Thorold councillor Jim Handley says his 2021 pay suspension contravened the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms — and he wants City Hall to hire external legal counsel to investigate whether the city’s code of conduct needs to be overhauled.
In 2021, Councillor Handley saw his pay suspended for 230 days, after a report from the integrity commissioner found his behaviour to be in violation of the city's code of conduct.
The report highlighted the councillor's "continued misuse of social media to spread false information and blatantly criticize staff and Council." It also mentioned the councillor's attendance at an anti-lockdown rally in April 2020.
Councillor Handley received two tickets for attending the rally, but with financial backing from Rebel News Media, he successfully fought the charges in court.
“The city suspended my pay through the integrity commissioner but yet the court of law exonerated me from my charges,” said Councillor Handley, during Tuesday’s city council meeting. “We need to have a policy that guarantees one’s rights under the Charter rights. We currently don’t do it because my pay was suspended for going to a peaceful assembly.”
Some councillors applauded Handley’s proposal.
“If you feel you’ve been wronged and you feel the possibility that our current code doesn’t protect your rights and freedoms, maybe we just need an independent analysis of the code of conduct?” said Councillor Anthony Longo.
But others were hesitant to go along with the proposal.
“I hate going backwards in time,” said Councillor Ken Sentance. “We want to go forward, a fresh start with everything. Honestly, I’m trying to recall if those sanctions were part of the convoy or freedom things or if it was all other things that were in there.”
During the last term of council, there were two separate investigations into Councillor Handley's behaviour.
The first integrity commissioner's report came out in 2020 and examined Councillor Handley's “criticism, disrespect, questioning of competence and, in some instances, unmistakable bullying” of City Hall staff. As a result, Handley also had his pay suspended for eight months.
The second report came out in 2021 and focused on Councillor Handley's behaviour on social media. In that report, the commissioner recommended 230 days of suspended pay, with 60 of those days as a result of Councillor Handley's attendance of the anti-lockdown rally.
It is that report that Councillor Handley is now trying to fight.
In the end, councillors ordered City Hall to seek an external legal opinion on the matter. How much that decision will cost taxpayers was not discussed.
