Calgary mayor motions to introduce new transparency rules for city officials

Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas announced a motion Thursday to create a new registry to help hold politicians accountable for their actions while in office.

The mayor of Calgary has announced a motion to create a new registry to help hold elected officials accountable for their actions and activities while in office.

“Calgarians deserve to know who is seeking to influence public policy, who they are meeting with and on whose behalf they are acting,” Jeromy Farkas told the media outside council chambers on Thursday.

“Now, more than ever, we need to demonstrate the decisions at city hall are being made in the public interest and that our institutions are worthy of the confidence Calgarians place in them.”

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The move comes on the heels of an RCMP investigation connected to several past and present members of Calgary city council.

In late March, it was revealed that current Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot, former councillor Sean Chu and former mayor Jyoti Gondek were all under investigation by the RCMP.

As part of the investigation, personal cell phones belonging to those individuals were seized by police.

The Calgary Police Service said the initial complaint in the case was made during the municipal election campaign last October.

No further details were provided to “protect the integrity and confidentiality” of the process.

On Thursday, Farkas said he and council have no further details to share about the ongoing investigation.

“This is a law enforcement and neither council nor administration has any information about the investigation, and it would be inappropriate for me to speculate on the facts about the individuals involved or the outcome.”