Judicial inquiry says RM of Sherwood’s Kevin Eberle stood to earn $57 million from land development
Changes are likely to conflict of interest provisions in Saskatchewan municipal legislation after the province fired the reeve of the Rural Municipality of Sherwood over his involvement in a proposed residential development.
Government relations minister Jim Reiter removed Kevin Eberle from his elected position last week after a judicial inquiry found him in a serious conflict of interest over the proposed Wascana Village. RCMP are now reviewing the matter.
Former Queen’s Bench justice Ron Barclay said Eberle violated the public trust and exerted influence on other council members, even while excusing himself from some discussions about the development, which was planned for just southeast of Regina.
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Barclay said Eberle stood to gain up to $57 million from the development by selling three quarters of land to the project and entering into a profit sharing deal with the developer. He found that Eberle asked former staff to destroy documents that would confirm his involvement in the development and asked that meeting minutes be altered.
“Reeve Eberle’s actions fall far below any standard by which I was asked to assess his conduct,” Barclay wrote in his report.
“Unfortunately, the opportunity to earn significant profits has interfered with his moral compass.”
Reiter said he was “shocked and disgusted” when he read Barclay’s report.
“I spent my career in municipal work before politics, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said.
“Based on the judge’s findings, I think it’s imperative that he be removed from office. It’s not just simply allegations.”
He appointed Regina lawyer Neil Robertson to act as interim reeve until a byelection can be held in October. He also appointed an official administrator, Steven Schiefner, to work with the RM’s current administration and oversee financial affairs. Both will report to Reiter regularly.
The current council has stood by Eberle, even after receiving the Barclay report late last year. It said last week that it was disappointed with the findings and believed the government should not have interfered with the voters’ choice.
Reiter said he is concerned about the council’s conduct and expects full co-operation.
“I’m going to be relying on the interim reeve and the interim administrator to advise me, and anything I’m announcing today does not preclude further action,” he said.
Governments have stepped in to remove councils before. Most recently, the entire council of Sherwood was removed in 2007 following questions about voter eligibility and a series of resignations.
In 2004, the council of the Village of Goodeve was also removed.
Still, Reiter said the situation with Eberle is an anomaly.
“Most municipal officials conduct themselves with a great deal of integrity and transparency,” he said.
Ray Orb, acting president of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, said he realized once he read the report that Reiter had no choice but to take the action he did.
It’s clear changes must be made, he added.
Councillors must declare pecuniary interests under current legislation, but Barclay said they should provide details.
He also recommended that annual public disclosure statements be triggered by the declaration of pecuniary interests.
During his inquiry, he heard that some might be dissuaded from council if they had to make public disclosures about their employment and property.
“Importantly, this disclosure statement would not be open for public inspection and would therefore not act as an overly invasive deterrent to council members,” Barclay said.
Orb said that sounded like a good compromise.
He also agreed with Barclay that RMs should revisit their current code of ethics.
Barclay said Sherwood’s code is “entirely inadequate in providing any meaningful guidance to members of council,” and he suspected the RM is not unique.
Barclay also recommended a conflict of interest ombudsman for municipalities.
He said council members are often important members of local communities, who have significant land holdings or business interests and who often face conflicts of interest.
Orb noted that Sherwood used its own legal counsel and did not go to SARM for any help.
“There is support staff at SARM, and there is support staff at the ministry,” he said.
Meanwhile, the future of Wascana Village, which would house about 14,000 people, remains unclear.
The RM has not complied with requirements within the government’s community planning branch, and Reiter said the government requires a value-for-money report.
“It’s very clear in the report that the RM needs to comply with past requirements that the community planning branch of my ministry had put on them, which they had failed to comply with,” he said.
karen.briere@producer.com
