Investigation Report: Ombudsman Act – Rural Municipality of East St Paul

2025-10-14

Summary

The Manitoba Ombudsman received a complaint about the use of the Rural Municipality of East St. Paul logo by a councillor during their election campaign in fall 2022. The complainant also alleged a conflict of interest within the RM when the same councillor participated in a vote to refund funds to a developer. We found that while the councillor’s use of the municipal logo was in contravention of By-Law 2022-04, we accept it was an unintentional error, which is supported by the councillor taking steps to remedy the situation once it was brought to their attention. We found the RM could make improvements to ensure staff are aware of regulations and protocols and encourage the RM to develop a comprehensive communication plan about the election process and the requirements of By-Law 2022-24 prior to the next election.

For the conflict of interest, our review determined the councillor did have an indirect pecuniary interest, as well as a personal relationship, regarding the company subject to the council vote in question. We found the actions of the councillor were inconsistent with the conflict-of-interest procedures under subsection 5(1) of The Municipal Conflict of Interest Act. The RM council and the CAO committed to and completed a review of conflict of interest requirements and procedures to prevent a reoccurrence. The RM also committed to ensuring timely updating of their public central record of all disclosures. This report is a revised and reissued report, replacing our original December 2024 report. Read the full report by clicking the link below.

Case MO-03697