Number of complaints, inquiries made to Ottawa’s integrity commissioner to rise

The volume of complaints filed with the City’s Office of the Integrity Commissioner continues to be high, according to a report that will be presented at city council.

According to the reporting, between October 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022, the office managed only one fewer complaint than was received in the entire full 2021 reporting year.

“The Office of the Integrity Commissioner has seen a steady increase in the number of complaints received in recent years, with the highest number of complaints per year (14) managed during each the last two full-year reports cycles of 2020 and 2021,” integrity commissioner Karen Shepherd said in the report.

“In addition to formal and informal complaints, my office also managed an increasing number of complex inquiries that have required research, substantial analysis and development of new approaches.”

In the six-month period, Shepherd reports having to look into 13 formal and informal complaints that were within her jurisdiction respecting the Code of Conduct. Three of those formal complaints were ongoing from the previous period, nine were new and one informal complaint was received.

Of the nine new formal complaints, four were dismissed at the intake stage.

Another was dismissed after having taken preliminary inquiry steps.

One complaint was closed without completing a full investigation, while another was closed without resolution which involved a member of the public filing a formal complaint alleging that a member of council conveyed an inappropriate message in a column the member published in a local newspaper, which allegedly contravened several sections of the Code of Conduct.

Five formal complaints remain open at the end of the 2022 mid-year reporting cycle.

At the 2022 mid-year mark, however, saw a change in trend where the office received more inquiries in general from elected officials than from members of the public.

“The number of inquiries I received from elected officials in this six-month reporting period (43) has almost matched the total received for the previous 2021 full-year reporting period (50),” the commissioner said. “I am please that members of council have been contacting my office for support and guidance, and I encourage them to continue to do so.”