Latest news with #Chiarelli
Ottawa Citizen
31-07-2025
- Politics
- Ottawa Citizen
Adam: Fix the big flaw in this provincial bill to remove bad councillors from office
The unanimous consent provision in Ontario's Bill 9, the proposed municipal accountability legislation triggered by allegations of sexual assault against former Ottawa Coun. Rick Chiarelli, must be removed if the law if going to mean anything. Article content The bill, which aims to standardize the municipal code of conduct and lay out the process by which a councillor who commits serious misconduct can be removed and disqualified from office, is a paper tiger as drafted. Removal from office would require a recommendation from a municipal integrity commissioner, approval from an Ontario integrity commissioner, and finally, the backing of a unanimous vote in council. Article content Article content Article content That requirement for unanimity stands in the way of accountability, and it's no surprise that many, including the two women whose complaints against Chiarelli sparked the legislation, rejected it. Article content 'I am doubtful of its ability to provide meaningful change,' Stephanie Dobbs, one of the complainants, said of the bill. 'Having the final decision return to be voted on at a council is frankly ludicrous.' Nancy Cairns, the other complainant, said the bill 'risks becoming another broken process cloaked in good intentions.' Article content The province should listen to them. Article content The problem with unanimous consent is that it empowers one person to undercut the entire process, no matter how egregious the behaviour under scrutiny. Municipal Affairs Minister Rob Flack has defended the provision, saying: 'The process outlined balances the need for external influence, while preserving democratic accountability at the local level.' With the greatest respect, minister, that's ridiculous. Instead of preserving democratic accountability, what this requirement does is create room for an abuser to remain in office and exact revenge on accusers, or continue the harassment. The minister appears happy to let such a person remain in office until the next election, however long that might be. Think of what that says to women caught up in such a situation. Article content Article content In Ottawa, sexual harassment allegations broke into the open in 2020 when the city's integrity commissioner investigated a number of claims by women who accused Chiarelli of improper behaviour. He was never charged, and has denied any misconduct, but the integrity commissioner found Chiarelli had indeed broken the council's code of conduct, and his pay was suspended for 450 days, the maximum allowed by law. But he remained in office and did not run in the following election. Failure to remove him earlier prompted calls for tougher accountability legislation. Article content Article content The government clearly understands that on such matters, it doesn't have all the answers; that's why a legislative committee launched public hearings across Ontario. Many have spoken and the emerging consensus appears to be that unanimous council consent would defeat the entire purpose. If the government is not willing to listen, what then was the purpose of the hearings? Just a show?
CBC
24-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Rick Chiarelli was a victim of 'cancel culture,' his wife tells Bill 9 hearing
The wife of a former Ottawa councillor whose alleged sexual harassment prompted a provincial bill to enhance municipal accountability says the legislation would make it easier for public servants to be harmed by false accusations. Lida Chiarelli told a consultation on Bill 9 in Whitby, Ont., on Thursday, that her family had "lived through a nightmare" after her husband Rick Chiarelli was accused of sexual harassment in his role as an Ottawa councillor in 2019. "We all know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my husband did nothing wrong, but he had absolutely no way of defending himself," she told the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy. Three damning integrity commissioner reports in 2020 found that Chiarelli had sexually harassed women working for him. The council imposed the strictest penalty available — docking his pay for 450 days and then a further 90 days on his way out of office — but was unable to force him from office. Bill 9 aims to make it easier to remove misbehaving officials with a process that would include a unanimous vote by the rest of council. 'Cancel culture' But Lida Chiarelli said the bill would encourage "cancel culture" to destroy politicians via anonymous complaints. "Political assassinations should not be given credibility by a supposedly confidential formal process that favours the accuser but muzzles the person who should have the right to defend themselves," she told the hearing committee. "My husband was falsely accused of allegedly having said things to women in work interviews that they didn't like," she said. "There was no documentation, no proof, only hearsay for these allegations." Three women lodged formal complaints that the then College ward councillor had asked them inappropriate questions during job interviews, including about not wearing a bra to work events. Another report found that Chiarelli bullied and harassed a young female staffer by offering to pay her money to pick up a man from a Montreal nightclub and perform a sexual act on him. Chiarelli left office in 2022 having always maintained his innocence. Last week, two of Chiarelli's accusers addressed a Bill 9 consultation in Ottawa, with one of them saying the legislation as currently formulated would not have protected her.
