Pressure grows on Ford government for amendments to councillor removal plan

The Ford government is facing growing pressure to amend its plan to deal with council misconduct, with critics suggesting the proposed legislation has a fatal flaw.

In the spring, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Rob Flack reintroduced legislation, originally proposed in December, to increase accountability and consequences for municipal councils.

The proposed legislation, which is currently going through committee hearings, makes a number of changes to how integrity commissioners and codes of conduct govern local councillors across Ontario.

In the most extreme circumstances, it allows for a councillor to be removed from office.

Removal would have to be recommended by a municipal integrity commissioner and then greenlit by the provincial integrity commissioner. The final stage would be a unanimous vote by the accused councillor’s colleagues to remove them.

That last step has been the subject of concern for the government’s critics and advocates of municipal reform.

Ontario NDP municipal affairs critic Jeff Burch said he supported most of the legislation, particularly changes to professionalize and standardize the system of local integrity commissioners.

“This legislation is very important, and it accomplishes that,” he told Global News. “With respect to removing councillors, almost everyone agrees that the final decision should not go back to the city council in question; it should go to some kind of professional body or the judiciary.”

Recent events at Niagara Falls council have put a spotlight on the problem.

In that city, a councillor has been charged with domestic assault by local police. The charge has not been proven in court.

The Women of Ontario Say No, an advocacy group, asked to present to the council about proposed changes to the law, which would temporarily sideline any councillors facing a criminal charge.

The group, however, was not allowed to speak to Niagara Falls council about its proposal because they were told it would touch upon an ongoing legal matter. At the next meeting, the councillor himself spoke about his charge, reiterating his innocence.

Emily McIntosh, the founder of the Women of Ontario Say No, said the fact council wouldn’t let her present was an illustration of the issues with the draft legislation.

“If this was the judicial system and we were looking at a case there, no council person would qualify to be a juror because the bias is so strong,” she previously told Global News.

“So when we’re looking at this legislative development, it’s not just about making sure it’s done, it’s about making sure it’s done right.”

McIntosh and her group would like to see the final step amended, as well as rules putting councillors facing a criminal charge on automatic paid leave until a court decides on their innocence.

Ontario Liberal MPP Stephen Blais, who has pushed for years for municipal reform, said the legislation, as written, leaves too much space for politics.

“Requiring a unanimous vote of council makes removal nearly impossible and politicizes the process,” he said.

“Having a judge make the final decision, like in cases of conflict of interest, would keep the bar for removal high and the politics out.”

Blais said the Liberals would propose amendments to the legislation and hoped the government would consider them.

“We will be bringing amendments to strengthen the accountability provisions and ensure elected officials are held to the same standards as every other employee in Ontario,” he explained.

Global News sent questions to the Ford government about whether it would consider amendments. A spokesperson did not address them in a statement, which said removing a councillor from office should never be “taken lightly.”

The bill has not yet been passed into law and will be subject to more committee hearings on Thursday.

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