An open letter to the people of Chestermere.

Recently, there have been allegations that we, Councillor Ritesh Narayan, Councillor Sandy Johal-Watt, and Councillor Dean, voted against a motion to conduct an investigation into concerns happening at City Hall.

Let’s be clear.

WE ARE STRONGLY IN FAVOUR OF AN INVESTIGATION.

We welcome all reviews into the conduct of Council and Administration. We are fully cooperating with Alberta Municipal Affairs in their preliminary review of recent allegations of misconduct by some members of Council. We are eager to work with our financial auditors and obtain their independent, professional opinion on whether there have been fiscal irregularities. We have always been willing to talk to you, our constituents, about your concerns and get to the bottom of them.

And we strongly support an investigation.

BUT it must be done by an independent, impartial third party, so we can all be confident that we will get the uncensored truth. 

With that in mind, during the public portion of the March 29^th special meeting of council, Councillor Dean asked to add a clause to the motion that would ensure a neutral process in hiring an investigator. He requested this clause so that we could all be confident that the investigation and report wouldn’t be influenced by anyone, not former or current members of City Council or Administration.

The other members of City Council refused to add this clause that would ensure an impartial hiring process and, ultimately, a fulsome and honest investigation.

Why did they refuse a request ensuring an open, independent process for hiring an investigator?

We don’t know. But you should certainly ask them.

We believe in good government. We believe in transparency. We believe in getting to the truth. An independent, impartial investigation needs to be done. 

And we fully support finding someone with the credentials and impartiality to do it right. 

Sincerely,
Councillor Shannon Dean
Councillor Sandy Johal-Watt
Councillor Ritesh Narayan

P.S. We recognize that criticism is part of the job as elected officials. And we welcome opinions, differing viewpoints and even opposition. We even welcome a review into our conduct, but baseless accusations like those recently made through social media without any facts are defamatory and irreparably damage our professionalism and character. We ask that they stop immediately.