New Westminster Mayor Patrick Johnstone's all-expenses-paid trip to Dubai for a climate conference last December violated the city's Code of Conduct for Council Members and the Community Charter, the city's ethics commissioner has ruled. However, the breach was inadvertent and the mayor acted in good faith both before and after accepting the gift, according to a summary report from commissioner Jennifer Devins. Johnstone's trip was paid for by C40 Cities, an organization that describes itself as "a global network of mayors of the world’s leading cities that are united in action to confront the climate crisis.
" Devins' report notes that New Westminster is not a member of the group and Johnstone was under no obligation to accept its invitation to attend the Local Climate Action Summit at COP28 in Dubai on Dec. 1 and 2 of last year. Despite this, the ethics commissioner concluded that the mayor's attendance at the conference fell within an exception allowing gifts or personal benefits "received as an incident of the protocol or social obligations that normally accompany the responsibilities of office.
" "The respondent’s attendance at the conference was consistent with taking action in furtherance of the city’s 2019 (climate emergency) declaration and commitment," Devins' report reads. "I separate, however, the respondent’s attendance at the conference (and any associated waiver of conference fees) from the meals, travel, and lodging associated with attending at the confe.
