Kincardine Council is giving their support to Bill 5, known as the Stopping Harassment and Abuse by Local Leaders Act.
The Act was initially tabled in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by Orleans MPP Stephen Blais.
The purpose of Bill 5 would be to amend the Municipal Act (2001) and the City of Toronto Act (2006).
It would give the council the ability to recall a member who acts inappropriately and against the municipality’s Code of Conduct.
Kincardine Councillor Rory Cavanagh tabled the original motion.
“In Ontario, there currently exists no means of recalling a sitting councillor, and as such councillors can only lose their seats for breaking election spending rules, or certain conflict of interest rules,” said Cavanagh during Monday’s meeting.
He went on to add, “The most severe penalty any councillor who behaves badly is going to receive is a small suspension of pay. Supporting this bill, pushing it forward and encouraging it to happen is an important step to make sure that everyone has a safe environment to work in, and that elected leaders have the moral authority to make decisions on behalf of constituents.”
Based on Bill 5 as tabled, changes to the Municipal Act would also permit municipalities and local boards to direct the Integrity Commissioner to apply to the court to vacate a member’s seat if the Commissioner’s inquiry determines that the member has violated the Code of Conduct by failing to comply with the workplace violence or harassment policies.
More specifically, if a judge determines that a member of council has violated their municipality’s policies with respect to workplace violence or harassment, the judge may declare the member’s seat vacant.
