Lunenburg council kicks councillor off all committees after policy dispute

Lunenburgtown council has removed a councillor from all committees just four months after he was elected because he "lost the confidence" of other councillors.

Mayor Rachel Bailey said Coun. Brian Davis can no longer sit on any committees, including the important audit and general government committee.

"Coun. Davis has just been removed from all council appointments. As an elected official, he remains as a member of council, but he's lost the confidence of his fellow councillors in his abilities to work professionally and co-operatively and productively in the best interests of the citizens," she told CBC News on Monday.

Bailey declined to give examples of any conduct from Davis that led to the Feb. 14 decision. Bailey andcouncillorsDanny Croft, Ronnie Bachman, Peter Mosher and John McGee voted in favour of the move. Coun. Joseph Carnevale was the lone member to oppose it.

• Read the Feb. 14 council minutes here
• Davis speaks about in-camera meetings on Information Morning

"My thoughts are hegot over 500 votes to put him where he is. I figured [voters are] the ones that should have him removed," Carnevale said. "I also think transparency is very important."

The mayor received 694 votes and councillors got between 343 and 734 votes in the fall 2016 municipal election.

On Tuesday, Davis responded toCBC'srequest for an interview. He saidhe'll be at tonight's council meeting to defend himself.

'This is going to ... bite us hard'

Carnevalesaid Davis studied the Municipal GovernmentAct in detail and had questions he wanted answered.

Davis frequently challenged council's decisions to hold privatemeetings known as in-camera meetings.

"He might have gone about it a little too excited, but he's a man who believes in what he's doing and he's trying to serve the community as he said he would," Carnevale told CBC News.

Carnevalesaid he's trying to mediate between the two sides in council.

"We're not doing the town any good by prolonging this. I said at one of the meetings that this is going to come back and bite us hard if you go ahead and take him away from the committees. The town is going to rally behind him," he added.

Mayorvoted for Davis

Carnevale said he is not worried for his own standing as the lone opposing voice. "Working together is good, butif you have a different opinion, you state it. You might get defeated, but at least you voice your opinion," he said.

Bailey said the moves did not restrict Davis from his ability to work as an elected official. He can still sit at council and read notes from the committees he's no longer on. The mayor and every other councillor siton the audit and general government committees.

"No decisions are made at those meetings. The only decisions made are at the council table, and he is at that table," said Bailey, who confirmed shevoted for Davis in the last election.

She said the decision to remove him from all committees would remain "until council decides otherwise."

Rob Ford sets the precedent

Tom Urbaniak,an associate professor of political science at Cape Breton University, said councils have the authority to make these kinds ofdecisions.

"Committees exist at the pleasure of council and council is given authority to strike committees, define their terms of reference, appoint councillors or others to those committees," he said.

"By virtue of having that powerto appoint, it also has the powers to rescind."

He said it was very unusual to have a councillor serve on no committees, as they are the "work engines" where policy options are examined in detail. "I think the most prominent precedent in recent memory is that of Toronto's former mayor Rob Ford," he said.

In that case, it was Ford's personal turmoil that led to him beingstripped of key powers while he was mayor. The Lunenburg case is unusual, as it's Davis's professional conduct as a councillor that the mayor and supporting councillors cited.

Urbaniak said Davis can still attend council meetings as a councillor and can attend publicly held committee meetings as a citizen and make deputations. He can't, however, attend in-camera sessions.

Potential legal challenge

"I think a legal challenge would only come into play if the case could be made that council somehow violated its own policies as established in a previous motion," Urbaniak said.

"And if there was any action taken to prevent the councillor from functioning at council. That means if the councillor were somehow denied information and that information could be in the form of documents, or access to committee meetings.

"If a councillor hypothetically were of the view that a committee is meeting privately when it should be meeting publicly, then the councillor could raise a question of privilege at council to argue that the rights of the councillor have not been respected. There could be potential there for a legal challenge."

Lunenburgtown council is scheduled to meettodayat 5:15 p.m. at Lunenburg Town Hall. The Davis issue is expected to come up.