Ontario town councillor wants an end to motions that have ‘no relevance’ to local government

A Whitby councillor will be asking staff to tighten the criteria and threshold for motions that have “no relevance to municipal government” at Monday evening’s committee of the whole meeting – at the same time her colleague is introducing motions to review the federal temporary workers program, as well as the federal practice of releasing high-risk offenders into the community on unescorted passes.

Ward 2 Councillor Victoria Bozinovski’s motion notes there is a need to ensure that council’s deliberations “remain focused on matters that fall within the legislative mandate and direct responsibility of municipal government” and that strengthening the language and threshold for the admissibility of motions based on whether they are “relevant” to the Whitby community will provide “greater clarity” for members of council and the public.

An attempt by Ward 4 Regional Councillor Chris Leahy to exclude companies that employ temporary foreign workers from receiving municipal contracts was declared out of order earlier this month by council, dismissed as an effort to “generate outrage, headlines, and social media engagement” by a council watcher and, most importantly, ruled a violation of the Ontario Human Rights code.

On the same day a Leahy motion calling on the federal government to remove Prince Andrew from the line of succession to the British throne was also ruled out of order.

Leahy’s motion on the temporary foreign workers program on Monday’s agenda asks for staff to review the impacts the program has had on the local economy, while his notice of motion on high-risk offenders asks that Ottawa notify municipalities when the offenders are released into the community on unescorted passes.

A notice of motion by Whitby Mayor Elizabeth Roy on the “politically motivated misuse of office” by town councillors that may or may or may not be related to the above motions is also headed for the councillor floor Monday.

Roy, who introduced a notice of motion at the March 9 council meeting requiring all councillors to disclose to the Integrity Commissioner the detail of any consultants or lobbyists they employ, wants provincial sanctions strengthened for “coercive or politically motivated misuse of office” by local councillors.

Roy wants “enhanced sanctions” for serious ethical breaches and the establishment of a provincial investigative and adjudicative mechanism – independent of local integrity commissioners – to address allegations of conduct that may constitute abuse of power.