BREAKING: Kinach promises to be more ‘polished and courteous’

Ward 4 Coun. Stephan Kinach says he's willing to apologize for remarks he made at a city council meeting on March 18, but in correspondence last week with integrity commissioner Antoinette Blunt he said: "I will not be able to bring myself to read it in open council."

As SooToday first reported last Thursday, Blunt has ruled that Kinach violated the city's code of conduct when he sharply criticized Tom Vair, the city's chief administrative officer, at the live-streamed meeting.

Blunt's recommended sanction was to have Kinach apologize at a city council meeting.

Will he do that at tonight's council meeting?

So far, Kinach hasn't said, but an exchange of correspondence last week involving Kinach suggests the Ward 4 councillor is unlikely to do so.

Click here to read Coun. Kinach's correspondence last week with the integrity commissioner, Mayor Matthew Shoemaker and city CAO Tom Vair

"After our meeting on Friday, I had some time to reflect," Kinach says in a message sent to Mayor Shoemaker on March 27.

Kinach's message continues as follows;

I reached out and discussed with family, friends, former councillors and trusted Saultites from my ward and across the city. I have written my apology, but I will not be able to read it at open council as you both asked. For the following reasons:

• from my conversations and research this would be the first time a councillor would be apologizing in open council in the Soo in such a manner. In the past, there has been much worse said by past councillors, which was all dealt with privately. The precedent that this would set I am not comfortable being associated with. It would have a long-lasting negative impact on council's role and key responsibilities of representing the people by weakening elected officials duties
• as was brought up in our meeting about being worried about starting a culture of running or opening the floodgates to the Integrity Commissioner. I don't think that should be my responsibility or put on my shoulders period. I'm not in a management role
• by me apologizing in open council, I have no guarantee this will be the end of this issue. Because the next time the senior management member is offended by me or another councillor, they will just go directly to the integrity commissioner
• while my comments were harsh, they were generalized. I do not believe I crossed any lines. No one was personally targeted, threatened, slandered or belittled. Councillors are allowed to criticize staff and this is a gray zone as you both agreed with in our meeting. I understand that a personal apology is out of the question because of the privacy issues involved in the complaint process. So I would offer that our meeting on Friday addressed the complaint and going forward, I will be more polished and courteous with my wording. If that senior management member is not satisfied with the meeting we had, I would like to express my interest in consulting the integrity commissioner and weigh my options to face this issue head on.

Mayor Shoemaker questioned Kinach's assertion that this would be the first time a councillor has apologized at a city council meeting.

Past Couns. David Celetti, Frank Fata and Ross Romano all apologized "on separate occasions for things they either said in public or in the community," the mayor said.

Even so, CAO Vair advised Kinach that whatever happened in the past may no longer be relevant:

I would hesitate to use standards of the past. Much has changed in the municipal and work world and expectations are much different for today's councillors and senior managers in the way they engage with staff and the community....

An apology does nothing to weaken elected officials duties, but it does help set the tone for how we all would like council and staff to be treated in our communications – with respect and professionalism.

There is lots of room for council to challenge or question staff in a respectful manner but that would not violate the code of conduct.

Coun. Kinach has forwarded last week's correspondence to the city and the material is expected to be added to the agenda package.

What's not known at this time is whether the integrity commissioner's ruling that Kinach broke the code of conduct will change his mind about whether to apologize at tonight's council meeting.

Asked about that today by SooToday, Kinach didn't respond.

Tonight's meeting will be live-streamed on SooToday starting at 5 p.m.

Click here to read Coun. Kinach's correspondence last week with the integrity commissioner, Mayor Matthew Shoemaker and city CAO Tom Vair