Ottawa Citizen
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Ottawa Citizen
Chianello: How to fire bad councillors — Ontario isn't getting it right
When I first reported on allegations against then-Ottawa city councillor Rick Chiarelli in 2019, the reaction from readers was swift and visceral. Article content Yes, people were appalled by the stories: disturbing accounts from women who said they were told by Chiarelli not to wear bras to public events, were given flimsy clothing to wear, and taken to bars to 'recruit' men as volunteers. But what stunned people even more was the realization that nothing could be done to remove Chiarelli from office. Not by the province. Not by the public. Not even after multiple damning reports from both the city's former and current integrity commissioners. Article content Article content Article content And that disbelief never really went away. Article content Over the past five years, I've heard from dozens of people — victims, staffers, elected officials, voters — all asking the same question: how is it possible that an elected official can be found to have harassed or harmed others in the workplace, and still keep their job? Article content Now, the province has finally responded — in theory. Article content This spring, Ontario's Progressive Conservative government introduced Bill 9, the Municipal Accountability Act, 2025, which passed second reading last month. On paper, it's the government's answer to calls from multiple quarters for a legal mechanism to remove municipal councillors from office for egregious misconduct. Article content Bill 9 does offer a few welcome changes. It mandates training for councillors on their codes of conduct. It gives the province authority to impose those codes if municipalities fall short. And it adds oversight to ensure municipal integrity commissioners don't have conflicts of interest — a needed step, especially after revelations by CBC Ottawa that some commissioners were also serving as their municipality's lawyer, a conflict the Ontario ombudsman rightly flagged as problematic. Article content Article content But on the core issue — the ability to remove a council member who has seriously violated the code of conduct — Bill 9 falls short. In fact, it sets up a process so convoluted and politicized that it's hard to imagine it ever being used successfully. Article content Article content Here's how it would work. Article content If a local integrity commissioner finds that a councillor's misconduct caused harm to someone's health, safety or well-being — and potentially if the behaviour was repeated — they can recommend removal from office. That recommendation then goes to Ontario's Integrity Commissioner, who launches a second full inquiry. Article content If the provincial commissioner agrees the councillor should be removed, they make a recommendation. But that recommendation doesn't trigger removal. Article content Instead, it's sent back to the councillor's own colleagues — their fellow council members — who must vote unanimously to remove them from office within 30 days. And every single councillor must be present for the vote to count. If someone is sick, on vacation, or slinks off to the washroom, the vote fails. And if council doesn't hold a vote within that 30-day deadline, Bill 9 is silent on what happens next.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Rockford honors fallen servicemen with solemn Memorial Day ceremony
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — There wasn't a dry eye in the house at a solemn remembrance ceremony at Veterans Memorial Hall, honoring loved ones, friends, and other servicemen and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice. 'Memorial Day is not just a holiday. It is a solemn reminder of the sacrifices made by those who wore the uniform. These heroes defended our freedoms and never returned home,' said Winnebago County Chairman Joseph Chiarelli. The service followed Rockford's annual Memorial Day Parade through downtown. 'It's so important to honor those who have lost their lives, who gave up their life for our freedoms and to be able to honor them is what we should be doing every day. So hopefully today, everyone can take a moment to remember what it costs for freedom,' Chiarelli said. 'I think what moves me, especially this morning, is my little daughter gave me a note that said, Thank you for your service and please don't go away to the army that long again. And I kind of teared up a little bit. And then it made me think of all the fathers and mothers and even brothers and sisters who didn't come home back to their families,' said 2nd Ward Ald. Jonathan Logeman, who also serves with the Illinois Army National Guard. 'When you think about the solemn nature of the sacrifice that we make, being home from our families or even possibly making the ultimate sacrifice, it just makes me so proud to be a part of the United States Army. Especially on a day when we think about those who did pay that ultimate sacrifice,' Logeman continued. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Ottawa Citizen
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Ottawa Citizen
Denley: Ottawa's flawed transit system built on what people once wanted
Frustration with Ottawa's public transit system is understandable, but the root cause is not a large number of people who made remarkably stupid decisions over a long period of time, as it is now popular to conclude. Article content Article content In fact, it's almost the opposite. The light-rail decisions that are mocked today were both popular and rational when they were made. Article content Ottawans wanted the same kind of rail service that other cities had already had for years. To accomplish that, they kept electing and re-electing politicians who promised to make the dream a reality. Article content Article content People look back now and lament the loss of what they remember as a much better bus system, but there was a good reason why it had to change. It's hard to imagine now, but 25 years ago, buses clogged downtown streets at rush hours, particularly on Albert and Slater streets. Article content At the time, OC Transpo was moving about 10,000 people an hour in each direction downtown at rush hours. The streets were near capacity and transit ridership was growing rapidly. Light rail in a downtown tunnel was ultimately seen as the most viable solution to that problem. It would enable OC Transpo to move up to 24,000 passengers an hour each way. Article content It's fair to say that the city's first train decision wasn't the best. Then-mayor Bob Chiarelli wanted light rail that would run from downtown to Barrhaven, but with no tunnel. It was a short-term solution, and one that went north-south when Ottawa's main commute was east and west to downtown. The federal government refused to support the plan. Article content Article content In 2006, Ottawa voters rejected Chiarelli's plan and elected as mayor Larry O'Brien, who became a champion of a downtown tunnel and an east-west route. It was a plan that was more costly but also more rational. O'Brien argued that trains in a tunnel would be faster and more reliable. It seemed plausible. Article content Article content The decision to go with rail was widely regarded as the big-city thing to do. Skeptics, including me, questioned the high capital cost, but enthusiasm won the day. The first stage of the LRT was under way. Article content In 2010, voters elected Jim Watson as mayor. He'd been critical of the train plan, but quickly changed his mind when he figured out that others liked it. In the end, Watson became an enthusiastic supporter of light rail.
