LAC LA BICHE - A Lac La Biche County councillor has been charged with uttering threats after an alleged incident at the April 30 board meeting of the Lac La Biche Gas Co-op.
According to Alberta Justice, 71-year-old Darlene Beniuk was charged with four counts of uttering threats on April 30, and one count of unauthorized possession of a firearm on May 3. Beniuk is expected to appear in Lac La Biche Provincial Court on July 21.
Beniuk, Lac La Biche RCMP, and the board of the Lac La Biche Gas Co-op did not respond to requests for further details.
Beniuk represents Ward 1, which covers the southeastern most portion of Lac La Biche County, including the community of Rich Lake.
A motion “to defer personnel matters to the May 27, 2025, regular council meeting,” carried with unanimous support at the May 13 meeting of Lac La Biche County council.
Lac La Biche Mayor Paul Reutov declined to comment on the specifics of the allegations against Beniuk, but confirmed there would be a discussion of a personnel matter at the next meeting of council “once we have more information.”
“We're stuck in a rock and a hard place here because [the province] stripped council of any authority using the Code of Conduct as part of the MGA, and any code of conduct matters that were not before the courts were also null and voided. So right now, council's options are very limited,” said Reutov, referring to Bill 50, which received Royal Assent on May 15 and eliminated municipal codes of conduct for councillors, among other changes.
In an emailed statement, Municipal Affairs Press Secretary Kevin Lee said, “Councillors are accountable to the people who elected them, not to other members of council they may disagree with.”
He said because of the “weaponization” of codes of conduct by some councils, they’ve been put on pause.
“This weaponization has resulted in mistrust, dysfunction and failure to serve Albertans,” said Lee.
Beniuk was previously found in breach of Lac La Biche County’s Code of Conduct, following comments made regarding a drag performance in Plamondon in June 2023.
“If residents are unhappy with their council members, they can put forward a recall petition or they can show how they feel about the council member(s) when they head to the polls during the election this fall,” said Lee.
According to the Municipal Government Act (MGA), a councillor is disqualified from council if the councillor “is convicted of an offence punishable by imprisonment for five or more years,” or “of an offence under section 123, 124 or 125 of the Criminal Code.” The specific sections referenced refer to municipal corruption, selling or purchasing office, and influencing or negotiating appointments or dealing in offices.
Based on Canadian sentencing minimums, the crimes which would disqualify a councillor under the MGA are violent offences like aggravated or sexual assault, robbery, trafficking, extortion, and attempted murder.
The Lac La Biche County Integrity Commissioner did not confirm or deny if an investigation of Beniuk’s conduct is currently open and referred Lakeland This Week to official County communications.
Spokesperson for Lac La Biche County Alex Fuller said, “Council is reviewing information provided by the RCMP, and will be discussing the matter at an upcoming council meeting.”
