Whitby Mayor Elizabeth Roy yesterday said events that led to Regional Councillor Steve Yamada’s resignation as deputy mayor of Whitby in June, had nothing to do with racism.
She also welcomed an investigation into the allegation by Regional Councillor Chris Leahy, that a ‘secret’ council meeting took place without him and Councillor Yamada, on October 7 in violation of the Ontario Municipal Act.
Mayor Roy claimed that no such meeting took place. A statement was also issued by the town’s Chief Administrative Officer Matt Gaskell, the next day.
“As we said then, we welcome an investigation and will share those results publicly as soon as possible,” Mayor Roy said in an open letter to Whitby residents.
She referred to a claim that Regional Councillor Yamada has faced ongoing anti-Asian racism at the hands of this council and that this alleged racism ultimately led him to resign from the role of deputy mayor in June 2024.
“Let me be clear. The events that led to Regional Councillor Yamada’s resignation had nothing to do with racism, and everything to do with a long pattern of unacceptable conduct by Regional Councillor Yamada both within and outside of council.
“Any suggestion that race played a role in this situation is not only baseless but undermines the values we stand for as a town committed to diversity and inclusion.
She said Regional Councillor Yamada has been spoken to about his behaviour on multiple occasions since the beginning of this council term – “by myself and other members of council without success”.
CPC Candidate for Whitby
“Just yesterday, on October 9, Regional Councillor Yamada was ejected from a meeting of Durham Regional Council by Regional Chair John Henry, for unacceptable behaviour,” said Mayor Roy.
In the meeting, Councillor Yamada launched a criticism of the federal carbon tax during a discussion on food banks, following which Henry asked him to take back his comments or leave. Yamada chose to walk out.
Regional Councillor Yamada’s X account names him as Conservative Party’s candidate for Whitby, with the lead of his campaign being ‘Working to Axe the Tax’.
False Narrative
A great deal of false and misleading information has been shared and in situations like this, it can be challenging to separate fact from fiction,” Mayor Roy continued.
“All too often, we see a pattern of politicians attempting to distract from poor behaviour, by creating a false narrative. The allegations brought forward this week are exactly that, and have created a sense of unrest on council and in our community. I know many of you have been following the situation closely.”
She said as a next step in dealing with these allegations and Regional Councillor Leahy’s conduct on October 7, “we look forward to referring the matter to the town’s integrity commissioner.
“We have oversight bodies in place to deal with conflict on councils and this is the time to step back and let them do their work.”
Mayor Roy said the majority of Whitby Council is determined to address these matters in a transparent manner and carry on the business of the town in the way our residents expect and deserve.
She thanked residents for their patience this week.
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Below is the link to the video of the October 7 council meeting. The section relevant to the above starts at about 52:30 minutes into the meeting.
https://video.isilive.ca/play/whitby/New%20Encoder_RCM_2024-10-07-04-20.mp4
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