New Westminster is now among a handful of cities in British Columbia with an ethics commissioner.
The City of New Westminster has announced the appointment its first-ever ethics commissioner – Jennifer Devins, a lawyer with nearly 20 years of experience in labour and employment law, including human rights law. Devins is a partner at Roper Greyell Employment and Labour Lawyers.
"We are proud to announce the hiring of Jennifer Devins as our first ethics commissioner,” Lisa Spitale, the city’s chief administrative officer, said in a June 17 news release. “Her proven track record in the legal field and dedication to ethical governance will be invaluable as we continue to enhance transparency and integrity within our municipal organization."
In this role, Devins will be performing advisory, investigative, and educational services to support fair and transparent governance in relation to the council code of conduct bylaw. She will also provide advice and recommendations to council members regarding their ethical obligations and responsibilities under this bylaw or other enactments and will produce materials aimed at helping community members understand the work being undertaken by the ethics commissioner.
Devins has represented clients before the Supreme Court of Canada, at all levels of court in British Columbia, the Labour Relations Board, the Human Rights Tribunal, the Employment Standards Tribunal, and labour arbitrators.
According to the City of New Westminster, Devins has also worked as an independent investigator on complex complaints of misconduct, bullying, and harassment, and is a frequent writer and speaker on the topics of labour and employment law.
“I am honoured to be appointed as the first ethics commissioner for the City of New Westminster,” Devin said in the news release. “I look forward to working with mayor and council, city staff, community leaders, and residents to uphold the highest standards of integrity and transparency in local government.”
The council code of conduct bylaw states a council member, staff member, committee member or resident may submit a complaint to the ethics commissioner. They must submit a complaint in writing within 60 days of the alleged breach.
Code of conduct
The new council code of conduct, approved in 2023, sets out the rules that council members are expected to abide by while carrying out their duties as elected officials.
The code of conduct also led to the creation of a new municipal role, an ethics commissioner, whose role is to handle complaints about elected officials and ensure the city’s code of conduct rules are abided by and enforced.
Other cities with similar positions include the City of Surrey, which has an ethics commissioner, and the City of Vancouver, which has an integrity commissioner.
In a 5-2 vote, city council approved the code of conduct bylaw on Nov. 27, 2023. At that time, the bylaw stated the appointment of an ethics commissioner required a two-thirds majority vote of council. (Mayor Patrick Johnstone and councillors Ruby Campbell, Tasha Henderson, Jaimie McEvoy and Nadine Nakagawa supported the bylaw, which was opposed by councillors Daniel Fontaine and Paul Minhas.)
In an email to the Record, the city confirmed Devin’s start date with the City of New Westminster was May 26.
The city states the ethics commissioner is not a full-time, permanent role, but is a fixed-term contract. Devin is doing the work as a part of her ongoing practice and will bill the city for hours worked.
