INNISFAIL - An Innisfail town councillor facing several charges including sexual assault has been removed from all council committees until the legal proceedings against him are concluded.
Coun. Donnie Hill was charged with sexual assault, unlawful confinement, assault and criminal harassment on Oct. 23, 2020. He maintains the charges are false. They have not been proven in court.
A trial date in Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench has been set for January 2022.
Council accepted the findings of an external investigation report into possible breaches of the town’s Council Code of Conduct Bylaw.
“The report findings conclude that Councillor Hill breached section 4.1(d) of the Code of Conduct Bylaw 1612-2018. His private affairs involving recent and past criminal charges, though unproven, have had a negative impact on the reputation of council and the community,” a statement issued by the town today (Feb. 10) said.
During its Feb. 8 regular meeting, council passed a motion to sanction Hill by removing him from all council committees until the legal proceedings involving his private affairs are concluded.
"These sanctions are a temporary suspension from committee involvement in an effort to create some professional distance between the community and Councillor Hill in his capacity as an elected official for the Town of Innisfail," the town's statement said.
The report findings concluded that Hill did not breach section 7.1 of the Code of Conduct Bylaw that states members shall uphold the law established by the Parliament of Canada and the Legislature of Alberta and the bylaws, policies and procedures adopted by Council.
“He has no criminal convictions and current charges against him have not been proven in a court of law. Councillor Hill remains qualified to serve as a municipal councillor in accordance with the Municipal Government Act, section 174(1)(e) and the code of conduct bylaw,” says the town’s statement.
Council had a number of sanctioning options afforded to it in the bylaw “providing that the sanction does not prevent a member from fulfilling the legislated duties of a councillor and the sanction is not contrary to the Act.”
Under the Municipal Government Act, a councillor is disqualified from council if the councillor is convicted of an offence punishable by imprisonment for five or more years, or convicted of an offence under section 123, 124 or 125 of the Criminal Code.
SAGE Analytics Inc. began the council code of conduct investigation process after a Nov. 23, 2020 council appointment.
Since then, a separate investigation report is being prepared involving allegations made against former councillor Glen Carritt. SAGE anticipates that this investigation will be completed by the end of February, the town statement notes.
Carritt resigned from town council during a Jan. 11 council meeting after being confronted by other council members that his support of a local business defying a provincial COVID restriction was wrong and illegal.
The town expects to spend about approximately $25,000 on both investigations into the Council Code of Conduct Bylaw breach allegations.
