Stouffville mayor fails to apologize for CSI-style wall
The town’s last council meeting of the year came and went without an apology from Mayor Justin Altmann for the bizarre photo display in his office washroom.

Thestar.com
Noor Javed
Dec. 12, 2017

They discussed the installation of furniture for the Whitchurch-Stouffville Library and Leisure Centre, they approved a four-way stop not far from Sunnyridge Park and they pondered next year’s budget and election rules.

But the one thing that never came up at the town's last council meeting of the year was the one thing many people had been waiting for an apology from Mayor Justin Altmann for his bizarre CSI-style wall.

While there was no mention of one on Tuesday’s agenda, there was some speculation a last-minute apology that would have put an end to the saga might be forthcoming. But despite the three-hour-long meeting, Altmann did not take the opportunity to make amends, as he had been ordered to do.

The town’s integrity commissioner Suzanne Craig had recommended Altmann be docked a month’s pay and be given 90 days to apologize to town staff during an open session of council for the display she likened to “workplace harassment.”

Altmann’s three months are up on Dec. 22. But Tuesday’s council meeting was the last official opportunity for him to make amends.

“The mayor did not issue an apology in the open session of council,” town spokesman Glenn Jackson confirmed after the meeting.

Altmann gained notoriety earlier this year, when the Star broke a story about the unusual mural he created in his office washroom that included photos of staff, councillors and local citizens with slogans and lines connecting the images together.

In September, Stouffville councillors adopted recommendations from Craig after a probe she launched in the wake of a staff member’s complaint about the display. The probe concluded the creation of the wall breached the town’s code of conduct.

Although the last council meeting of the year has concluded, Altmann may still have one way out, however. According to the town's bylaws, the mayor could call a special council meeting before his deadline hits as long as his fellow councillors are given 48 hours notice.

But if no action is taken by Dec. 22, his non-action could trigger another code of conduct complaint -- leading to further sanctions.

Altmann has not responded to numerous questions from the Star about whether or not he would apologize.

Previously, he said in a local radio interview that he would not apologize, but rather, would challenge the ethics probe.
“I will be going to appeal the integrity commissioner’s decision,” he said in the Nov. 15 interview.

“I will be asking for a judicial review, and that will take a process, and that will go and look at how the process and everything was done,” he said. “Members of council want an apology; they want to say ‘he was wrong, he’s done this.’ In all honesty, I am a very reputable person. My integrity is everything.”

If Altmann decides to pursue a judicial review, it could cost the town of 45,000 residents.

A judicial review launched by Vaughan’s former deputy mayor, Michael Di Biase, against Craig for her findings in a 2016 ethics probe, cost taxpayers over $130,000 in legal fees.

The judicial review was the first against an integrity commissioner in Ontario, and was dismissed after a two-day hearing.

Craig said of all the ethics probes she has conducted, the Stouffville case would be the first where an apology has not been made.