Vaughan councillor apologizes for ‘false’ and ‘disparaging’ comments about former staffer

Thestar.com
June 19, 2018
Noor Javed

A long-time Vaughan councillor who shocked residents at a community meeting when he disclosed confidential and inaccurate details about the termination of a former city employee will be reprimanded following an ethics probe into his conduct.

On Tuesday, Vaughan’s integrity commissioner Suzanne Craig, presented her report to council which found that Ward 2 Councillor Tony Carella breached the city’s code of conduct when he disclosed confidential personnel information to residents.

Councillor Tony Carella was “forthcoming” and “remorseful” during the investigation, according to the integrity commissioner.

“At the municipal level of government, it is well-established policy that respecting confidentiality rules is imperative to ensure a respectful and accountable government that we have,” said Craig to council, and suggested he be given an official reprimand.

Following a lengthy in-camera session to talk about the legal ramifications of the report, council endorsed Craig’s recommendation.

Carella, who has been a Vaughan councillor for nearly 20 years, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

In May, Carella was at a meeting with a number of residents in relation to a contentious development issue, when the name of the former staff member came up. According to the complaint filed by one of the witnesses that sparked the probe, “Tony Carella proceeded to tell all of us why (the employee) was fired from the City. I found this disturbing in that (the employee’s) firing would have been the subject of a closed session meeting about an identifiable individual.”

The names of the employee and the complainant were not disclosed in the report or by Craig during the meeting.

Craig said that Carella was “forthcoming” and “remorseful.”

“He acknowledged making statements that the former staff member was fired and that he provided a reason for termination. He also admitted that those statements were false,” said Craig, during the meeting to council.

She said she also received a “full and unconditional apology,” and in a written statement he “retracted and apologized for the false statement made” and advised that he would “cease and desist making further disparaging comments.”

She said that while his actions have serious consequences, she felt Carella was sufficiently apologetic.

“In admitting that he disclosed that a former employee was terminated and made false remarks about the termination, the respondent acknowledged he misled members of the public,” she said. “Such a statement may cause serious harm to the employee’s future employment prospects. It was irresponsible and reckless for the respondent to make such a statement, and such conduct cannot be condoned.”

“However, at the first opportunity, the Respondent acknowledged that his statements were untrue and apologized to the former employee for discussing the confidential personnel information,” she said.

Long-time city hall watcher Richard Lorello, who was at the May meeting with Carella, said he disagreed with the ethics commissioner’s proposed sanctions.

“I don’t believe the penalty fits the crime,” said Lorello at the council meeting. “The councillor went out of his way to say something that was categorically untrue. So yes, he has apologized, but personally, I think it was because he was caught.”