The Alberta government, citing poor governance, fired Chestermere Mayor Jeff Colvin, councillors Stephen Hanley, Mel Foat, Blaine Funk, and three chief administrative officers. However, councillors Sandy Johal-Watt, Shannon Dean, and Ritesh Narayan retained their positions for holding others accountable. This decision follows a provincial investigation initiated in May 2022, which found issues like council division and overreach into administrative duties. Despite 12 binding directives issued in March and supervision by official administrator Douglas Lagore since September, the city failed to comply, leading to these dismissals. The province appointed Lionel Patrick Vincent as interim CAO and extended Lagore’s role to manage the city until a byelection within six months. A financial review of Chestermere is planned, with results shared before the byelection. Municipal services will continue uninterrupted. The dismissed officials, contesting the investigation as biased, sought a judicial review and injunctions, which were denied, but a successful review could reinstate them.
Sources
https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/province-fires-chestermere-mayor-three-councillors-spared