Integrity Commissioner & Ethics Advisor

On January 22, 2024 City Council approved the contractual hiring of Red Deer’s first Integrity Commissioner & Ethics Advisor.

The Integrity Commissioner & Ethics Advisor receives and investigates potential breaches of the Council Code of Conduct Bylaw, provides ethics advice to Councillors regarding individual ethics, and supports elected official maintaining the high level of integrity that the public expects.

The City’s original Council Code of Conduct Bylaw was adopted in 2018 following direction from the Provincial Government to implement through the Municipal Government Act (MGA).

An updated Council Code of Conduct Bylaw, incorporating the role of Integrity Commissioner & Ethics Advisor, was effective February 1, 2024.

Read the Code of Conduct Bylaw 3696/2023 (effective February 1, 2024) (pdf).

Roles & Responsibilities

Steven Phipps, Integrity Commissioner & Ethics Advisor:

  • To receive and investigate potential breaches of the Council Code of Conduct Bylaw
  • Provide ethics advice to Councillors regarding individual ethics and policy, as well as provide educational programs and materials
Steven Phipps Bio

Steven graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University in Montreal in 1985 and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Alberta in Edmonton in 1988.  For 13 years from 1998 to 2011 Steven was a staff lawyer with the City of Edmonton providing legal advice to City Council and a number of different City departments.  Steven’s municipal law experience continued in private practice from 2011 to 2013 with FMC LLP (now Dentons) and then with the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (now Alberta Municipalities) until his retirement from the full-time practice of law in 2016.  Since that time Steven has continued to work on projects with a number of Alberta municipalities including Strathcona County, Lethbridge, Beaumont and Leduc.

Outside the practice of law Steven was a sessional instructor in municipal law with the University of Alberta, Faculty of Extension in the NAACLA program from 2009 until 2021, was appointed by Edmonton City Council as a member of the Edmonton Combative Sports Commission where he served from 2015 until 2021, including three years as Commission Chair, and since 2022 has served as a member of the Board of Directors of BC Hockey.

Filing a complaint

If you believe a Councillor has contravened the Council Code of Conduct Bylaw, you may make a written complaint to the Integrity Commissioner.

Written complaints must include the following:

  1. the provisions of the Council Code of Conduct Bylaw that you believe were contravened;
  2. a detailed description of the facts giving rise to your complaint, including any witnesses and the dates of events;
  3. the name of the Councillor(s) you believe have contravened the Council Code of Conduct Bylaw; and
  4. your name, current address, and phone number.

For your convenience, a Code of Conduct Complaint Form (pdf) is provided.

Complaints can be submitted by email to Integrity.Commissioner@reddeer.ca or delivered to:

Attention: Integrity Commissioner
The City of Red Deer
Box 5008 Red Deer
AB, Canada T4N 3T4 

Your complaint must be received not later than 90 days after the date you became aware of the conduct giving rise to the complaint.

Refer to Part 3 (sections 44-82) of the Code of Conduct Bylaw 3696/2023 (effective February 1, 2024) (pdf) for further details on the complaint submission process, as well as information on the investigation and reporting of complaints.

What is the Code of Conduct Bylaw?

A Code of Conduct is a written document that sets expectations for Council Member’s conduct or behaviour.

All municipal councils are required by the Municipal Government Act (MGA) to have a Code of Conduct Bylaw. The City of Red Deer had code of conduct policies prior to the bylaw (3608-2018) being adopted by Council on July 23, 2018. It is reviewed when a new council is elected.

View the Code of Conduct Bylaw 3696/2023 (effective February 1, 2024) (pdf).

Council Code of Conduct Complaint Investigation COC2023-002

Following an internal investigation stemming from a complaint received by Council in June 2023, Councillor Cindy Jefferies was found in breach of one section of the City Council’s Code of Conduct Bylaw with the remaining allegations determined to be unfounded.

Council Code of Conduct Complaint Investigation COC2023-001

Following an independent investigation stemming from a complaint received by City Council in March 2023, Councillor Kraymer Barnstable, by a vote of 5 to 2, was found in breach of City Council’s Code of Conduct Bylaw with two of six allegations founded when City Council accepted the findings in the investigator’s report at a City Council meeting on May 15, 2023.

Council Code of Conduct Complaint Investigation COC2021-002

An investigation stemming from a code of conduct complaint received by City Council on May 7, 2021, closed, and a majority of Council did not accept the investigation report at the October 8, 2021 Council meeting. The investigation is considered complete and remains confidential.

Council Code of Conduct Complaint Investigation COC201-001

Following an independent investigation stemming from a complaint received by City Council on April 15, 2021, Councillor Buck Buchanan faces sanctions for breaching Red Deer City Council’s Code of Conduct Bylaw. By a majority vote on July 26, 2021, Council accepted the findings in the investigator’s report, which conclude that Councillor Buchanan breached three sections of the Code of Conduct Bylaw.

During the August 24, 2021 Council meeting, three of the sanctions imposed were removed.