City council wants to tighten reporting requirements in response to John Tory’s relationship with aide

Thestar.com
Oct. 13, 2023

Toronto is looking at ways to fix a “legislative gap” -- highlighted by the misconduct of former mayor John Tory -- that makes elected officials and their staff immune from requirements to report potential harassment or discrimination.

City council voted Thursday to ask the province to fix the problem through legislation governing the city, and for senior city officials to look at ways council itself could make reporting of harassment or discrimination mandatory.

The vote came after city integrity commissioner Jonathan Batty said Ontario’s occupational health and safety act compels employers, including the city, to take steps to protect employees but it does not apply to politicians or political staff.

“There is a legislative gap when it comes to dealing with elected officials because they’re not treated under the legislation,” in terms of reporting requirements or potential discipline if they are found to have acted inappropriately, he told council.

Batty recently ruled that Tory broke the city code of conduct during a secret relationship with a junior aide that continued after she moved to Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, dealing with Tory’s office on Toronto’s bid to host 2026 World Cup games.

Tory, who resigned in February after the Star revealed the relationship, “failed to observe the terms of the Human Resources Management and Ethical Framework” for council members’ dealings with their staff, said Batty in a report that also found the relationship was consensual and mostly emotional.

The integrity commissioner noted that Tory didn’t report the relationship to him when it started in summer 2020. Tory did, in September or October 2020, inform his then-chief of staff Luke Robertson of the liaison that he admitted was “inappropriate,” Batty said.

A shocked Robertson, assured by somebody who spoke to the woman that it was consensual, took no action beyond ensuring the aide did not meet alone with Tory at work, Batty concluded.

Robertson, who left city hall last November, told Batty he didn’t inform or consult anyone in the city bureaucracy for fear of triggering a public inquiry that could have jeopardized Tory’s mayoralty and the jobs of about 20 “innocent” people working for the mayor.

In a separate report, Batty noted that past calls to make elected officials subject to reporting requirements and potential penalties for misconduct after city councillors in Ottawa and Brampton were separately accused of sexual harassment.

Batty also found that Tory exercised an “improper use of influence” by voting on council items involving Toronto hosting 2026 World Cup games while in the relationship.

Some councillors expressed concern that Tory, who sits on the Rogers family trust that controls the telecom giant, was deeply involved in negotiations with MLSE, which is partly owned by Rogers, that led to city council voting 21-2 to launch a partnership with MLSE to host the games.

Council was told probing any related potential conflict of interest would be outside Batty’s purview, and took no action when told the city’s auditor general could investigate the financial side of the deal.

Council also on Thursday:

Voted 17-3 to extend until March 2024 a pilot project that lets Toronto residents over the age of 19 to consume alcohol in 27 parks across the city. Responsible drinking was allowed, with little problem, from Aug. 2 to Oct. 9.
Councillors Jon Burnside, Vincent Crisanti and Stephen Holyday were opposed.

Unanimously endorsed Mayor Olivia Chow’s motion to condemn “all forms of hate, including Antisemitism and Islamophobia,” in the wake of escalating tensions from the Israel-Hamas war.
Chow’s motion includes a partnership between the city and Toronto police to create an “anti-hate package” of information for organizations to report and prevent hate crimes. It also requests police to create community safety zones for faith-based institutions, daycares and schools recognized as potential targets for hate.