Calgary city council to send Chu’s police commission review to province – Calgary

Calgary City Council voted unanimously to send a Calgary Police Commission report on Ward 4 Coun. Sean Chu’s police misconduct investigation to the provincial government.

At a special meeting Tuesday, council agreed to share the report with Premier Danielle Smith and ask the province to determine whether further action should be taken. The Council also asked the province to determine what steps should be taken to allow the public to continue to reach out on this matter.

It comes after the Calgary Police Commission found that some policies and processes were not properly followed by the Calgary Police Service following an allegation of sexual assault against Chu, who was an officer at the time.

The report said the commission does not have the authority to evaluate whether a criminal investigation or criminal charges are warranted, nor does it have the authority to determine Chu’s fitness for public office.

Chu reiterated a statement posted on Twitter Monday night.

“A statement of claim is not a finding of fact, and as the name suggests, it is a claim that has not been proven (in court),” Chu said.

“I refer everything again to my statement of 21 October 2021… This is a distraction or deviation from the real issues. The real issues are the never-ending property tax increases, LRT safety and downtown street safety.”

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Councilor Sean Chu will not serve on any Calgary committees

Mayor Jyoti Gondek told reporters on Tuesday that there is not much the city can do about the report and she looks forward to seeing what the province will do.

“While we were shaping the content of this special council meeting, I was in contact with several members of the provincial government. I think it’s polite to give them a heads up,” the mayor said

Chu removed from the vice mayor list

Chu was also removed from the deputy mayor list because Gondek is unable to lead the Dec. 6 council meeting, which coincides with the National Day of Remembrance and Action Against Violence Against Women. Chu will have to give a speech on gender-based violence at the beginning of the meeting.

Councilors Andre Chabot and Courtney Walcott will serve as deputy mayors in December 2022 and May 2023, respectively.

It also comes after Chu allegedly took a photo of Mayor Jyoti Gondek’s license plate in a secure location, which she said put her safety at risk.

“It put my safety at risk and created fear of retaliation for speaking out,” Gondek said at the meeting.

Chu agreed to remove his name from the list and apologized at Tuesday’s board meeting, saying he accepted his “punishment” but did not elaborate on his reasoning. He said he had spoken to the city’s ethics commissioner about this issue.

However, Gondek did not accept his apology and said she had not filed a complaint with the ethics commissioner.

“Knowing what I know about Chu’s behavior … I cannot trust that individual to represent our city. I really can’t have him making initial comments for a day that we mark violence against women,” Gondek told reporters.

Gondek also said she wants Chu to resign.

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Sean Chu says he will not resign as councilor of Calgary ward 4

Carra’s integrity investigation not sent to the province

Ward 1 Count. Sonya Sharp’s motion to forward Ward 9 Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra’s integrity inquiry to the province for review was defeated on Tuesday.

The motion called for the findings of the investigation to be sent to Municipal Affairs Minister Rebecca Schulz and the Calgary Police Service for further review.

However, the findings will not be forwarded because the motion did not receive enough votes. The motion needed 10 votes to pass because it required a two-thirds majority to pass, but only 9 councilors voted in favor.

Councilors Kourtney Penner and Courtney Walcott rejected the decision to bring back Carra’s investigation, saying it disrespected victims of sexual assault, as the special meeting was called to discuss Chu’s misconduct while a police officer.

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Motion to refer Carra integrity investigation to province and police passes first hurdle

“If it had come at another time, I would have agreed, but I can’t at this time… When we start piling things on top of each other, it diminishes the importance of the issue we’re dealing with, Penner said.

“It’s deeply offensive to those of us who are victims and I just can’t let it stand. I can’t support that because we can’t mix things up and we can’t send mixed messages to Calgarians.”

However, Councilors Sharp and Jennifer Wyness argued that the council should be consistent with which reports it decides to send to the province for review.

“We’re just trying to show consistency for Calgarians because Calgarians don’t trust us right now and we have to show them in little ways that we’re listening to them,” Wyness said.

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