Consultations on councillor conduct underway

If you're among those whofelt the consequences facing OttawaCoun. Rick Chiarelli, who was found to have harassedformer staffers, fell short of the mark, the province is asking for your feedback.

In early March, the Ontario government quietly announced it wouldlaunchconsultations "to strengthen accountability for council members." The move came in response to public pressure and to recommendations from the influential Association of Municipalities of Ontario(AMO) for more severe penalties for the most serious violations of codes of conduct for municipalelected officials.

This week, the province issued a call for input from councillors, their staff, integrity commissioners and members of the public on how rules around councillor conduct could be strengthened, and whether there should be a mechanism to remove an elected official from public office in a worst-case scenario.

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Following a CBC investigation into Chiarelli's behaviour toward female job applicants and some of his former staff members, Ottawa's integrity commissioner delivered two scathing reports that found the College ward councillorhad engaged in "incomprehensible incidents of harassment."

After integrity commissioners report, Chiarelli accuser calls for action

4 years ago

Duration 0:50

Victoria Laaber, a former staffer who described a toxic work environment in Coun. Rick Chiarellis office, says elected officials should face steeper consequences in serious cases of misconduct.

Chiarelli incident spurs review

Five complainants alleged Chiarellihad urged themtohit on men in bars as a way ofrecruiting volunteers, talked about their bodies, suggested they not wear bras to events,pressed them to tell him intimate details of their lives androutinely reminded them they could be fired at any time.

Council approved the recommended sanctions against Chiarelli bysuspending his pay for 450 days, the most severe penalty available under current provincial law.

Council urged Chiarelli to resign, but he refused. A number of people, including Chiarelli's former staff members and sitting politicians, expressed dismay that he could not be removed from office.

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Petitions to remove himwere launched, and council requested that the province change the law to allow a councillor to be unseated in extreme circumstances.

Orlans MPP Stephen Blais tabled a private member's bill calling for a judicial review to decidewhethera municipally elected official should be removed from office after having been found to have violated workplace violence and harassment policies.

MPP pushes for law change that would allow city councillors to be removed from office in cases of misconduct

4 years ago

Duration 1:31

Orlans MPP Stephen Blais is asking for changes to provincial laws that would allow a city councillor to be removed from office in cases of workplace violence and harassment.

Consultation in 2phases

The policy review is being spearheaded by Steve Clark, the minister for municipal affairs and housing,and Jill Dunlop, theassociate minister of children and women's issues, who will undertake the consultation in two phases.

The first is a survey ofthe wider publicaboutthe AMO's recommendations, and asks for feedback on the following:

• Changes or mechanisms are needed to better hold council members accountable for municipal code of conduct violations.
• How to more effectively enforce these codes.
• Whether a broader range of penalties for violations of the codes of conduct are needed, from stiffer financial penalties to outright expulsion from office.

As well, Dunlop will be"holding roundtables with a variety of municipal stakeholders on how to strengthen accountability measures for members," according to a news release.

The details of when the roundtables will be held or how they'll be conducted have not yet been released.