Parker needs to resign
By Letter to the Editor on March 3, 2021.
Editor:
Many taxpayers may not understand Lethbridge City Councillor Ryan Parker’s seemingly odd admission of a mistake at the City Council Meeting of February 09, 2021. (Video of Lethbridge City Council Meeting – item 1.2.3-frame stop 2:28). Everyone makes mistakes, no big deal.
Except it was a big deal!
Part of Councillor Parker’s duties include being a member of the ‘Economic Standing Policy Committee’, and one of their responsibilities is to oversee and vote on administrative salaries.
However, Councillor Parker’s wife is employed as Corporate Sustainability Manager for the City of Lethbridge.
It is irrelevant that no pay increase was at issue in this particular instance. It is a conflict for him to participate in any way in discussions or votes that pertain to her salary.
The Municipal Government Act calls this pecuniary interest. Sections 172-175 of the Act describe how Councillors may not take part in the discussion and decision-making on any matter in which they have a pecuniary interest.
Further, these rules apply at all meetings of council and its committees, and at the meetings of any board, commission, committee or agency to which councillors are appointed as a representative of the council.
Councillor Parker is not a rookie. Elected in 1998, he has nearly 23 years of experience in the job.
Councillor Parker has dealt with these provisions before.
This lack of respect for the rules and the taxpayer is exactly what needs to change at City Hall.
The consequence for breaking the pecuniary interest rule is serious.
Section 174 of the Municipal Government Act states that if a councillor participates in a matter where they have a pecuniary interest, that councillor is disqualified from Council and must immediately resign.
Councillor Parker must resign!
Jeffrey DeJong
Lethbridge Transparency Council
-1
see ya parker; welcome spiderman.
He won’t resign; his position is too lucrative. Our best hope is that he NOT run for council again. The man does nothing but smile and collect a paycheck at our expense. This career politician adds no value to Council. At least 3 others need to join him (resident actor Jeff Carlson, DJ media personality Mark Campbell and Mr. Mauro).
another example of why we need audits. anyone have the decency to campaign on transparency and regular audits?
RYAN PARKER … PLEASE JUST GO …. GO GO!!
Lethbridge desperately needs new blood; new fresh vision; a person who is informed on the dismal social problems we face as well as environmental. Ryan has done nothing positive on either front.
Belinda Crowson is another one. She has wasted $435,000 of our tax dollars for native MMW when it is not even within municipal jurisdiction to do so. This is a provincial and federal area and on that front the natives got $91 million from us and more recently an additional $25M !!! No one stood up to her. Why? Probably afraid that not handing over $$ might look like Council is ‘racist’. Such fear based politics at our expense has to come to an end.
So, is the takeaway message from the comments about Ryan Parker that you don’t like natives, or funding initiatives directed at natives, or both?
Put your ‘racist’ card away and get informed. This matter falls under Federal NOT Municipal. Federal gov. (in other words tax payers) have poured $92M into this black hole. How dare Belinda Crowson waste our $$ on an issue that’s already swimming in funds.
There should be an investigation on Councilor Carlson for conflict of interest on new Performing Arts Centre. He [previously declared( recuse) himself on spending on refurbish of Yates Centre because of doing work with new west theatre indicates in City Council minutes.