Sudbury councillor made false statements in attacking CAO over pay raises: report

Sudbury's integrity commissioner says Ward 7 Coun. Natalie Labbee should be suspended 20 days and apologize to Greater Sudbury CAO Ed Archer.

And another city councillor, Ward 12 Coun. Joscelyne Landry-Altmann, also violated the city's code of conduct. Both reports will be addressed at the Sept. 3 council meeting.

Labbee, who was first elected in 2022, is in hot water for public comments she made in the media, during a city council meeting and in an open letter that was published in May critical of Archer.

She claimed that she and other councillors were blindsided by large pay increases handed to managers at the city.

Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc filed a complaint about her conduct with Greater Sudbury Integrity Commissioner David G. Boghosian, who concluded that Labbee made "false statements" in claiming that councillors weren't told about the raises.

The controversy began when a leaked document said senior managers were receiving pay increases from nine to 11 per cent, which translated to $520,000 salary hike.

In her open letter, Labbee publicly blamed Archer for the controversy, claiming that the $520,000 hike "was never disclosed to council prior to or during budget discussions, nor was it disclosed in any 'closed documents," Boghosian wrote in his report.

"I will die on my sword over this fact!!!!" Labbee said.

She said Archer effectively abused his authority to approve the increases without council's knowledge, with the idea that "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission."

Among many other things, Labbee also said that the information leaked about the pay increases was information "that council was not privy to" and that and that "council was blindsided."

"Labbee writes that neither the CAO nor (HR director Kevin) Fowke ever alluded to the wage increases," Boghosian wrote.

"She again asks for proof that this information, including costs, was disclosed before the budget meeting."

"I don’t appreciate being blindsided and I won’t allow it to happen again," Labbee wrote in her letter.

"I let my guard down in good faith and now we, as a council, are wearing that decision."

• Download our app to get local alerts on your device
• Get the latest local updates right to your inbox

But Boghosian's investigation found that councillors were informed of the pay increases during closed-door budget sessions. A $520,067 pay increase was included on a slide presentation at a meeting Dec. 12, 2023, on senior management pay increases.

While the percentage of the increase (six to eight per cent, plus a three per cent cost-of-living adjustment) was not included, Boghosian said councillors were told the dollar amount.

And a February 2024 document sent to council said that senior management salaries were falling far behind market rates, leading to "resignations, dissatisfaction and recruiting challenges. For example, in 2023 director-level salaries were approximately 15 per cent below market."

"Your CAO used this delegated authority in 2023 to adjust salaries by eight per cent for director-level positions, and by six per cent for senior manager-level positions. This adjustment brought salaries within approved guidelines and created a positive effect on the level of candidate interest in vacant positions."

Boghosian concluded that Labbee's claim council was not told about the $520,00 increase "was false and misleading."

And he said the percentage increase was disclosed to council in February, well before the leak to the media.

He also concluded that Labbee's statement at the May 14 council meeting about Archer deciding that giving wage increase "is definitely one of those situations where asking for forgiveness is a lot better than asking for permission. If you don’t have trust, then you have nothing" was also false and misleading.

False statement

"Her statement suggests that the CAO acted without authority and/or contrary to council’s direction, when in fact council had passed a bylaw granting him unfettered delegated authority i.e. without imposing any express conditions or parameters on the exercise of that authority," Boghosian wrote.

"She was further aware that the CAO had not asked council for forgiveness for granting the increases. In making these statements, I find that she knowingly made a false statement and did so intending to mislead the public …"

While Labbee has the right to criticize the salary increases, Boghosian said she went too far. In making personal attacks on the CAO, "she crossed a line."

"In my opinion, Coun. Labbee’s conduct warrants sanction," he concluded.

"In all the circumstances, I find that the appropriate penalty in this case is a 20-day suspension of her remuneration as a councillor. I also recommend that council direct Coun. Labbee to publicly apologize to the CAO for the impertinent comments she made about him."

Boghosian dismissed a similar complaint about Ward 5 Coun. Mike Parent. The full report, including Labbee's response, can be found here.