A city councillor in Pickering, Ontario has made headlines again after being suspended without pay for the seventh time.
Lisa Robinson, who represents Ward 1, has been involved in a series of controversies over the past few years and has faced multiple complaints to the city’s integrity commissioner. This has led to an astonishing total of unpaid suspensions since September 2023. Since she assumed office in 2022, Robinson has racked up 490 days of suspension without pay.
Robinson, a former realtor and candidate for the federal Conservative party, is also quite active on social media. Her posts across various platforms have often been labeled as homophobic, transphobic, and racist, which have been noted in several reports by the integrity commissioner.
Her conduct both online and during council meetings has created tension with her colleagues, who claim they’ve faced targeting and harassment from her supporters.
At a council meeting discussing her third suspension, members explored other options beyond continuously suspending Robinson. A representative from “Principles Integrity,” a firm engaged by Pickering and other Ontario municipalities to act as local integrity commissioners, warned that allowing removal of councillors through integrity commissioners could lead to misuse of power.
The ongoing frustration regarding Robinson’s behavior and that of her supporters prompted calls from city councillors in Pickering and across Ontario for more authority to deal with disruptive individuals within local councils. In December 2024, former Municipal Affairs Minister Paul Calandra introduced Bill 241 which aimed to grant integrity commissioners the ability to remove councillors under exceptional circumstances; however, this bill was shelved when provincial elections were called earlier this year.
A new piece of legislation known as Bill 9 was introduced following the election but has drawn criticism regarding its effectiveness.
Here’s a timeline detailing Robinson’s multiple suspensions:
First Suspension – September 25, 2023
Length of suspension: 30 days
The first suspension occurred in September 2023 due to social media posts that publicly named residents of Pickering and led to an investigation by the integrity commissioner about cyberbullying and intimidation claims.
The report from Principles Integrity stated that Robinson posted on Facebook sarcastically thanking three local residents for canceling her annual “Halloween Haunt” event:
“Tonight It is with great sadness that I announce that this year’s Robinsons Charity Halloween Haunt and corn maze will have to be cancelled.
A big Thank you to [redacted], [redacted], and [redacted] for your neighbourly kindness.”
It’s unclear why she held these residents accountable for cancelling her Halloween Haunt event. Before the council meeting took place, Robinson justified her actions by saying the original post was meant to be “sarcastic.”
Lisa Robinson Facebook post (Principles Integrity report)
Second Suspension – October 23, 2023
Length of suspension: 60 days (90 total)
This second suspension came after further complaints from fellow city councillors, a school board trustee, and community members.
The complaints were based on incidents from May 15, 2023 at a Durham District School Board meeting where an integrity report claimed she used a bullhorn while reading motions she intended to bring before Pickering Council next week. These motions proposed cutting city support for drag queen story time events; removing pride flags from city buildings; eliminating gender-neutral washrooms; and stopping activities related to Pickering’s LGBTQ+ community.
Additonally, she invited attendees-some reportedly coming from outside town-to attend the upcoming council meeting where she’d present these motions.
Learniing she was under investigation again prompted allegations against Councillor Robinson claiming she retaliated against those who had complained about her behavior. She also filed several counter-complaints against some colleagues-those claims were dismissed.
Lisa Robinson at DDSB meeting in May 2023 (Durham Freedom Fighters, Facebook)
.><h3>Third Suspension – September 23, 2024
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Excerpt from integrity report(Principles Integrity , Cityof Pickering)
<h3 Fourth Suspension- December16 ,2024lengthofsuspension :90days(270daystotal) Robinson found herself suspended once morefor another90daysin Decemberof3024following remarksmade duringan extensiveinterviewwithaconvoypodcaston Rumblethat pointed fingers accusing Pickeringcity staffofcorruption: “I would, honestly, get ridofour CAObecause, youknow, thecorruption ’satthetop. Getridofth e CAO. Getridof City Solicitor, getridofa bunchofthedirectors, speciallythe ones like, youknow…were incahoots…” Thecouncilmeetingwasheldvirtuallydue tosafetyconcernsregardingcouncilmembers. Citystaffreleaseda13-minutevideodetailing whysafetywasanissueforcouncilandstaff. Lisa Robinsononconvoyvideopodcast(Rumble) <h5 Fifth Suspension- June23 ,20 25 Lengthofsuspension :90days(360daystotal) Robinson’sfifth suspensionfollowedstatementsmadeattownhallbackin November20 24. Theintegrityreportnotedthat Robinsontooklibertieswiththetruth, sayingthatover$20 millionhadbeenspentbythecity onspecialistconsultantsadditionallyallegingthatcity staff ”skewed survey results”for desiredoutcomes, and even claimed”council’ s gift policy allowedreceiving‘generous gifts’from developers” provided they are handed offtoothers.
This particular sanctionwason tracktobeeffectiveuntil September21, yetbeforeitsexpiration, shewouldbe slappedwithasixthsuspension.
