Latest news with #IntegrityCommissioner
CTV News
31-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Chatham-Kent responds to court ruling in Jubenville case
Chatham-Kent Civic Centre seen in Chatham, Ont. on July 31, 2025. (Travis Fortnum/CTV News Windsor) The Municipality of Chatham-Kent has issued a response following a court decision that partially sided with Councillor Rhonda Jubenville in her legal challenge over a 2023 pay suspension. In a statement Thursday, the municipality acknowledged the ruling from Ontario's Divisional Court, which quashed its previous decision to suspend Jubenville's pay and ordered a revised report and penalty recommendation from the Integrity Commissioner. 'This means that the Integrity Commissioner was ordered by the Court to submit a new report with a reconsideration of her recommendation on the appropriate penalty to be applied to Councillor Jubenville,' said Dave Taylor, Director of Legal Services. 'Council is then required to re-consider its decision on the appropriate penalty to apply for the breach of the Code of Conduct.' As CTV News reported Wednesday, the court upheld one of two findings against Jubenville, ruling it was reasonable to conclude that her social media posts breached rules around discreditable conduct. But the judge rejected the Integrity Commissioner's interpretation of a second rule — one prohibiting misuse of office — calling that conclusion 'unreasonable.' Taylor's statement Thursday confirmed the municipality is now awaiting further legal advice before taking additional steps. 'Chatham-Kent is not in a position to provide any further comments about next steps on this matter,' he said. 'Further legal analysis will be required by the external legal counsel that represented Chatham-Kent and the Integrity Commissioner in this matter.' The legal saga dates back to a 2023 report from then-Integrity Commissioner Mary Ellen Bench, who found Jubenville violated two sections of Chatham-Kent's Code of Conduct and recommended a 90-day pay suspension. Council adopted that recommendation in August 2023. Jubenville challenged the decision in court — and celebrated this week's partial win. 'They found that I was predominantly successful, and I was awarded the court costs that I asked for,' she told CTV News on Wednesday. 'So, I would say in a nutshell, that was a win for me.' The municipality has since appointed a new Integrity Commissioner, with SC Consulting taking on the role in November 2023. Taylor noted Thursday that Integrity Commissioners are independent figures appointed to investigate complaints under Ontario's Municipal Act. Council and the public, he added, 'will be provided with further updates as this matter progresses.'
CTV News
30-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Chatham-Kent councillor says she was ‘predominantly successful' in legal challenge over pay suspension
Chatham-Kent councillor Rhonda Jubenville says she's been 'predominantly successful' in her legal fight against the municipality's decision to suspend her pay over controversial social media posts. In a post shared online Tuesday, Jubenville said the Ontario Superior Court has ruled to quash both the original Integrity Commissioner's report and the sanction council imposed on her last year. 'To say I'm happy is an understatement,' she wrote. 'I want to thank everyone for support and for prayers throughout all of this, since the summer of 2023.' Jubenville shared an excerpt of the ruling, which states the findings related to a breach of the Code's section 10 were 'unreasonable' and confirms she's been awarded $20,000 in costs. The decision also orders the Integrity Commissioner to reconsider the recommended penalty. The Ward 4 councillor brought the matter to court following a 90-day suspension of her pay in 2023. That penalty came after the Integrity Commissioner concluded she had used her position to intimidate critics through social media posts about Pride flags, drag story time and local schools. CTV News has reached out to Coun. Jubenville and the Municipality of Chatham-Kent for comment. This is a developing story. More details to come.
CTV News
09-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Fireworks at North Bay city council as motion to audit mayor's expenses fails
Mayor Peter Chirico declared a conflict of interest at the beginning of the meeting Tuesday night and didn't participate in the debate. North Bay's city council meeting plunged into chaos Tuesday night as councillors defeated a motion calling for an independent forensic audit of Mayor Peter Chirico's expenses. An amended version of the motion was defeated by a 7-3 vote. The original motion was ultimately pulled after a fiery debate. Chirico declared a conflict of interest at the beginning of the meeting and didn't participate in the debate. Coun. Tanya Vrebosch Coun. Tanya Vrebosch said the confused debate was frustrating and made council look 'completely stupid.' (Eric Taschner/CTV News) The mayor has been under fire since it emerged that he charged $16,000 in personal expenses on a corporate credit card in 2023 and 2024. Some of these personal items reportedly include dog food, cigarettes and a golf membership. The mayor has said that all expenses that were deemed personal, including some that fell into a 'grey area,' were fully repaid. He has since called for the city's integrity commissioner to look into the matter, but Tuesday night, council debated whether to go a step further and have the expenses subject to a forensic audit. Coun. Jamie Lowery Coun. Jamie Lowery said council deserves answers about how the expenses were approved. (Eric Taschner/CTV News) An amended version of the motion, moved by Coun. Jamie Lowery and seconded by Coun. Tanya Vrebosch, called for an audit of all 'spending related to the Office of the Mayor' from the beginning of the current council term in 2022 to the present day. The audit would have been conducted by a firm that has 'not participated in city audits in the last 10 years' and would have excluded the participation of anyone involved in approving or overseeing the mayor's expenses. That list includes city officials such as the chief administrative officer, the chief financial officer, the city solicitor and the current external auditor. Once the amended motion was defeated, the original motion, which included a call for Chirico to temporarily step aside from the North Bay Police Board, was then brought before council. Confusion, frustration That motion was then broken down into five bullet points to be voted on individually. But that decision caused confusion and frustration, with councillors unsure of exactly what they were voting on. 