This story has been updated to reflect Cat McGurk's response to NNSL's queries on the matter.

Coun. Cat McGurk is in hot water following the publication of a report from the city's integrity commissioner alleging misuse of her role as a city councillor.

The report, which was for Monday evening's city council meeting, outlined the results of an investigation based on a complaint received in February about McGurk allegedly trying to use city funds to obtain reimbursement for a laptop she had borrowed from an individual and later misplaced.

The laptop in question was borrowed from the complainant's husband to apparently assist McGurk in "coordinating volunteers during the evacuation of the City of Yellowknife due to the threat of approaching wildfires in August and September 2023," reads the report.

The laptop subsequently disappeared. When the complainant and her husband looked to get it either replaced or have the value reimbursed, McGurk allegedly sought to arrange reimbursement through two companies SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” known as A.D. and K.B. in the report SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” contracted by the city in coordinating its emergency response.

In his findings, Sheldon Toner, the city's integrity commissioner, stated that the evidence concerning the borrowing of the laptop from a private individual she knew was "undisputed."

"There is also no dispute that Member McGurk made inquiries to secure reimbursement through the City of Yellowknife, and eventually took steps to have A.D. or K.B. include the laptop in its invoices for work performed in the wildfire response," wrote Toner.

He also stated that it's clear that McGurk spoke with then-city manager Sheila Bassi-Kellett multiple times to find a way for the City of Yellowknife to cover the cost of reimbursement, and that McGurk was informed that the City of Yellowknife could not pay individuals directly for expenses incurred during the evacuation.

McGurk eventually contacted A.D. and K.B. and asked them to assist by invoicing the municipality for the laptop and then told the complainant's husband that K.B. would be issuing an invoice to the City of Yellowknife to reimburse him.

That didn't happen. The report stated that the complainant and her husband did not receive payment from the City of Yellowknife or K.B. and they did not find that method of reimbursement to be appropriate. They instead sought reimbursement from McGurk directly and filed suit against her in territorial court.

McGurk was co-operative with Toner's investigation and provided both evidence and submissions to try and justify what she had done, according to the report.

Toner stated that McGurk's understanding was that the purpose of borrowing the laptop was to facilitate her work "on the city/contractor wildfire response" as she had no other need for the laptop and that the laptop was used exclusively for the purpose of administering volunteers and workers.

Stayed by choice

When it came to why she deemed it appropriate to inquire with the city manager about reimbursement for the laptop through the city, Toner indicated that McGurk said she understood that when the municipality announced a local state of emergency, city administration assumed direction of the municipality.

"She was provided limited direction, other than to support the needs of the fire response effort," wrote Toner. "This came from an absence of a predetermined structure, so Member McGurk and others were operating in crisis mode. The complainant and the complainant's husband were both involved and present for the unified fire response effort."

As for the rationale of asking for reimbursement, McGurk explained that she had been functioning as a worker on behalf of the city and it seemed appropriate
to relate the cost to city's wildfire response. McGurk also claimed that the city manager agreed with that explanation.

The councillor maintained that the complainant's husband indicated that he would accept reimbursement for the laptop and that this seemed a fair request, as many people offered their possessions during evacuation and had sought compensation.

In her evidence, Bassi-Kellett stated that during the state of emergency, members of council were expected to obey the evacuation order and leave the city as had been outlined publicly at an administration meeting in June 2023, but that McGurk stayed because she was "personally committed to assisting with the organization of volunteers who remained to assist with the wildfire response."

"The volunteer work carried out by Member McGurk did not fall under the City of Yellowknife's critical incident command structure at any time," stated the report. "Member McGurk came to the city manager and said she had borrowed a laptop, which had gone missing, to coordinate volunteers. The city manager advised Member McGurk the City of Yellowknife could not pay for the laptop since it was not a legitimate cost for the city."

Bassi-Kellett also denied suggesting that McGurk recover the cost of the laptop by having the contractor include the invoice in one of its invoices.

The integrity commissioner determined that the councillor's lapse came as a result of "a series of poor decisions based on a misguided sense of entitlement to City of Yellowknife resources disconnected from any financial obligation on the part of the City of Yellowknife."

Toner found that McGurk had violated multiple articles of the Council Code of Ethics Bylaw, including a section that states that councillors are expected to represent the city part-time and "when conducting themselves in private, members should be sensitive to the nature of their public position." Another section contravened, according to Toner, reads: "No member shall use the influence of the member's office for any purpose other than for the exercise of the member's official duties." And a third section that the integrity commissioner cited states that councillors shall use city property, equipment, services, supplies and administration's resources (including city staff) only for the performance of their duties as a councillor, subject to the following limited exceptions: city property, equipment, service, supplies and administration's resources (including city staff) that are available to the general public may be used by a member for personal use upon the same terms and conditions as members of the general public, including booking and payment of any applicable fees or charges."

Toner recommended censure as "a form of denouncement and deterrence of similar conduct by Member McGurk and others."

In reponse to questions from NNSL whether she would resign from council based on the report, McGurk that her "actions and responses were clouded by grief and trauma (and) I overlooked things that I should have understood to be important" with no mention of resigning.

She also stated that it's no excuse for the way she acted and that she's prepared to move on.

"While last yearSA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½™s events may have informed my conduct, they do not justify it," she wrote in response. "After I first spoke with the City Manager, I should have proceeded by contacting the Integrity Commissioner. I was not acting in any formal capacity during last yearSA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½™s fire, I had no contract, I was not compensated for the work I did. And without any formal contract, information is disputable and needs to be corroborated. ThatSA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½™s why we have explicit policies and bylaws, to maintain accountability. In this case, the undisputed evidence is that I borrowed an item from an individual, and no other party was formally involved."

McGurk added that she accepts responsibility for what happened.

"(I) am deeply sorry to my constituents and fellow council members, to whom I owe my position and the privilege of being in this role," she wrote.