Pickering Councillor – and mayoral candidate – Lisa Robinson claims a written response from city’s Mayor Kevin Ashe confirms she was deliberately excluded from participating in official city business–not because of a council decision, not because of a written city policy, and not because she was ineligible—but because, according to the mayor, other councillors would not attend if she did.
This weekend, while the mayor, city staff, and several members of council were away outside of Canada representing the City of Pickering on an official delegation, Councillor Robinson was not invited to participate.
When her office asked why, Lisa said Mayor Kevin Ashe responded in writing: “I can safely say that no other councillor would attend if you attended. As such, no invitation was extended.”
Intentional Exclusion
Robinson says those words are significant because they confirm that her exclusion was intentional. She says this is not about one trip, but is the latest example in what she believes has become a four-year pattern of progressively restricting her ability to perform the duties she was elected to carry out on behalf of the residents of Pickering.
According to Robinson, that pattern has included but not limited to:
- Removal from committee appointments;
- Stripped of the ability to chair, executive and planning and development committee meeting
- Repeated suspensions of her council pay;
- Additional financial punishment for discussing previous sanctions;
- Being denied access to links for in-camera council meetings on more than one occasion;
- Restrictions on communicating directly with city staff;
- Requirements that the CAO be copied on all correspondence with city directors;
- Restrictions affecting her access and security arrangements at city hall;
- Exclusion from meetings and delegations with Members of Provincial Parliament during the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference;
- Exclusion from other opportunities routinely available to fellow councillors;
- Being cropped out of photographs from some public events by fellow members of council; and now,
- Deliberate exclusion from official out-of-country city delegations.