'We're looking completely stupid right now,' Vrebosch said. 'Changing and breaking it up into five pieces has changed the intent of the motion and we need to bring this back because we need to stop this.' In the end, Lowery and Coun. Sara Inch agreed that the original motion should be pulled from the floor. All the while, Chirico watched on. Lowery said council deserved answers. 'What went wrong? There's two years. Who signed off on it? Who let them pay it back? Who would that authority come from? There's a lot of things and we're only going by the information we have,' he said. 'There's a reason why people think government is corrupt and not transparent. These guys all ran on transparency and tonight they did not show that whatsoever.' — Coun. Tanya Vrebosch 'I wouldn't call it corruption. I just think that we've got to be a lot more accountable about what we do and how we conduct ourselves.' In a fiery news scrum after the meeting ended, Vrebosch argued the amended motion should have passed because the 'scope of the integrity commissioner is very narrow.' 'I'm trying to protect them (certain members) and take them out of the process and make sure that we are looking at this as transparent and as independent as we possibly can,' Vrebosch said. At one point during the discussion, Coun. Mac Bain and Vrebosch traded verbal blows about the way municipal politics is being run in the city. 'This is not the city that represents me and this council does not represent North Bay. To be honest, tonight I thought it was very disappointing,' she said. 'Government, to me, politics, to me, I hold it very high and this council is ruining it. There's a reason why people think government is corrupt and not transparent. These guys all ran on transparency and tonight they did not show that whatsoever.' Bain told reporters the reason he voted against the amended motion was because it 'called into question' the ability of senior city staff that helps the way councillors govern. Gardiner and Bain Councillors Gary Gardiner and Mac Bain are seen at Tuesday night's meeting. (Eric Taschner/CTV News) 'I believe the integrity commissioner's report, the auditor's report that's done and the change in policy that will come forward in regard to spending, will all be taken care,' he said. Coun. Gary Gardiner, who said during the meeting that he stands with the mayor, voted against both the original and amended motions. Gardiner said the integrity commissioner's investigation should play out first. 'We have a ruling on his code of conduct, No. 1, right?' he told reporters. 'In my opinion, they were questioning his integrity and suggesting almost that there was some criminal element.' 'Kangaroo court' Gardiner said Chirico's children and grandchildren are unfairly seeing everything unfold on social media. 'The way this is playing out in social media, it's a kangaroo court and somebody has to stand up for him,' he added. 'The councillors (who) are calling for more information, etc., decided not to attend a closed meeting. We have reasons why closed meetings are held and they've turned it into this kind of situation that didn't have to go this way.' Vrebosch said many taxpayers won't be happy because an independent audit won't be conducted. 'You want to see the public react to this tonight? Watch their emails, their Facebook messages and their text messages -- this is going to blow up in the city,' Vrebosch said. 'The taxpayers need to speak up on this one.' Council did unanimously pass a motion that was moved by Coun. Lana Mitchell that instructs city staff to bring forward a transparency and accountability bylaw, requiring council and mayoral expenses to be published online every quarter. The bylaw will be ready by September.
CBC
19-06-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Proposal to suspend work of Vancouver's integrity commissioner quietly fizzles out
Social Sharing A year-long controversy at Vancouver City Hall has ended not with a bang, but with a procedural ruling on a point of order. "This motion would be frivolous, and is out of order," read Mayor Ken Sim at council on Tuesday morning, dismissing an amendment to Vancouver's code of conduct that would have temporarily suspended Integrity Commissioner Lisa Southern's ability to investigate complaints against the mayor and council. "Basically, we can just carry on." The motion was brought forward last July by ABC Vancouver councillors, who argued an external review and temporary suspension of investigations would allow for more clarity around the Office of the Integrity Commissioner. But the debate became paralyzed and acrimonious due to code-of-conduct investigations prompted by accusations from various members of council and park board against each other, and allegations that councillors were trying to silence the body in charge of investigating them. WATCH | Debate over integrity commissioner ends: Vancouver council ends debate over integrity commissioner 10 hours ago Duration 3:01 The debate over Vancouver city hall's independent watchdog has ended, at least for now. Last summer, council proposed suspending the work of its integrity commissioner. But while the matter was finally put to rest, the issue is likely to be brought back up by the province soon. CBC's Justin McElroy reports. Over the last 11 months, the vote for a suspension of investigations was delayed four times. During that time an external investigation into the office — which recommended more independence from council — was launched and concluded. "It has been a lot of wasted resources and time to get to this point," said Coun. Pete Fry. Vancouver's Mayor Office said they considered the matter closed. In a statement, Southern said she looked forward to continuing her work, while noting she has endorsed the city hiring her replacement before her term ends in December. "Throughout the past three and a half years, I have remained committed to carrying out my responsibilities impartially and diligently, and I am proud of the work my office has done in service of council and the public," she wrote. "I look forward to supporting a smooth and professional transition over the coming months." 