Proposed Ontario law could see mayors, councillors booted from council for harassment or assault

Brampton | Caledon | Mississauga | Ontario | Latest News |

By

Published March 16, 2022 at 4:17 pm

A MIssissauga woman is charged with assault after an incident at Queen's Park on Saturday. (Photo Eye in the Sky Photography)

New legislation could see Ontario city mayors and councillors removed from council if found by an integrity commissioner to have committed harassment or assault.

The proposed bill would require mayors and councillors to follow a workplace violence and harassment policy as part of their council code of conduct, and a judge could then be directed by council to have the elected official removed from office if found by an integrity commissioner (IC) to have violated that policy.

The bill moved by Liberal MPP Stephen Blais has already passed a second reading and comes as both Mississauga and Brampton have had councillors accused of harassing behaviour in the last few years.

Brampton Councillor Gurpreet Dhillon was found by the city’s integrity commissioner to have sexually harassed a woman in Turkey on an official trip in 2019.

Dhillon had his pay suspended for 90 days and Brampton council passed a motion asking for his resignation. A panel of judges also ordered Dhillon to pay $20,000 in court fees to the City of Brampton and an additional $20,000 to the integrity commissioner.

The councillor did not step down. He has denied the allegations and challenged the IC’s report.

And just last year, former Mississauga Councillor Karen Ras resigned amid allegations that fellow Councillor Ron Starr repeatedly vandalized Ras’ vehicle.

Mayor Bonnie Crombie called the incidents “flagrant bullying and harassment” and said she regrets not doing more on Ras’ behalf sooner, specifically for not pushing the city’s IC for an investigation.

While the bill has been referred to the Standing Committee on Social Policy, there’s a chance the bill will have to begin the assent process all over again with a provincial election just a few months away.

On Friday, Brampton City Council voted to oust integrity commissioner Muneeza Sheikh.

Councillors Jeff Bowman and Rowena Santos, who both had current matters before the commissioner, abstained from the vote while Dhillon who has yet to settle his $20,000 fines did not.

insauga's Editorial Standards and Policies advertising