The city’s integrity commissioner, Ellen-Anne O’Donnell, investigated following a 2021 complaint about Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra investment in real estate.
It found that Carra breached the council’s code of conduct by failing to add that property to the publicly available disclosure form that must be filed by all council members.
In a report dated June 20, 2022, O’Donnell said there were five occasions between 2016 and 2021 when Carra should have updated his disclosure form but failed to do so.
Coun. Carra, left, attended Avli Inglewood’s 2018 graduation ceremony with businessman Brian Kernick, right. (Submitted by Mustard Productions)
This update was only made in the spring of 2022 when Carra and his wife purchased the entire lot and the title changed hands.
Council voted in early July to sanction Carra, requiring him to apologize to Calgarians and attend ethics and records management training.
Carra told the commissioner he had a handshake deal with a businessman for the riverfront property at 66 New Street SE and put down a $300,000 down payment.
Two houses are planned
The landowner planned to tear down the 1970s maisonette on the property, subdivide the parcel and build two new houses – one of which Carra and his wife would buy. The City of Calgary has approved development permits for two homes to be built on the property Carra owns in Inglewood. (Submitted by Land and Property Rights Tribunal) CBC News first reported interest in Carra’s property in 2016, but did not say at the time that he paid a $300,000 down payment. When asked why he failed to document the transaction as required, Carra took full responsibility. “I’m sorry,” he said of his failure to list the property on his disclosure form. “I absolutely should have. I’m literally kicking myself for not doing it.” Council members are required to complete this form within 30 days of their election and within 30 days of any changes to their membership. “The only answer I can give is that it was clearly not my intention to hide my ownership of it,” Carra said. In fact, Carra had expressed his interest in the property during council meetings, in media interviews as well as during an Alberta Property Rights Tribunal hearing.
Licenses are retained
Some residents in Inglewood have asked the court to overturn the City of Calgary’s decision to approve a development permit for two new homes on the property. In its January 2022 decision, the court ruled that the city’s approvals were legal. The Alberta Court of Appeal later dismissed an appeal. Any dealings with the city regarding the development permit were not handled by Carra but rather by officials in then-mayor Naheed Nenshi’s office. Carra said he understands his initial handshake deal with businessman Brian Kernick may raise questions for some. He described Kernick as a family friend and business acquaintance from the past. “I absolutely understand that this could come off as shady and that’s why I talked everything over with the (council’s) ethics counsel.” The integrity commissioner concluded that the breach of the code of conduct was of “moderate seriousness”.
Apology is coming
Carra plans to apologize to his colleagues and to Calgarians at the July 26 council meeting for breaking the rules. A political studies professor at Mount Royal University, Duane Bratt, said Carra created problems for himself by failing to follow council policy. Coun. Carra now owns that property in Inglewood, but the future of the location is unclear. (Scott Dippel/CBC) He said rules like property disclosure are in place because of public concerns about elected officials who set land rules and their relationship with developers as well as the need for them to be transparent about their own finances and assets. “This is always a problem in municipal politics, and it underscores why we need accurate disclosure forms and not handshake agreements,” Bratt said. “Admitting a mistake is one thing. Admitting a mistake that was repeated over a number of years, that’s a political problem.” The next municipal elections are not until October 2025. Carra said he’s not sure if the incident will hurt his relationship with council members. But he is coy when asked if it will hurt him politically. “No,” said the councilor who was first elected in 2010. As for the property he now owns in New Street, the empty, old maisonette is still there. Carra isn’t sure what the future holds for the riverfront property, which has an assessed value of $1.2 million. He said he and his wife will look for potential investors for one of two homes that could be built there, or they might sell it.
