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Bob Bailey | MPP for Sarnia-Lambton

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First Monday

Letter to the Editor, Since City Council’s decision at its meeting on June 28th, there has been a steady stream of letters to the editors of our local papers. Most of them are so much a part of a persistent and systematic effort to create a myth that falsifies the truth, that I am compelled to write for the sake of truth and justice. To read the headlines, words that use ‘assassinate’, and ‘mob rule’ would make one think that City Council, in its decision to dock three months of pay to the mayor, has exercised gang rape! Loyalty can be blind. Loyalty can lead one astray. No letter writer, it is evident, has read the 12-page report of the Integrity Commissioner. In it, three issues are dealt with – workplace harassment, dishonesty, and breaking of the law. Though continuing to publish reactive letters, for weeks now, the local media have failed in their due diligence to the public in outlining in detail the contents of the report. In fact I have not read one word on the most egregious issue – the breaking of the provincial law, the Municipal Act, that delineates the limits on the powers of elected municipal officials in Ontario. The best coverage was that of First Monday where John Vollmar did a fine job in assessing the report, a terrific service to the public. The public does not have the full story and opinions to date are based on a lack of fundamental knowledge. Over the last thirty years our democracy has created various positions and bodies mandated to prevent corruption, and force responsibility, accountability, transparency and good government in our elected and appointed officials – we have parliamentary budget offices, ombudsmen, tribunals, rights commissioners – the list goes on. The latest is an ombudsman provincially to hold hospital, university and college boards answerable. Also created has been an Integrity Commissioner mandated to hold provincial municipal officials accountable, a legacy from the bill introduced by our former M.P.P. and Cabinet Minister, Caroline DiCocco. It is now law. There are nine heads of department in City Hall. Four of them, all women, have complained. Top officials at City Hall do not belong to a union, such as CUPE, OMERS or the police or fire fighters’ unions. Thus they cannot file a workplace grievance and have the resources of a union branch president, full-time staffers nationally, defence funds and lawyers. Rather they are on contract and belong to a ‘staff association’. Yet when they approached the staff association they were met with “if you think you are in hell now, you will be in deeper hell if you pursue harassment” (page 4, Integrity Report). Thus the only other recourse for a third party intervention was Human Resources or the Integrity Commissioner. The City Manager chose the former, “has sought legal advice” (page 5) and the investigation is ongoing: this is why Councillor Bruziewicz said any second investigation by another outside source would uncover further “victimization”. In her submission to the Integrity Commissioner the City Clerk included 50 pages of documentation to support her case. In her submission she details the “insulting and abusive” behaviour of the Mayor towards her (page 2) and states that “the Mayor fosters and promotes a poisoned work environment where fear is the corporate culture”. (page 3) The Director of Planning in her submission refers to the Mayor’s comments at a public meeting on March 25th 2015. “From the back of the room, behind a large audience the Mayor, in a loud voice said: “Mrs. Cooper you are not in league with the developer and should not defend them”” (page 5). “In this accusation, he publicly impugned her loyalty to the City when she was representing to the meeting a position taken by planning staff which was her responsibility.” (page 5). I was in attendance at that meeting, was astounded, found the Mayor’s action disgraceful, and felt his conduct was not becoming of the office he holds. The dishonesty issue arises out of the Mayor’s unilateral action to meet with the three union presidents of the police. In his verbal remarks at City Council’s meeting on June 28th, the Commissioner said for this action alone he would recommend the maximum penalty under the law. Negotiations with the city unions are the mandate of the City Manager. Personnel, legal and property issues are rightly dealt with in camera, to protect the City from libel and other civil suit, to protect the City from revealing positions before the courts, and to prevent real-estate speculation, fraud and corruption, respectively. Yet, the Mayor arranged a meeting with the three police department union heads and by doing so broke confidentiality of in-camera positions. When interviewed by the Commissioner “he admitted that he had no training or education in relation to labour relations. On January 6th 2016 he had the meeting and made no report to Council or the City Manager as to what the meeting discussed. I asked him what was discussed and he said “moving forward””. (page 7). The third and final issue is the breaking of provincial law. Over the course of his tenure, the Mayor has asked for staff reports to come to him on Tuesday, where he reads, edits and often “unilaterally direct(s) staff to make substantive changes in reports through the City Manager.” The rest of Council received the final versions on Thursday. “This process has since been changed by Council so that all members receive a copy at the same time.” (page 7) “the Mayor is the head of Council but no member of Council reports to the Mayor. It is inappropriate for him to attempt to insert himself in professional relationships between the City Manager and any member of Council.” (page 7) “The Code repeats the definition of Chief Executive Officer from the Municipal Act and states specifically that “only Council as a whole and no single member has the authority to direct staff””. (page 9) “It goes on: “Members shall be respectful of the role of staff to advise... without undue influence from any individual Member or faction of Council. Accordingly, no members shall maliciously or falsely injure the professional reputation...of staff and all members shall show respect for the professional capacities of the staff of the City.”” (page 9) Given the information and knowledge above, the punishment was fair and there is hope it will alter the conduct of the Mayor. To his credit, he has not pursued an effort as promised to detail each encounter from his perspective. In a way the docking of three months of pay is an act of forgiveness. Even so, his actions caused the sacrifice of two careers. As for Council, the two who voted against the sanction purposely avoided the whole issue and were influenced by their own self-interest or through friendship or by pandering to the electorate. The other six showed great courage, in doing their duty. Their comments at the meeting were respectful and insightful. They voted for justice, and right was on their side. Before there is one more letter to the editor, it behooves writers to read the whole report first. To do otherwise is to advertise their ignorance. Free hard copies are available on the second floor of City Hall at the Clerk’s counter on request. As for the Mayor, I suggested to another former Councillor that the Mayor didn’t understand the role of a Mayor in Ontario, a comment echoed by Councillor Gillis when she said he doesn’t believe he is a Member of Council. The other former Councillor suggested he did, he just was mentored by experts in Ottawa. On a lighter note, we no longer live in 1850’s Georgia, as slave owners, as one wag suggested to me. There has been Emancipation not just of Blacks, but also for women. After all, as Justin says, “Because it’s 2016”. If the Mayor’s smart: he’ll change: if not the Commissioner promises to come back: if there is “another valid complaint in the future.” (page 10) “If the Mayor has attempted to interfere with the staff chain of command, I will recommend further sanctions against him.” (page 10) Elizabeth Wood McDonald 519-542-6472 Note: I will be out of town and unavailable by phone or e-mail from Tuesday August 2nd to Friday August 5th, 2016.

