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The former administrator for the Town of La Ronge says he’s filed a complaint with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission related to what he claims is extreme racism and homophobia by certain unnamed members of town council.

It is an extraordinary criticism of what he claims happens out of the public gaze at council. Stephen Conway – with 30 years of experience as Chief Administrative Officer or a Chief Executive Officer for Indigenous and municipal governments – claims some councillors are regularly drunk and his life was put at risk by one of them. Conway claimed he decided to go public now because the 14 days he gave council to dispute his claims have elapsed, and the commission and provincial government have received his complaints.

In a seven-page letter of resignation sent to council Aug. 31, Conway claims multiple instances of unprofessional conduct pushed him to quit his job. He forwarded the letter to larongeNOW, along with his filed complaints with the commission, as well as the provincial government. The commission was unable to immediately confirm with larongeNOW if the complaint had been registered with them. Conway claims the incidents mentioned in his letter happened out of view of the public. The copy of the letter sent by Conway blocked out the names of the councillors he is accusing.

In what he calls an intolerable work environment, Conway alleges some members of council have attacked people by using racist or homophobic terms. As an example, when Jagmeet Singh was elected leader of the federal NDP, he claims one councillor asked another, “what the heck he was doing electing a turban head.”

According to Conway one member of council was ” attacked for being a ‘gay boy’ and once when he had to phone in for a council meeting because he was in a northern community, he was asked by a councillor if he was in bed with a man.”

larongeNOW reached out to Mayor Ron Woytowich to respond to Conway’s claims. Woytowich said the letter was turned over to the town’s lawyer and he was advised not to comment. larongeNOW also reached out to all six town councillors for comment, three of whom responded before our deadline. Two of those chose not to offer any comment while Coun. Matt Klassen offered the following response by email.

“I have always and will continue to act in the best interest of our community and its electorate. The allegations being made are very serious and I do not take them lightly. Regrettably, I am unable to comment at this time. I will make a statement at a later date.”

Conway has further claimed his life was put in danger by one councillor’s behaviour. He wrote he was taken out on Lac La Ronge where a councillor drank “as many as two dozen” beer on a trip to visit cabin owners. Conway alleges the councillor passed out and had to be forcibly woken to take Conway home. He added while on the water again, the councillor fell overboard without a life jacket.

Conway claimed, “I cannot describe the level of his drunkenness. I stared into his eyes for what appeared to be an eternity, trying to assess whether he would drown, and debating whether to jump in and save him. I was in fear of my life and his, and went through a moral dilemma as to what to do.”

Conway also claims some councillors have had several drinks after meetings, and he’s witnessed them getting into a vehicle. This posed serious ethical issues for him. In regards to the Community Alcohol Management Plan, Conway alleges “bylaws are being drawn by alcoholics who go through their dry days by attacking and manipulating me.”

Another incident alleges corruption. Conway says it occurred when a councillor tried to purchase two commercial buildings, but thought the asking price was too high. He then instructed Conway to fine the business owners for the appearance of the buildings, and by doing so, he hoped he could get a reduced price in order to purchase them.

Also, as part of his lengthy letter to the Human Rights Commission, Conway says “in creating the 2018 tax levy, council ensured that it was done without members of the public in attendance, and without public consultation.”

The allegations by Conway are not proven and have not been tested in court.

Editor’s NOTE: Comments on this story are closed as this matter may go before the Human Rights Commission. This story was updated with comment from the town at 3:01 p.m. on Sept. 20.

derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno