Pickering city staff will not attend two upcoming meetings due to “Councillor Lisa Robinson’s ongoing, disruptive, and harassing behaviour towards city staff,” according to a joint statement issued by Pickering Mayor Kevin Ashe and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Marisa Carpino yesterday.
This comes after Durham Police is investigating allegations that Pickering video meetings saw instances of racial slurs and even exposure (Investigation into hate attack at Pickering zoom meeting)
Recently, Councillor Lisa Robinson posted videos on social media about both the mayor and the CAO; the video about the CAO prompted Pickering council to call for an apology over her remarks (see below).
The Executive Committee and Planning & Development Committee meetings on March 3 and the City Council meeting on March 24 are the two meetings mentioned in the statement. City mayor and CAO cited a need to uphold their duty as an employer to maintain a harassment-free workplace, as mandated by the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act.
The statement further alleged that over the past year, and as recently as the February 24 council meeting, Councillor Robinson has repeatedly violated the council code of conduct. Officials stated that multiple findings against her were directly related to her ongoing misrepresentation of facts and baseless allegations of corruption. The statement also alleged that her actions have included public attacks and defamation of staff.
City officials confirmed that before staff attendance at committee and council meetings resumes, consideration will be given to the structure of meeting chairs for both standing committees and council, to ensure that decorum is maintained and the rules of procedure are enforced. In the meantime, council and committee members may continue to contact the appropriate staff in advance of the meetings to address any questions regarding reports on the meeting agenda.
According to the statement, the decision also aims to prevent staff from being included in videos posted by Councillor Robinson, which officials claim “distort facts and present information out of context to incite outrage and boost her online engagement at their expense.”
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Pickering urges Lisa Robinson to retract and apologize to CAO
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Thank you Lisa Robinson for asking questions we want answers to.
Lisa You got spank and guts good for you.
Sometimes things should be said.
Take care
Theresa