PICKERING, Ont. — A councillor in a southern Ontario city has been issued a 90-day pay suspension – the most severe penalty possible under current rules – after the municipality's integrity commissioner found she has been demonstrating a continued pattern of "unacceptable behaviour" that risks hurting marginalized members of society.
It's the latest in a series of penalties levelled against Coun. Lisa Robinson of Pickering, Ont., and a situation that the mayor has said underscores the need for changes to the province's Municipal Act to allow stricter sanctions, up to the removal of a councillor from office.
Robinson, for her part, denied the integrity commissioner's findings, called his report "full of lies" and accused the council of conducting a “witch hunt” against her.
The situation in Pickering, a city east of Toronto, is one that has been developing since last year.
The city's mayor said he isn't optimistic Robinson's latest pay suspension – her third since last September – will have much of an impact.
“I hope that the distraction of Coun. Robinson’s behaviour will hopefully be put in the rearview mirror. I’m not confident that will happen,” Kevin Ashe said in a phone interview.
"Our path forward is cloudy."
The mayor and councillors wrote a letter last month urging Premier Doug Ford and the municipal affairs minister to close what they call "a glaring loophole" in the Municipal Act by strengthening sanctions that can be levelled against councillors who engage in harmful actions, including the potential for removal from office.
“I think it should be a legislative priority,” said Ashe.
“I’m hopeful that the minister and the government will, in short order, do something so that councils have a stronger tool to deal with this egregious behaviour.”
Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Paul Calandra has said he wants to consult more and seek advice from the province’s integrity commissioner before tabling legislation.
Robinson, meanwhile, said any city official who asks for changes to the Municipal Act should step down, saying it would bar “dissenting opinion.”
“If the constituents don’t like what I have to say or how I’m representing them, then the decision will be up to them during the next election,” she said in a phone interview.
Robinson, who was elected in 2022, first received a 30-day pay suspension in September 2023 after social media posts identifying some Pickering residents triggered an integrity commissioner investigation for cyberbullying and intimidation. She was then condemned by council for referring to herself as a "modern day slave" as a result of the docked pay.
In October last year, she received a 60-day pay suspension after another investigation by the integrity commissioner into remarks she made about drag queen story time events, universal washrooms and the raising of Pride flags. The commissioner found Robinson had “promoted attitudes which are homophobic and transphobic," which she denied.
In November 2023, she suggested in a social media post that the inclusion of an LGBTQ+ advocacy organization in the city's Santa Claus parade would be inappropriate for children. In February, she wrote an op-ed denouncing Black History Month.
Those public comments were among what formed the basis of the latest complaint investigated by the integrity commissioner, which was based on concerns from the public, the mayor and fellow councillors.
The complaint detailed multiple allegations of Robinson’s breaches of the council’s code of conduct, including several social media posts that allegedly showed a “lack of respect” for the commissioner and the council, and op-eds penned by Robinson that allegedly “erode public trust.”
The commissioner’s report found that Robinson refused to recognize the impact of her actions, and that they "demonstrate an arrogant self-righteousness" rarely seen in municipal leaders.
Robinson came under fire again last month after councillors condemned her for appearing in an online show they said promoted hate speech and extremist views.
The mayor and other councillors said she appeared on the Kevin J. Johnston show hosted on Rumble, which they called a “far-right video platform.” They said the show host called councillors "pedophiles" and "Nazis" and said they "deserve a baseball bat to the face," asserting Robinson smiled or nodded.
Robinson said she has denounced the host’s comments and apologized to her colleagues.
She criticized the commissioner's latest report and said she has "much support" from constituents.
“I am literally OK with a pay suspension. I knew it was coming, because I know how vindictive the councillors are that I work with,” she said.
“I wouldn’t even treat an enemy the way that they treated me.”
Ashe, for his part, said he hopes the future brings better discourse.
“Never in my wildest dreams would I think that this would happen in my city," he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2024.
Rianna Lim, The Canadian Press
