Regional Councillor from Whitby, Chris Leahy, yesterday issued a statement announcing his intention to file complaint against the seven Whitby Council colleagues for holding secret council meeting, contrary to the Ontario Municipal Act.
Both Whitby Mayor Elizabeth Roy and Chief Adminstrative Officer (CAO) Matt Gaskell, have denied the allegation (see below), saying no such meeting took place.
Towards the end of the acrimonious council meeting on October 7, there was a five-minute recess declared by Mayor Roy.
During this recess Leahy and fellow councillor Steve Yamada, were left in the room (watch video link below from 52:30 minutes onward).
It was during this break that Leahy alleges the rest of the council met “secretly behind closed doors without the prying eyes of taxpayers or the media”.
“At last night’s council meeting Mayor Elizabeth Roy adjourned the meeting for a five minute recess and convened a secret and private meeting in the councillor’s office. I’ve been led to believe six other councillors joined the mayor in the presence of the Town of Whitby Clerk and the town’s Chief Administrative Officer,” said Leahy.
“This is so illegal. It’s the first thing they teach newly elected officials; no secret meetings,” said Leahy. “Every Whitby taxpayer should be concerned when town council has secret meetings with unpublished agendas, no public notice, and no recorded minutes of what decisions were made,” added Leahy.
“Soon after their secret meeting, the town clerk approached me and told me about the predetermined decision that council would make once the meeting was called back to order. I was floored,” said Leahy.
Leahy further stated, “Mayor Roy is the most experienced member of council, she knew, or ought to have known, her secret meeting was against the law. The clerk, and the CAO serve at her pleasure because of strong mayor powers, so I can understand they may have felt under duress to attend. I won’t speculate or cast aspersions on their motives. I am certain the Local Authority Services (LAS) Branch investigator will get to the bottom of it.”
The LAS is the authority delegated by statute to investigate councils that hold secret meetings. The Ombudsman of Ontario oversees closed meeting complaints. The Town of Whitby has it’s own local investigator, Aird and Berlis LLP.
“If found guilty of breaching the act, I would expect the mayor and anyone who participated to issue an apology to the 120,000 taxpayers who were excluded from the meeting,” Leahy said adding that he intends to file a complaint against the mayor and is considering including the other members of council in the complaint.
Mayor Roy: No such meeting took place
In response, Mayor Roy issued a statement saying she was “deeply disappointed by the baseless and reckless allegations made by Councillor Chris Leahy falsely accusing me of holding a secret meeting in violation of the Municipal Act. Let me be absolutely clear: no such meeting took place”.
She explained that on October 7 night, she briefly adjourned the council meeting for a short recess because Councillor Leahy refused to leave the meeting after she lawfully requested that he do so. “Councillor Leahy was asked to leave after making defamatory comments about members of council, baselessly accusing councillors of being racist towards people of Asian descent. I asked Councillor Leahy to apologize for his conduct, which was in direct violation of the Council Code of Conduct,” said the mayor.
She said during the recess, she requested advice from town staff, including the CAO and Clerk, as to the procedural options available to move forward with the meeting.
“At no time during the recess did members of council materially advance the business of council or make any decisions that would violate the Municipal Act, whatsoever,” said Mayor Roy.
“I am deeply alarmed that a councillor would make such an egregious allegation against myself, fellow councillors and members of town staff, without any evidence in support. The issue at hand, which Councillor Leahy is attempting to distract from, is his completely inappropriate accusations and behaviour, which undermine the public’s trust in local government. I welcome an investigation into the events of last night’s meeting – it’s incredibly important that the facts are made public,” said Mayor Roy.
“Whitby residents must feel confident that their local government is acting ethically, transparently, and in full compliance with all policies, procedures and legislation,” she added.
CAO Gaskell: No decisions were made
CAO Matt Gaskell, said recessing a meeting when passions are running high to allow time for members to reflect and regain their composure in Council Chambers is a standard process.
“During this recess, the Town Clerk and I provided the mayor with advice regarding the Rules of Procedure and the mayor’s rights under the Municipal Act to uphold decorum during council meetings. These discussions did not advance business of council, and no decisions were made. The requirements of the Municipal Act with respect to holding a proper meeting were upheld. To ensure transparency and clarity of the situation, the Town Clerk approached Councillor Leahy prior to the council meeting resuming to outline the options open to him, including his opportunity to apologize for the comments, leave the meeting, or if neither option was taken, for council to vote to adjourn,” said the CAO.
“After the Council Meeting recommenced following the recess, the mayor once again asked Councillor Leahy if he wanted to apologize or leave, and he declined to do so. At this point, council considered the option to adjourn in public and through a recorded vote, in which a majority of members decided to conclude the meeting. The town takes the Municipal Act and council procedures very seriously, and we understand these are the foundations on which democracy and good governance rests, and we welcome any review of the events of the evening,” he added.
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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