I just sent the following email to New Westminster’s Mayor and Councillors, and thought it needed to be made public.
Dear Mayor and Councillors,
I was hoping to speak to you regarding the following at this evening’s Council Meeting, but alas the speakers list is full.
I’m writing to you regarding the Council Code of Conduct, specifically with making it an actual useful document instead of just words to be ignored. As you’re all aware, Councillor Paul Minhas was found to have violated three sections of the Council Code of Conduct, two of which relate to the handling of confidential information. The report from the ethics commissioner recommended that Councillor Minhas should provide a letter of apology and that letter be published.
That report was dated August 10, 2026. It is now October 5, 2026, nearly two months later, and I have yet to see any apology from Councillor Minhas. I have sent four emails to Councillor Minhas asking where the apology is, and have yet to receive a response.
Has this apology been issued? If so, where has it been published?
This speaks to my main point regarding the Council Code of Conduct: there are no consequences for violating any of its sections. A councillor can just ignore the recommendations from the ethics commissioner with no repercussions. There is no docking of salary, there is no suspension from council meetings, there is absolutely no reason for a councillor to do anything in response to violating the Council Code of Conduct.
In the rest of the working world, if someone violates their company’s code of conduct, they get written up, they get put on a personal improvement plan, they have their professional license suspended, or they get fired. If I were to reveal confidential information about my company the way Councillor Minhas did, I would be fired and potentially sued for violating non-disclosure statements.
Our elected officials ought to be held to higher standards. If they violate those standards, they ought to face repercussions. Instead, they can stick their heads in the sand, pretend they did nothing wrong, and wait for everything to blow over.
Our Council Code of Conduct needs consequences built in to prevent this from happening. I know that tonight is the final council meeting of the term, but five of you are running for re-election. I urge you to beef up the Council Code of Conduct in the next term to ensure that violations come with legitimate consequences.
I also urge Councillor Paul Minhas to issue and publish his apology, and for all members of council to publicly urge him to issue and publish his apology.