Judge overturns sanctions against Stouffville Mayor Justin Altmann

Whitchurch-Stouffville council passed the integrity commissioner recommendations at its town council meeting March 6.

Yorkregion.com
September 10, 2018
Simon Martin

Can Whitchurch-Stouffville council prevent Mayor Justin Altmann from going to town parks, talking to town staff and even going to town offices? The answer is no, according to an Ontario Superior Court Judge.

In a ruling handed down Sept. 7, Justice Phillip Sutherland said the bylaw passed by Whitchurch-Stouffville town council March 6 contained sections that were "ultra vires" or beyond it's legal authority.

Sutherland singled out a few specific sections of the bylaw, which stated that:

Apart from council meetings, (the mayor is to) communicate with municipal staff solely by email to an email address provided by the town. No other form of communication shall be permitted nor responded to for the duration of council term, with exceptions as authorized by the chief administrative officer (CAO); the mayor shall immediately return his keys and access card to the municipal offices or facilities for the duration of council term; and the mayor shall have no access to municipal facilities except town hall during business hours to attend at the front desk or public areas to pick up council packages, sign documents, meet with constituents or make bill payments and to attend council meetings for the duration of council terms.

When contacted by the Stouffville Sun-Tribune, Altmann had yet to read the email from his lawyer about his legal victory.

“Oh s***! You can quote me on that,” Altmann said.

Altmann said he didn't have time for further comment as he needed to read the ruling and get in touch with his lawyer.

Justice Sutherland said the offending terms of the bylaw are hereby quashed.

In issuing his ruling, Sutherland noted the urgency of the matter with a municipal election pending. A full decision outlining the reasons for his decision is expected in the coming weeks.

At the Newmarket courthouse Aug. 28, Altmann’s Lawyer Mauro Marchioni argued the restrictions handed down by council were not within its jurisdiction and were in contravention of the municipal act.

The crux of the arguments focused on whether remedial actions proposed by Integrity Commissioner Suzanne Craig in her March report were in fact actions or penalties.

The remedial actions outlined in the report included the mayor not being allowed to talk directly with town staff; the mayor returning his keys and access card to the municipal office and the mayor not being allowed access to the municipal office except for council meetings which council later amended to all municipal facilities.

Marchioni repeatedly referred to the measures as punitive.

“This is not an action, this is a sanction,” he said.

The Municipal Act permits council to issue a reprimand and suspension of pay for 90 days. These are the only code of conduct penalties outlined in the Municipal Act, according to Marchioni.

While council enacted both the outlined statutory penalties they also passed the remedial actions.

Marchioni said the “actions” were beyond what the Municipal Act allows.

"The democratically elected mayor has the same access to municipal offices as you or I," he said.

Altmann can’t go to the park, fire hall or skating rink.

“He can’t read (his daughter) a book in the library or take a walk in the park,” Marchioni said. “They are nothing other than sanctions and very inappropriate ones.”

Town lawyer John Hart, on the other hand, argued that the remedial actions were not penalties but limiting actions related to Craig's  findings.

Hart noted the remedial actions were recommended and adopted after the failure of the mayor to apologize in respect to a serious incident of workplace harassment.

“How do we stop serious workplace harassment?” Hart said.

He said council imposed limitations on the mayor, but did not prohibit him from doing his job as mayor noting that Altmann still presides over council and can interact with staff, although not directly.

Altmann’s legal team relied on a case involving former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford as legal precedent to support its argument.

In that case, Toronto council based on recommendations from the integrity commissioner made a resolution that Ford reimburse 11 donors to his football charity $3,150.

The resolution was eventually overturned by the Ontario Divisional Court.

What was objectionable in the case according to the decision from the three judge panel, was the fact that the reimbursement requirement was in fact a penalty, not a remedial measure.

Whitchurch-Stouffville's code of conduct, passed early in 2017, outlines punishments and remedial actions that the integrity commissioner can recommend.

They include a reprimand and the suspension of pay for 90 days.

It also outline remedial actions including: removal from membership of a committee; removal as chair of a committee; repayment or reimbursement of moneys received; return of property or reimbursement of its value; and a written or verbal apology.