CTF slams Vancouver mayor Sim over motion to suspend integrity commissioner

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has slammed Vancouver mayor Ken Sim and his ABC Party over a proposal to suspend Integrity Commissioner Lisa Southern in order to conduct a third-party review of the scope of her office's work. Sim had expressed support for the motion, however during a city council meeting on Tuesday, he moved to defer a vote on the matter until September 25, after councilors return from their summer break. If passed, it will temporarily freeze Southern's current investigations and prevent her from taking up new ones until the review has been conducted."Taxpayers in Vancouver need more accountability from our politicians – not less," Canadian Taxpayers Federation BC Director Carson Binda said in a news release. "What are Sim and ABC trying to hide by freezing the work of the integrity commissioner?"He went on to suggest that "freezing the work of the integrity commissioner is democratic backsliding in action," adding, "it’s shameful for the politicians to pull the plug on accountability.""Sim and council need to maintain the integrity commissioner,” Binda concluded. "If Sim and his ABC councilors are worried about the work of the integrity commissioner, they should try harder not to violate their ethical obligations instead of shutting her office down."Among Southern's main tasks is investigating code of conduct complaints filed against city councilors and advisory board members. As of late, members of Sim's staff have been among those targeted.During the meeting, which was boycotted by a number of councilors, Sim took aim at Councilor Pete Fry, accusing him of seeking to derail the motion via "political theatre.""Yesterday Councilor Fry, on a holiday Monday, sent an email to all of council and senior city staff saying that he'd filed a complaint with the integrity commissioner against an unknown number of councilors and potentially myself," a ballcap-clad Sim said. "This is despite the clear guidelines and expectations from the integrity commissioner that complaints remain confidential."Sim argued that Fry's "purposely or recklessly" taken actions had "broken the expected confidentiality of the process," and that as a result, he had "no choice but to recommend a recess of this meeting out of an abundance of caution until this break with established protocol is dealt with.""It is my opinion," he continued, "that these actions demonstrate how an office that is intended to provide an avenue for genuine concerns to be appropriately dealt with is continuing to be politicized.".Among those who shared Fry's concerns was fellow councilor Christine Boyle. In a post on X, she made it clear that "if Mayor Sim or ABC Cllrs know there's a complaint against them with the Integrity Commissioner ... they should not be voting to suspend her work.".This is what the Western Standard is up againstThe Trudeau government is funding lies and propaganda by directly subsidizing the mainstream media. They do this to entrench the powerful Eastern, woke and corrupt interests that dominate the political, social and economic institutions in Canada. Federal authorities are constantly trying to censor us and stop us from publishing the stories that they don’t want you to read. Ottawa may weaponize our taxes and police against us, but we’ve got a powerful ally on our side.You. Free men, and free women. We need you to stand with us and become a member of the Western Standard. Here’s what you will get for your membership:Unlimited access to all articles from the Western Standard, Alberta Report, West Coast Standard, and Saskatchewan Standard, with no paywall. Our daily newsletter delivered to your inbox. .Access to exclusive Member-only WS events.Keep the West’s leading independent media voice strong and free.If you can, please support us with a monthly or annual membership. It takes just a moment to set up, and you will be making a big impact on keeping one the last independent media outlets in Canada free from Ottawa’s corrupting influence.