First Monday

This was Not a Witch Hunt! John Vollmar On Tuesday June 28, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. Sarnia City Council met in chambers to discuss the contents and recommendations of a scathing report drawn up by Robert J. Swayze, the Integrity Commissioner with regards to complaints made against Mayor Mike Bradley by two previous employees of our city, Ms. Nancy Wright-Laking, the former City Clerk and Ms. Jane Cooper, the former Director of Planning. Part of Mr. Swayze’s mandate was to determine if Mayor Bradley had contravened the Code of Conduct for Council, specific parts thereof regarding conduct at meetings, respecting staff and discreditable conduct. The “Code” was brought into effect (adopted) by Council April 13, 2015, with the proviso that it could not be applied to any actions, conduct etc. on a retroactive basis prior to the Code’s effective date. The facts presented by both Ms. Wright-Laking and Ms. Cooper are well documented, and available, as is the report of Mr. Swayze. Suffice is to say that both ladies shared their complaints with the Integrity Commissioner, under affidavits. Mr. Swayze found enough viability in both to press on with further investigation. During the meeting, Council faced a full contingent of citizenry in the Chambers, many of whom were obviously allies of the Mayor, and employees of the City of Sarnia. Whether or not this realization caused concern in any one of the councilors was not clear, as the questions and discussions that followed were pointed and relevant, the goal being to agree or not agree with the recommendations found in the Commissioner’s report, a report that, based on the information of Ms. Wright-Laking, Ms. Cooper and others lead to a conclusion that for years, Mayor Bradley has assumed responsibilities as Mayor that were outside of his purview, said responsibilities being those of professional managers. He alluded to Bradley as being autocratic in nature, when in reality an “elected Council” should be in charge, with guidance from the professionals. Going on, Mr. Swayze advised the Mayor that he has no “executive authority” over any staff. Further to making his final recommendations, Mr. Swayze referenced the Code noted above, quoting that “only Council as a whole and no single member has the authority to direct staff”, and pointing out that no member of Council will “maliciously or falsely injure the professional or ethical reputation of staff, and all members shall show respect for the professional capacities of the staff of the City.” In all, Mr. Swayze determined that the Mayor had “breached” a number of sections of the Code through loud outbursts aimed towards staff and their competence, etc. in front of other staff and union members. Mr. Swayze also found that Mayor Bradley had overstepped his authority when meeting with three union presidents January 6 of this year regarding a suggestion by staff to remove certain benefits from a union contract. A meeting such as this, according to the Commissioner, was to be carried out solely by the City Manager. Mr. Swayze suggests that as Mayor for 28 years, Bradley is “misguided” as to his position and powers, and uses them with aggression, and must change his ways for the good of Sarnia, also suggesting that both Ms. Wright-Laking and Ms. Cooper had attempted to work with the Mayor, but that he was incorrigible, even describing the incredibly bad workplace climate created by the Mayor. Mr. Swayze went on to say that the heads of all departments need to understand and explain to their staff that the Mayor has no role to play in the “chain of command” between them and the City, without specific Council Authorization. During Council’s debate on the Commissioner’s Report, it became clear that the actions of the Mayor were of little or no surprise to some. Several references were made to instances noted. Councilor Scholten revealed that she too had experienced a couple of occurrences when she should have spoken up against the Mayor, and while she may regret not doing so, assured all present that it would not happen again. Councilor Mitro referred to an e-mail from a former employee, who seemingly placed all of the blame for the circumstances on the City Manager. (She has retained legal advice with regards to her position with Mayor Bradley, and thus was not at the meeting.). One of the other interesting developments of the meeting was the acknowledgment by both Mr. Swayze and Councilor Gillis was that there is presently an ongoing investigation in progress under the Workplace Harassment Policy J-01. At the end of the day, Council, with the exception of Kelch and Boushy, agreed to the following recommendation: “That the remuneration paid by the City to Mayor Mike Bradley in respect of his