Mayor and Council
City of Delta
4500 Clarence Taylor Crescent
Delta, BC V4K-3E2
October 5, 2025
Dear Mayor and Council:
In the October 2nd edition of the Delta Optimist, Dream South Delta published its press release demanding a Council Code of Conduct Bylaw (with an articulated enforcement process), and appointment of an independent Integrity Commissioner to safeguard due process and community interests.
This letter serves as an official request to Council, as our elected officials, to make these happen as a priority and without delay.
Delta residents have had interactions with members of Council, as well as witnessing their behaviour and comments in meetings that have served to erode public confidence and trust in the governance of our city.
Dream South Delta maintains it is essential to have a mechanism in place to oversee the conduct of elected officials with provisions to support compliance, provide advice and recommendations to council; receive, review, investigate and adjudicate complaints including those made by residents, and sanction any official who is in breach of any ethics, code of conduct or other regulation governing council members.
Furthermore, until a formal bylaw and oversight process is implemented, Dream South Delta believes it is essential for all major development projects having consequential impact on the community, such as the Tsawwassen Town Centre Mall redevelopment, Ladner Village Hotel, and any significant densification in North Delta be subject to a full independent legal review by a lawyer familiar with government legislation pertaining to conflicts of interest, and local governments; including the BC Local Governments Act.
For background:
In April 2021, a working group composed of the Union of BC Municipalities, Local Government Management Association of British Columbia (LGMA) and the B.C. Ministry of Municipal Affairs published a guide entitled Forging the Path to Responsible Conduct in Your Local Government. The document is intended to guide local governments on best practices, including holding elected officials accountable for their conduct with an enforcement process and a range of sanctions that may be imposed if a contravention is determined.
Since November 2021, under the B.C. Community Charter Act, an elected council must consider having a code of conduct bylaw within six months of forming council. In Delta, council considered a code of conduct on May 29, 2023, during a council meeting chaired by Councillor Dylan Kruger who was the acting mayor. Acting Mayor Kruger rationalized that a code of conduct was not necessary because the council’s existing code of ethics had served the council very well. Council was unanimous in their decision not to implement a code of conduct bylaw.
This leaves Delta as one of the few local governments in BC without a Council Code of Conduct Bylaw and independent oversight of its elected officials.
Codes of ethics and conduct are similar but work very differently and most local governments have both in place. Here is the critical difference that council seemed to overlook in the May 29, 2023, council meeting:
A code of ethics refers to principles that guide decision-making based on moral values and beliefs. While Delta has a code of ethics, it is self-enforceable without any mechanism for sanctioning elected officials for misconduct.
A code of conduct specifies expected actions and behaviour, typically in a professional context. A code of conduct typically includes a mechanism for sanctioning elected officials for misconduct or breaching the code. Topics that a code of conduct often include are:
- Compliance with municipal, provincial, and federal law
- Breaches of confidence
- Conflicts of interest
- Acceptance of gifts
- Disrespectful or “discreditable” conduct
- Use of social media
- Communication on behalf of council/board
- Use of local government resources or facilities
- Interactions with staff
We trust that each of you, as our elected officials, will recognize the many complex situations faced within our city, and that now more than ever, the important role that a Council Code of Conduct with an enforcement process and independent oversight has in achieving good governance in Delta. We request that the aforementioned safeguards are implemented without further delay.
Sincerely,
Dream South Delta
