This week, the council sanctioned Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra for failing to disclose his financial interest in an Inglewood property in the city’s southeast. This is something council members must report on a publicly available disclosure form. Coun. Jennifer Wyness said Wednesday she wants to refer the matter to the provincial government for further investigation to determine if there were any violations of the Municipal Government Act. “I think there’s a challenge with the process where we just get these reports. We don’t have time to digest them. And we also have to balance, like, what sanctions do we impose on a fellow councillor?” Wyness said. “Well, I think, after I slept one night, I thought, why didn’t we do what was set up by the last council? And I’d like to uphold that standard, and I think that’s why I made the urgent motion.” Wyness was referring to the controversy surrounding former Ward 2 Councilman Joe Magliocca, who was found to have improperly claimed expenses. Magliocca was charged with fraud and breach of trust following an investigation into his council expenses on October 8, 2021, 10 days before the Calgary election. Last October, Magliocca lost his seat to Wyness. Former District 2. Joe Magliocca faced fraud and breach of trust charges stemming from improper expense claims. (Mike Symington/CBC) Carra said he had no comment on the suggestion that his actions be investigated. Calgary integrity commissioner Ellen-Anne O’Donnell filed two reports on Carra on Tuesday, writing in one of those reports that Carra had made a $300,000 down payment on the Inglewood property in 2015. The second report involved Carra’s tweets disparaging some of his council colleagues, including Wyness, for “actively politicking” with Coun. Sun Tzu. It was around the time news broke about Chu being punished for having physical contact with a 16-year-old girl in 1997 while he was a police officer. O’Donnell said Carra failed to disclose his interest in the property until 2021, although he said he had “multiple opportunities” to do so, including at a public meeting on March 7, 2016. On February 24, 2016, Carra filed a notice to lift building restrictions in Inglewood. But at the March 7 meeting, Carra revealed he had an interest in the Inglewood property, O’Donnell wrote, and abstained from voting on the community-related motion notice. At the time, O’Donnell wrote, Carra stated that he had no pecuniary interest, as “his interest was in common with the majority of the electors in this community, and he stated that he planned to build a house.” The Council voted in favor of the proposal. The City has now asked Carra to write a letter of apology to Calgarians and receive records management and ethics training. Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said Wyness’ idea could be added to the next executive committee meeting, to which Wyness agreed. He is expected to bring that proposal to the council for discussion later this month.
