Ontario needs a law to punish councillors for violence and harassment, advocates say

Advocates and oppositionparties are calling on the Ontario government to passlegislationthat wouldholdmunicipal councillorsaccountablefor violence and harassment.

Emily McIntosh, founder of Women of Ontario Say No, said she started the non-partisan advocacy group in 2022 to lobbythe government to addressthe problem. Now, her group is demandingactionafter watching thegovernment blockprivate member bills on the issue while ministers agreethere's a needfor change.

Such legislation would protect municipal staff, she said.

"We should not have to work this hard to ensure that our basic human rights are protected," she said at a newsconference at Queen's Park on Wednesday.

"We are askingmunicipally elected representatives to be held to the very same standard as every other working Ontarian."

Municipalities, advocates and oppositionpoliticians have been calling for action on theissue for years.Currently, councillors can only lose their seats when they breakelection spending rules and certain conflict of interest policies.The most severe penalty issuspension of pay something McIntosh says deters victims, particularly women, from coming forward. Manyleave their jobs instead, she said.

Minister says government will 'bring something forward'

Last month at a Rural Ontario Municipality Association (ROMA)conference,Housing and Municipal Affairs Minister Paul Calandra said he'sworking closely with ROMA and the attorney general"to do something" about the problem.

When asked if it's possible to deliverresultsby the summer, Calandra said, "I don't see why not."

"I want to make sure that what we do bring forward is constitutional.It is a very important piece of legislation," he told reporters Wednesday.

"It has to actually achieve the results that Ithink that everybody is asking for. Absolutely, we are going to bring something forward."

The government launched consultations in 2021 in response to pressure, including from the Association of Municipalities of Ontariofor more severe penalties regarding the most serious violations of codes of conduct for municipalelected officials.

The move came after CBCNews and twointegrity commissioner reports revealedformerOttawa city councillorRick Chiarelli harassed former staff members and job applicants for years, as well as abused his power of office.Council urged Chiarelli to resign, but he refused. Victims later launched petitions to remove him.

In an emailed statement, Calandra's office confirmed consultations with municipalitiesand work with the office of the attorney general "to devise the best path forward are still ongoing."

David Arbuckle, executive director of the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario,said most staff and councillor relationships are positive and respectful, butmembers are reporting the overall relationship between elected officials and city staff is becoming "increasingly confrontational."

"We try to stay out of some of the more political pieces," Arbuckle said.

"But for us, this isn't about politics.This is about calling for change that will improve the ways in which local governments work."

Opposing parties would support bill from PCs

Women of Ontario Say No says it islooking for legislation that will change municipal code of conduct rules to include adherence to anti-violence and harassment policies for municipally elected officials, establish a process for removing them for substantiated and "egregious" acts of harassment, and restrict the ability of people who were removed to run for office again.

The group says over 200 municipalities in the last two years have formally endorsed their call.

NDPLeader Marit Stiles said it's "outrageous" women are still getting harassed at work with "little to no consequence for perpetrators."

"The solution is very simple. Pass legislation that will hold municipal elected officers accountable for perpetrating violence and harassment," said Stiles, adding her party would support such a bill.

Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said his party would support such a bill as well,adding the whole province loses when "those in power can carry out acts of harassment without consequence."

"We're calling on the government to do the right thing this year," he said.

Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie agreed, adding that councillorswho have beenfound to have harassed staff can be asked to sit at home and not attend meetings, but can still directly work with the very person they have harassed.

"That has to change," she said.

In recentyears, Liberal MPP StephenBlais has introduced severalprivate members' bills that triedtogive municipal integrity commissioners enhancedpowers all of them stalled in Queen's Park'slegislative processor rejected by the government.

Blais said he was inspired tocome forward with the bill after the conduct of his formercolleague on Ottawa's city council came to light.

"He's not alone," said Blais, saying similar instances have arisenin cities like Barrie, Mississaugaand Brampton.

"All elected officials need to be held to a higher standard. In Ontario right now, they're being held to a lower one."