A councillor in a southern Ontario metropolis has been issued a 90-day pay suspension – essentially the most extreme penalty potential below present guidelines – after the municipality’s integrity commissioner discovered she has been demonstrating a continued sample of “unacceptable behaviour” that dangers hurting marginalized members of society.
It’s the most recent in a collection of penalties levelled in opposition to Coun. Lisa Robinson of Pickering, Ont., and a state of affairs that the mayor has stated underscores the necessity for adjustments to the province’s Municipal Act to permit stricter sanctions, as much as the removing of a councillor from workplace.
Robinson, for her half, denied the integrity commissioner’s findings, referred to as his report “full of lies” and accused the council of conducting a “witch hunt” in opposition to her.
The state of affairs in Pickering, a metropolis east of Toronto, is one which has been creating since final yr.
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Town’s mayor stated he isn’t optimistic Robinson’s newest pay suspension – her third since final September – can have a lot of an impression.
“I hope that the distraction of Coun. Robinson’s behaviour will hopefully be put in the rearview mirror. I’m not confident that will happen,” Kevin Ashe stated in a cellphone interview.
“Our path forward is cloudy.”
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Pickering Councillor Lisa Robinson, submitting for judicial evaluation
The mayor and councillors wrote a letter final month urging Premier Doug Ford and the municipal affairs minister to shut what they name “a glaring loophole” within the Municipal Act by strengthening sanctions that may be levelled in opposition to councillors who interact in dangerous actions, together with the potential for removing from workplace.
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“I think it should be a legislative priority,” stated Ashe.
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“I’m hopeful that the minister and the government will, in short order, do something so that councils have a stronger tool to deal with this egregious behaviour.”
Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Paul Calandra has stated he desires to seek the advice of extra and search recommendation from the province’s integrity commissioner earlier than tabling laws.
Robinson, in the meantime, stated any metropolis official who asks for adjustments to the Municipal Act ought to step down, saying it might bar “dissenting opinion.”
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“If the constituents don’t like what I have to say or how I’m representing them, then the decision will be up to them during the next election,” she stated in a cellphone interview.
Robinson, who was elected in 2022, first acquired a 30-day pay suspension in September 2023 after social media posts figuring out some Pickering residents triggered an integrity commissioner investigation for cyberbullying and intimidation. She was then condemned by council for referring to herself as a “modern day slave” on account of the docked pay.
In October final yr, she acquired a 60-day pay suspension after one other investigation by the integrity commissioner into remarks she made about drag queen story time occasions, common washrooms and the elevating of Delight flags. The commissioner discovered Robinson had “promoted attitudes which are homophobic and transphobic,” which she denied.
In November 2023, she steered in a social media put up that the inclusion of an LGBTQ+ advocacy group within the metropolis’s Santa Claus parade could be inappropriate for kids. In February, she wrote an op-ed denouncing Black Historical past Month.
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Pickering councillor getting warmth after writing op-ed about Black Historical past Month
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These public feedback have been amongst what fashioned the premise of the most recent criticism investigated by the integrity commissioner, which was primarily based on issues from the general public, the mayor and fellow councillors.
The criticism detailed a number of allegations of Robinson’s breaches of the council’s code of conduct, together with a number of social media posts that allegedly confirmed a “lack of respect” for the commissioner and the council, and op-eds penned by Robinson that allegedly “erode public trust.”
The commissioner’s report discovered that Robinson refused to acknowledge the impression of her actions, and that they “demonstrate an arrogant self-righteousness” not often seen in municipal leaders.
Robinson got here below fireplace once more final month after councillors condemned her for showing in an internet present they stated promoted hate speech and extremist views.
The mayor and different councillors stated she appeared on the Kevin J. Johnston present hosted on Rumble, which they referred to as a “far-right video platform.” They stated the present host referred to as councillors “pedophiles” and “Nazis” and stated they “deserve a baseball bat to the face,” asserting Robinson smiled or nodded.
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Robinson stated she has denounced the host’s feedback and apologized to her colleagues.
She criticized the commissioner’s newest report and stated she has “much support” from constituents.
“I am literally OK with a pay suspension. I knew it was coming, because I know how vindictive the councillors are that I work with,” she stated.
“I wouldn’t even treat an enemy the way that they treated me.”
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Pickering Mayor slams native metropolis councillor’s Op-Ed questioning Black Historical past Month
Ashe, for his half, stated he hopes the long run brings higher discourse.
“Never in my wildest dreams would I think that this would happen in my city,” he stated.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
