Hearings on bill to oust misbehaving councillors arrive in Ottawa
Former staffer of ex-councillor Rick Chiarelli to address committee about Bill 9
When a series of internal investigations found former Ottawa city councillor Rick Chiarelli had sexually harassed multiple female staffers over several years back in 2020, it sparked public outrage and demands for accountability.
At the time, council imposed the harshest penalty available — docking Chiarelli's pay for 90 days times six, once for each complainant who came forward in three separate reports.
- Chiarelli's 'unwelcome' harassment violated code of conduct, report finds
- City councillor Rick Chiarelli starts collecting his salary again this week
That cost Chiarelli a little over $100,000, but he held onto his council seat until the end of his term in 2022.
That was a difficult thing to explain to constituents, according to Kitchissippi Coun. Jeff Leiper.
"I don't think residents really ever understood why [we] couldn't sanction such an egregious violation by kicking that councillor off of council," he said. "It's just not a power that city council has."
But that could soon change. Thanks to years of advocacy, private members' bills, and other calls to update municipal codes of conducts and impose harsher penalties on those who violate them, the province is now proposing new legislation.
Bill 9 would create a standard code of conduct for all municipalities, giving them the power to remove and disqualify from office members who are found to be in serious violation.
Under the proposed rules, three things would need to happen first: a recommendation from a municipal integrity commissioner, an approval from an Ontario integrity commissioner, and a unanimous vote by the rest of council.
Former staffer to address committee
Several Ottawa residents are expected to speak before the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy when it visits the city on Thursday as part of the public hearings on the bill.
Among them is Stephanie Dobbs, a former employee of Chiarelli's and one of the main complainants against him.
"I want to bring back the human aspect to this," Dobbs told CBC. "It's very difficult in policy proceedings to remember the impact this has on real people."
Dobbs said she intends to speak about what she went through and the long-term impact it has had on her. She said she's grateful for the bill, although she believes it contains one serious flaw: the requirement that councillors unanimously vote for removal.
"This threshold of 100 per cent is absolutely ridiculous and unrealistic," she said.
MPP hoping for amendments
MPP Stephen Blais shares that concern. Blais served on Ottawa city council with Chiarelli before making the jump to provincial politics.
He has introduced three different bills aimed at creating a process to remove an elected official from office for egregious workplace violence or harassment, but all three were voted down.
"We've seen here in Ottawa and other cities that when controversial items come up, it's very easy to get up and just be away from the table," he said of the unanimity requirement. "It would be very easy for that vote simply not to happen because someone was absent."
Blais argues the decision to remove a councillor should ultimately be up to the courts. He and other opposition MPPs intend to propose amendments to Bill 9 once it passes to the next stage, but he isn't sure their suggestions will be well received.
"The current government has a distaste for the courts," he said.
When then Municipal Affairs minister Paul Calandra introduced the bill last December, he defended the "very high bar" it sets.
"Ultimately, the people will decide in an election. I wanted to have a mechanism [for removal], though. I thought it was very important," he said.
Thursday's hearing will take place at the Sheraton Hotel on Albert Street.
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