In a letter launched Wednesday, Pickering’s mayor and a number of councillors condemned an look by Councillor Lisa Robinson on a far-right web program.
“This video included threats and obviously statements that were defamatory against all city council members,” mentioned Mayor Kevin Ashe in an interview with Durham Radio Information. “So it’s very troubling.”
“I think it’s irresponsible, unethical and a clear violation of this city’s code of conduct,” he continued. “Myself and the five other members of council will be filing a complaint with the integrity commissioner [by Thursday].”
On July 30, Robinson was interviewed by Kevin J. Johnston on the streaming website ‘Rumble.’ Through the two-hour-long interview, Johnston repeatedly known as Ashe and the opposite councillors ‘pedophiles.’
Councillor Mara Nagy described the accusations as “dangerously inflammatory” and “obviously untrue.”
“I didn’t think there was much that could leave me flabbergasted after two years of this, but lo and behold,” she mentioned in an interview.
Throughout this system, images have been steadily proven of Ashe and different councillors, together with their cellphone numbers.
Within the final week, Nagy mentioned she has obtained a “disproportionately high number of calls” from blocked and unknown numbers. “I haven’t picked any of them up,” she mentioned.
“I got about three calls that night,” she mentioned. “I got one call before the podcast had even finished.”
“Regardless of whether it’s personal or work [phone numbers], posting it in that context still is inflammatory,” she added. “I would still call that doxxing because of the nature in how it was posted and the call to action.”
Robinson has steadily expressed displeasure with the looks of some flags on authorities property. In 2023, she tried to lift a movement that might limit authorities buildings to flying authorities flags, and flags supporting veterans. One other movement would have barred kids from attending drag storytime occasions and delight parades.
Johnston, meantime, has been within the information on a number of events, often attributable to alleged harassment incidents. In 2021, Alberta Well being Providers was reportedly granted a restraining order in opposition to him.
Through the July 30 present, a few of his jokes took on extra violent tones, together with a remark about doubtlessly letting a vicious canine free within the council chamber.
“Basically, Mr. Johnston had a call to violence,” argued Ashe. “[He] wants to hit us in the face with a bat. […] And if you’re sitting there during a podcast, how hard is it to say ‘Mr. Johnston, I don’t think those are appropriate, I think we have to raise the level of debate in our community?’”
“Those comments and pictures of her colleagues with the title ‘pedophiles’ should be condemned at any level,” he added. “And that simply wasn’t done. [Robinson] condones by smiling and nodding and thanking for the opportunity to chat when she should have been, I believe, exiting that interview as quickly as possible. It wasn’t appropriate. And the overwhelming majority of our residents oppose her views and her actions. She is exploiting these extreme views in a blatant attempt to boost her public profile.”
Ashe described this newest incident as “kind of the end of an escalation of a litany of issues” which have threatened the council chamber.
“We now have police at our meetings,” he mentioned. “We now are allowed to have security systems at home. […] We have had an onslaught of social media posts from her supporters and emails calling on violence, to death, to hanging. And it’s completely and utterly irresponsible and not something that can be tolerated.”
Earlier within the yr, following raucous occasions at a number of conferences, council restricted who can converse throughout delegations.
“We have been given security training,” mentioned Nagy. “We have been given instructions on what to do in case we have to recess for an emergency – where we have to go for our own safety when we leave the chambers.”
“I have been followed home,” she added. “I have had people turn up at my door.”
Robinson has been reported on a number of events to town’s integrity commissioner, at occasions being docked pay.
“She has been actively soliciting donations and funding from far-right sources, as demonstrated by her appearance on platforms like Rumble,” reads Wednesday’s letter. “In this video, she admits to receiving funding from her ideological supporters, but there is no accounting or disclosure of the monies she is receiving. We are deeply concerned that her acceptance of these funds makes her even more vulnerable to extreme and dangerous influences that could be originating from the U.S. and other jurisdictions outside of Canada.”
The council members requested that Queen’s Park make adjustments to the Municipal Act. “We’re calling on the government to make stronger sanctions available to integrity commissioners to have more options to deal with councillors who don’t represent the values of our community,” mentioned Ashe.
In keeping with Ashe, town will even be making formal requests to Premier Doug Ford and Municipal Affairs Minister Paul Calandra.
Council has beforehand supported related insurance policies proposed by the Affiliation of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO). One such coverage would let municipalities ask a decide to take away a sitting council member, if it is strongly recommended by an integrity commissioner’s report.
“I think it’s incredibly important to state that it wouldn’t be the choice of council to remove [a member], because you don’t know where that could lead,” mentioned Nagy. “Just as all of the other sanctions that can come to a member of council come from the integrity commissioner – or come from a separate and independent third body – I think it would have to be the same thing for this as well.”
Robinson declined an interview, however responded to a request for remark.
“I do not condone anything that Mr. Johnston said in a hateful manner or that advocates violence against any of my fellow councillors,” she wrote. “I want to make it perfectly clear that I reject and disassociate myself from any such rhetoric. It’s telling, however, that while I stand against these extreme views, the mayor and Pickering City Council seem to have no problem with similar attacks when they’re directed at me. Their selective outrage and double standards only reveal their hypocrisy. They can’t have it both ways – criticizing Mr. Johnston’s comments while tacitly endorsing or ignoring the hateful attacks against me.”
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