'It's somewhat toothless' While Vancouver's debate over how to resolve code-of-conduct disputes has subsided, the province is deciding how future investigations into local politicians should be conducted amid frustrations over a number of feuding city councils across the province. Fry said he supported Vancouver continuing to have its own integrity commissioner, but said the province could create mechanisms to protect the office and allow for binding punishments, neither of which exist at the moment. "We need a little bit more enforcement with some of these rulings when it comes to breaches of our oath of office, or code of conduct," he said. "The integrity commissioner doesn't have the ability under the Vancouver Charter to impose any sanctions. So in many respects, it's somewhat toothless." It was a point underlined by Reece Harding, Surrey's first ethics commissioner, who has been hired for code-of-conduct investigations in multiple municipalities. "[In B.C.], there's nothing really that dictates how decision-makers are put in place, clarity around process, clarity around sanctions and remedies," Harding said. "And so it's a bit of a free-for-all out there." What model to take? Each province that has tackled the issue has come up with slightly different solutions. Ontario recently passed legislation that standardizes municipal codes of conduct across the province, and allows for mayors and councillors in serious violation of the code to be removed from office, but only if the province's own integrity commissioner agrees and it gets a unanimous vote from council. Last year, New Brunswick created the Local Governance Commission, which can take complaints if people are not satisfied with internal investigations. It has the power to suspend local politicians or appoint supervisors, which it did two months ago in Strait Shores. Alberta has gone in the opposite direction, eliminating municipal codes of conduct while suggesting a separate ethics commissioner could be appointed. "There will be circumstances where it seems reasonable to me that the province needs to have a bigger stick," Harding said. He added that whatever system is enacted should stop situations where municipalities spend months or years investigating themselves with no resolution. "Clear process, clear remedies and a role for the provincial government where the local jurisdiction has become frozen and can't get themselves out of that frozen ice mask," he said.
Globe and Mail
16-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Former top Ford aide sanctioned by Ontario's ethics watchdog for breaking lobbying rules
An investigation by Ontario's ethics watchdog has found that a former top aide to Premier Doug Ford violated lobbying rules more than two years ago. According to a notice on the Integrity Commissioner of Ontario website posted Thursday, Amin Massoudi failed to register when he lobbied a public office holder about a client's request during a phone call. Mr. Massoudi knowingly placed the person in a position of potential conflict of interest, Integrity Commissioner Cathryn Motherwell's office said, because Mr. Massoudi had offered the public office holder a ticket to a Toronto Raptors basketball game the previous day. The Integrity Commissioner did not name the client or the public office holder, or say what the request involved. The office said the notice it posted online – which includes Mr. Massoudi's name and a brief description of what they found – is his sanction for violating the Lobbyists Registration Act, with no further penalty indicated. Mr. Massoudi said in a statement to The Globe and Mail that the finding relates to a phone call with a mid-level staff member in a minister's office in January, 2023. 'During that conversation, a topic related to an economic development file came up. I immediately informed the staff member that I was not registered on the file and indicated that a colleague, who was appropriately registered, would follow up. At the time, I believed this to be the appropriate way to handle the situation,' he said. Mr. Massoudi declined to identify the staff member. 'I take compliance with all relevant legislation extremely seriously. Over the last two years, I have taken concrete steps to strengthen internal compliance protocols and ensure nothing like this happens again,' Mr. Massoudi said, calling the experience 'an invaluable learning opportunity.' Mr. Massoudi, who now runs a consulting firm, served as Mr. Ford's principal secretary from June, 2019, to late August, 2022. He was named in a 2023 integrity commissioner report on an investigation into the government's decision to allow developers to build housing on parts of the province's protected Greenbelt. Mr. Massoudi was singled out for his role in a 2020 vacation in Las Vegas that has prompted the resignations of cabinet minister Kaleed Rasheed and another senior aide to the Premier, Jae Truesdell. The trio had stayed at the same hotel as prominent Toronto-area developer Shakir Rehmatullah, who has benefited both from special fast-track zoning orders issued by the government and stood to gain from its now-reversed decision to swap lands out of the protected Greenbelt area for housing. The Ford government's decision to open up the Greenbelt is now under investigation by the RCMP. Mr. Massoudi, after leaving the Premier's Office in 2022, kept working for the Progressive Conservative caucus on a $237,000 contract that ended in September, 2023. Hannah Jensen, a spokesperson for Mr. Ford, said the Premier's Office has not been engaged in the recent matter relating to Mr. Massoudi and has no details beyond what the integrity commissioner reported. 'We expect that anyone engaging with or advocating to the government complies with all rules and regulations as set out in legislation,' she said in a statement. In recent weeks, the integrity commissioner's office has found several breaches of the lobbying rules related to the Greenbelt. John Mutton, a consultant and former mayor of Clarington, Ont., who was identified in the 2023 report only as 'Mr. X,' was handed the province's first-ever lobbying ban last month after the integrity commissioner ruled he broke the law numerous times. He is banned from lobbying until April 17, 2027.
