office in Medicine Hat.

CBC News requested an interview with Clark regarding the legislation introduced on April 2, but her office declined.

“Mayor Clark has not had a chance to review all the documentation in relation to this Bill and therefore has no comment at this time,” an email read.

Former councillor Shila Sharps sees Bill 28 as a “great step” to improve local government.

She filed a code of conduct complaint against Clark in 2023, but later in the term supported the mayor on transparency issues.

Sharps told CBC News she was elected with a largely new group of councillors in 2021, and they were unsure how to handle important organizational issues. She believes many other elected officials are likely in the same position. 

“I really believe that maybe Medicine Hat did bring it to the forefront,” said Sharps. “But if we can make something good come out of this and not set up another council for B.S., that would be fantastic.” 

Controversy caused log-jam at Medicine Hat city hall

Clark publicly accused top administrators of over-stepping their authority. She eventually had a court reverse her pay cut and reduction in duties — code of conduct sanctions imposed by local council after a third-party found she overstepped in criticisms of then-city manager Ann Mitchell during a council meeting.

In last fall’s election, Clark was the only incumbent re-elected.

“I think staff and council and the public are aligned on wanting accountability,” she said during a year-end interview with CBC News in December 2025.

Bill 28 would amend the Municipal Government Act and replace statutes requiring local councils to set their own conduct rules, which were eliminated last year.

If passed, the ministry would begin writing the provincewide code — a move endorsed by Alberta Municipalities — among a host of other municipal measures.

A standardized code of conduct, to be known as the “accountability framework” by a provincial release, would cover items “such as pecuniary interest, unauthorized use of municipal assets, disclosure of confidential information, egregious behaviour, and improper use of influence.”

Going forward, conduct complaints would be handled by a provincially approved investigator, not local administrators. Appeals would be allowed, though the minister of Municipal Affairs would have the final say.

“It was right to repeal [the previous code of conduct rules], where we saw dramatic abuses happening, where we saw people weaponizing the code of conduct,” Williams said this month.

“It is the province’s core responsibility to make sure we have a system that has a municipality serving Albertans. That system requires regulation [and] legislation to set out the fair ground rules in terms of how they ought to operate.”

Municipal consultant George Cuff has worked with the ministry and cities on governance issues, including some work in Medicine Hat and investigating issues in Chestermere that led to the removal of elected officials in 2023.

He says the province believes “individual councillors were nervous about taking a stance on any issue that might be described as controversial.”

“I think the province probably — and in this case, I think rightly — decided that having one provincial standard, would make more sense,” he said.

In the final analysis, it’s up to the public to be careful who they elect.– George Cuff, municipal consultant

He also argues that the rules in themselves will not prevent all controversy or bad behaviour. 

“In the final analysis, it’s up to the public to be careful who they elect,” he said. 

‘This community really wanted accountability’

Among other changes, the salaries of municipal employees will be published if they pass certain thresholds.

The province would clarify “natural person powers” of a municipal manager, delineating what constitutes day-to-day management decisions from those that require council input and endorsement.

Those comprise some of the key issues in Medicine Hat, where an audit showed Clark at loggerheads with council and the former city manager, Ann Mitchell.

Council agreed to release senior administrators’ expenses and severance data late in the term.

It also terminated the contract with Mitchell last fall. Mitchell has filed a lawsuit against the city and Clark seeking more than $1 million in damages for breach of contract and defamation.

Sharps said her council colleagues followed procedure in place at the time when considering her complaint against Clark. She hopes that under the proposed changes, more context could be provided to investigators or the public.

“This community really wanted accountability,” said Sharps of the 2021 election that saw seven members of the nine-person council elected for the first time.

“It’s not meant to be a dig, but very few people understood the responsibility under the MGA [Municipal Government Act] and holding each other accountable.”