Dear Editor:
Has a code of ethics been violated?
• Was the Town of Rimbey’s protocol, policy or code of ethics followed? There may be a conflict of interest or other breakdown in the town management system.
• Earl Giebelhaus questioned the financial integrity of our community leaders. Checks and balances are a path to success not a destination. For Mayor Dale Barr to put this discussion on hold may have been prudent to better facilitate a resolution. However Coun. Dave Karroll’s document must be tabled very soon.
• In the mayor’s mind council has been working very hard to do its best to represent the community. Why then, when confronted with a potential conflict of interest situation around furniture purchases, would he go to a lawyer? Would the performance of the mayor and council and their documentation not speak for itself? I would hope so.
• We all have a codes of ethics and values. I would expect the mayor, councillors, RCMP, firefighters, doctors, nurses, paramedics and EMTs have theirs, as well as a professional code of ethics. Is it true that the mayor and town manager have taken a punitive approach to an EMT whose training and career is about saving lives and attending to emergencies? If so, they are way out of line. Council members and residents of this community must ask for a public review.
• Freedom is what Canada is all about. Our soldiers, RCMP, human rights and human relations departments are here to ensure this.
Is it time to establish an independent review committee with the skills required to close on the findings around the conduct of the mayor and council?
The Rimbey constituents deserve a structured answer, complete with documentation.
Bob Stevenson