Richmond Hill integrity commissioner throws out most conduct complaints due to lack of power

City received record number of code of conduct complaints in 2019

Yorkregion.com
November 4, 2020
Sheila Wang

Richmond Hill’s new integrity commissioner dismissed almost all code of conduct complaints, marked by a "high level of animosity and interpersonal conflict" among councillors, in 2019, according to a report.

Members of the public and city representatives filed a record 29 complaints about “rude, abusive or disrespectful” council conduct to integrity commissioner Norman J. Groot last year, says his first report, made public at the Oct. 28 council meeting.

There is currently one "ongoing" case, with all the rest either dismissed, withdrawn or not sustained after investigation, the report says.

Groot, who assumed the new role last December, received three complaints in 2019 after taking over 22 complaints left behind by former commissioner Deborah Anschell, who was terminated halfway through a contract.

He says a majority of the complaints were related to the conduct of councillors at council or committee meetings, which the integrity commissioner “likely does not have to the jurisdiction” to investigate.

Keeping order at these meetings is the exclusive responsibility of the meeting chair, Mayor Dave Barrow, according to the report.

While surprised at the sheer volume of the complaints, Barrow said he's always aware that he is charged with managing the members on council meetings in accordance with the procedural bylaw.

"I do deal with those points of order and ask members to refrain from comments that they're making and respect the ruling," Barrow said, noting that everyone "seems to be getting along" at recent meetings.

Resident Pat Pollock finds the report discouraging.

“If the IC can’t deal with it, and chair can’t, then what are we supposed to do? What are other members of council supposed to do when the nastiness, bitterness (is) aimed at them?” Pollock wrote to council.

Given the lack of details in the report, the mayor told the Liberal he didn't know what the complaints were about.

Linda Herriott has some idea.

Herriott filed a complaint against Regional Coun. Carmine Perrelli, who spoke fiercely and filmed the audience members in the council chambers during the Oct. 16, 2019 meeting, about his lack of decorum and intimidating behaviour.

After waiting for about half a year, Herriott said she was told the commissioner didn’t have the authority to investigate her case.

“It felt like a slap in the face. I wasted hours filing the complaint and talking to the commissioner’s office,” Herriott said.

The resident's case is one of 12 complaints that stemmed from the same meeting, according to the report.

Among the 25 complaints Groot received in 2019, 21 of them were linked to misconduct at council or committee meetings.

Half of the complaints are between councillors, and 11 complaints were filed against one councillor alone.

The IC report notes a need to improve conduct in light of concerns over 'intimidating,” “unprofessional” and “egregious” behaviours on council.

“We appreciate that every council is unique,” Groot says in the report, noting that the volume of formal complaints is relatively high for a smaller council like Richmond Hill.

In comparison, the 26-member Toronto council generated 14 complaints last year, less than half of the cases in Richmond Hill, a survey conducted by the IC office shows.

There has been a misunderstanding of the role and jurisdiction of the integrity commissioner, which has resulted in “excessive spending,” the report says.

The city paid $64,582 for the services provided by Anschell in 2019, almost double the annual budget set aside for the work.

The former commissioner completed the investigation of nine out the 14 code of conduct complaints from June 2018 to October 2019.

There are four cases unaccounted for in the 2019 report which have been closed by Anschell, who had to leave her position before providing a report, according to the city.