services as Mayor be suspended for a period of 90 days commencing with his next pay period and that the amount suspended be transferred to general funds”, and that all benefits to the Mayor continue as is the norm. According to Councilor Mitro, there has been a pattern of behavior by the Mayor negative to the personnel and to the ultimate operations of the City. It is costly from an employee standpoint, as well as morale, and answers must be found if we are to have a stable city and City Hall. The removal of three months salary from the Mayor, and the knowledge gained and confirmed regarding the Mayors actions over decades hopefully will send a message that changes must be made to correct the past practices of the Mayor. The workplace is toxic, perhaps receiving emphasis from Ms. Wright-Laking, who when raising the possible filing of a harassment complaint against the Mayor at a group manager meeting was told by one manager…”if you think you are in hell now, you will be in deeper hell if you pursue harassment.” Perhaps Council with the agreement to dock the pay of the Mayor will find a new path on which to take the City, but they must be determined in their combined efforts to right the wrongs that have been done for decades and understand the position of Council and more importantly ensure that Mayor Bradley maintains a position that is nor more or no less than that expected under the Municipal Act, and allow the City Manager to do her job. Personally, I see the future being somewhat difficult, in light of an e-mail sent out by the Mayor in response to the meeting and the decision of council, wherein he suggests the report of the Integrity Commissioner fails in three ways… 1. It was unnecessary 2. It was unfair 3. It is Unhelpful… Mayor Bradley sets out in his e-mail a diatribe of reasons as to why the Commissioners Report is “unfair” etc. The e-mail is printed elsewhere in this issue of First Monday. Regardless, it is clear from the context that he may very well have no intention of purposefully changing his ways. He also veers off on a tangent discussing the debt of the city, the spending being proposed in the budget, etc. What he does not seem to understand that aside from being irrelevant to the Motion passed, the well-established findings of Mr. Swayze, and the honest revelations of Ms. Wright-Laking and Ms. Cooper, he has been found responsible for creating an atmosphere of discomfort, fear and anxiety within City Hall, and he either owns it, or he should step down. He is, in my opinion, and I have been there, neither professional nor respectful, and has, from the support shown, allied himself with those in City Hall, the Police and the Fire, organizations that he has used his influence to enrich from one negotiation after another, and were in strong force at the Tuesday meeting. No…this report was not a witch hunt…rather it was perhaps a first step towards a better and more modern city, and a galvanization of our Council, all of whom handled the discomfort of the meeting with professionalism and respect for the complainants, Mr. Swayze and each other.

First Monday | The Business Newspaper for the Sarnia-Lambton Community

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DON'T FORGET...JUNE IS... "WOMEN WHO MEAN BUSINESS" MONTH! THIS HIGHLY ANTICIPATED ISSUE IS PACKED WITH STORIES AND ADVERTISING OF AMAZING WOMEN IN SARNIA-LAMBTON. RAISE AWARENESS AND SHARE YOUR STORY AND PICTURES WITH OUR COMMUNITY. Our contest is now closed but you can still be part of this issue. For more advertising/editorial information contact Holly at holly@firstmonday.ca

First Monday

Car washes will be held across the country June 18th in an effort to raise money for The Children's Wish Foundation of Canada. Sarnia's Krown Rust Control is one of the company's 200 locations taking part. A wash cost $10 with all the money going to the Children's Wish Foundation. Many cars were washed at the Sarnia location last year and Krown is hoping to wash more than 10,000 cars across the country in June. Krown Rust Control, Canada's number one rust protection company, is happy to participate in this one day event . For $10, Canadians will receive a hand car wash at any participating Krown Rust Control location across the country and 100 per cent of money raised will be donated to regional chapters of The Children's Wish Foundation of Canada.

Stars of Tomorrow Musical Theatre Day Camp

7 Full days! ages 6 -14 monday to sunday August 1st - 7th, 2016 Presented by Holly Wenning & Daughter Amy Mayea Musical Theatre Day Camp Stars of Tomorrow To register or for more information call: Holly 519-490-4373 hollymayea2003@hotmail.com Stars of Tomorrow Musical Theatre Day Camp It’s never too early to plan ahead for this Summer... www.starsoftomorrow.ca