Senior Chestermere official charged with assault after altercation

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A senior official with the town of Chestermere faces an assault cost over an altercation through which she is accused of punching one other worker.

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Metropolis Director Kim Wallace left metropolis corridor Wednesday afternoon with RCMP officers concerning the January incident. RCMP mentioned Thursday that Wallace, 56, is being charged with assault following an investigation. She was launched from custody and is because of seem in provincial courtroom once more on March 3.

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The circumstances surrounding the alleged offense are unclear, however Metropolis Corridor sources declare Wallace put her palms on an worker throughout a loud, verbal disagreement.

Previous to the RCMP launch, Chestermere Mayor Jeff Colvin confirmed that the town “is conscious of the cost in opposition to one in every of our workers and that worker is just not at present attending Metropolis Corridor.” The mayor didn’t disclose the standing of Wallace’s employment, saying it isn’t “acceptable or legally permissible” for the town to share details about personnel issues.

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“The town takes very severely its dedication to a protected and respectful office,” the mayor mentioned in an emailed assertion Thursday, including that the town will rent an impartial third celebration to analyze the matter additional. Colvin beforehand known as the assault declare a baseless political assault.

A number of Chestermere workers have made claims to Postmedia over the previous 12 months of harassment and bullying inside Metropolis Corridor, amongst different allegations of poor working circumstances. Workers had been efficiently unionized final Might following the firing and resignation of a number of workers – together with the heads of varied departments – throughout a controversial reorganization in early 2022.

Wallace one in every of Chestermere’s three chief administrative officers

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The Canadian Union of Public Workers confirmed Wallace is the town’s lead labor negotiator in ongoing collective bargaining talks. Spokesman Lou Arab mentioned the union was awaiting phrase from the town on whether or not Wallace would proceed in that position.

“Whereas we can’t but touch upon the main points of the case, it’s our place that every one workers have the best to really feel protected of their work atmosphere, and assault in any form or kind needs to be grounds for dismissal,” he mentioned.

Wallace is likely one of the metropolis’s three chief administrative officers. (The Council moved final 12 months to separate the usually stand-alone CAO place into three roles.)

She labored on the metropolis for a few 12 months, beginning as a supervisor of the communications division earlier than being moved to chief of employees after which to a high official inside metropolis administration in a couple of months. She additionally labored on Colvin’s 2021 re-election marketing campaign, and her firm, Oliver Spence Artistic, which is run by her husband, was contracted by the town final 12 months to supply IT providers.

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Wallace — together with the opposite CAOs — studies on to Colvin and his controversial board, which is at present the topic of a uncommon provincial investigation into their administration — the primary of its form in Alberta since 2018.

Inspection findings, provincial directives coming quickly

The province launched a municipal inspection in Chestermere following complaints of impropriety from councilors Shannon Dean, Sandy Johal-Watt and Ritesh Narayan over actions of the council’s controlling majority of the mayor, deputy mayor Mel Foat and councilors Stephen Hanley and Blaine Funk. Then-municipal affairs minister Ric McIver ordered the inquiry – carried out by third-party municipal adviser George Cuff – in Might 2022. centered on, however was not restricted to, the next allegations:

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As points continued to come up within the divided council throughout the investigation, the county appointed an official administrator to the town in September 2022 after the mayor tried to launch investigations into greater than 100 alleged code of conduct violations by the three council members which led to the inspection. McIver appointed the administrator – who has the ability to overturn any council determination and later used that energy to dismiss the code of conduct inquiries – due to the council’s “rising dysfunction” and as a stopgap to supervise the board’s decision-making till the investigation is full.

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Official Administrator Douglas Lagore’s time period ended on January 31; it’s at present unclear whether or not the province plans to increase his time period.

In December, metropolis officers — together with Wallace — penned an almost 3,000-word rebuke of the county’s investigation, alleging bias and procedural points. The strongly worded response to the draft inspection report supplied the ministry two “choices” to maneuver ahead, suggesting the province both “withdraw or restart” the investigation. The mayor’s council bloc voted to again that report – as soon as in a scrapped December assembly and once more in January – however the ministry mentioned it might transfer ahead with its established course of.

The Council and a handful of metropolis officers will meet with Municipal Affairs Minister Rebecca Schulz subsequent week.

As soon as the inspection report is launched, Schulz will present pointers to the council and metropolis administration to right any points discovered. If these directives should not adopted, the mayor, council members or the town’s chief directors might face additional sanctions, together with potential dismissal.

mrodriguez@postmedia.com

Twitter: @michaelrdrguez