Brampton mayor cleared in ethics investigation after testy exchange with resident over Tamil monument

Thestar.com
Feb. 7, 2022

Brampton’s integrity commissioner has ruled Mayor Patrick Brown did not violate the city’s council Code of Conduct at a council meeting last year when he engaged in a heated exchange with a resident regarding a planned Tamil genocide monument in the city.

Integrity commissioner Muneeza Sheikh’s office received two complaints in March 2021 from two Brampton residents alleging the mayor violated several of the city’s ethics rules during the exchange.

At that Feb. 24 meeting, council received a delegation from a group called the Sri Lankan Canadian Association of Brampton asking council to change its plans for the memorial. Council approved building the monument at an earlier meeting in response to the destruction of the Mullivaikkal Tamil genocide memorial in January 2021 at the University of Jaffna in Sri Lanka, which made international headlines.

The delegates were requesting the city change the Brampton monument from a Tamil genocide memorial to a monument memorializing all those who died during the Sri Lankan Civil War, which took place between 1983 and 2009.

While the United Nations Human Rights Council and the international community have called for collection of evidence of the alleged genocide, the delegates denied a genocide had occurred during the war and wanted that reflected in the monument.

Brown, who has been a vocal advocate for the Tamil community dating back to his days as a federal MP in Barrie, took issue with the denial and a testy exchange between he and one of the delegates -- a Brampton resident -- followed.  

The complainants, who weren't named in Sheikh's investigation report presented to council on Jan. 26, 2022, alleged Brown “engaged in discrimination and acted without jurisdiction in comments while responding to a resident.”

The full exchange between the mayor and resident can be viewed in the council meeting video posted to city’s website at www.Brampton.ca.

In their complaints, the residents alleged Brown violated the following council Code of Conduct rules during the exchange:

Rule 1: General

Rule 7: Improper Use of Influence

Rule 9: Transparency & Openness in Decision making

Rule 14: Harassment

Rule 15: Discreditable Conduct

After a lengthy investigation, Sheikh ruled that Brown didn't breach any of the five rules. However, in her report, as it relates to Rule 15, the integrity commissioner did find that Brown's conduct “fell short of the standard recommended by the Rule’s commentary” while highlighting a particular statement.

Despite ruling Brown didn’t breach Rule 15 with the statement or overall tone of his disagreement with the resident, Sheikh did strongly disagree with how the mayor chose to respond.

“Mayor Brown could have chosen not to believe the Brampton Resident’s representations or good faith but in the circumstances of the exchange he still should have responded to him in a more appropriate manner,” she wrote.