North Bay City Councillor Sara Inch says she will not resign from her position after a report was made public Wednesday detailing the acting integrity commissioner's finding of breaches of the code of conduct due to a series of emails and social media posts from Inch referencing Deputy Mayor Maggie Horsfield's age, pregnancy, and ability to perform her duties.
Nicole Singh investigated the complaint filed by Horsfield and ruled Inch's actions "amounted to harassment under the Code of Conduct, reflect a pattern of behaviour by the Respondent towards the Complainant that was unwelcome and ought reasonably to have been known to be unwelcome. I find that the three incidents complained of, individually and in their totality, could affect a person’s dignity and psychological health."
See: the full Report from the Acting Integrity Commissioner
Thursday, on her political Facebook page, Inch posted:
Since joining City Council I have been yelled at, insulted, harassed, and yet I continue to do the job.
I once polled the public thru social media to see if they felt I should spend taxpayer dollars on the Integrity Commissioner, or give the City staff an opportunity to handle the situation internally.
I chose to trust staff and to give them an opportunity to help create a real change in the culture there.
I am still waiting for the training they promised in July, yet I am confident it will happen.
I have to believe council can move past this pettiness and find a way to work together. The problems we face are too big for one person, the responsibilities are too heavy. We need to share the load and work together.
I will not step down.
I will continue to work for the community who voted me in.
Council will determine whether a penalty will be imposed on Inch for breaching the code of conduct during a special council meeting set for Thursday at 5 p.m.
See related: City councillor faces penalty for code of conduct breaches
Under the Municipal Act, Inch faces a reprimand by the council or loss of pay for 90 days for her harassment of Horsfield, which according to Singh's inquiry, found Inch "contravened Article VIII and, by extension, Article VI of the Code of Conduct ... Council may if it decides, impose a penalty under subsection 223.4(5) of the Municipal Act. The decision on whether to impose a penalty and what it should be belongs to Council and not the Acting Integrity Commissioner.”
A reprimand is usually a written statement read out by the mayor. All members can speak to the penalty, including Inch and Horsfield, however, if the council decides to impose a penalty, Inch, as the Respondent, cannot vote.
The investigation and report have cost the City of North Bay over $36,000 to date. Each year the City budgets $75,000 for investigations made by the Integrity Commissioner.
Inch refers to the cost of the investigation in an excerpt from an earlier Facebook post on Wednesday.
I am certain the events of the next few days will lead to positive change for all. I have been careless, with myself and others. I acknowledge I was not as careful as I should have been. I made assumptions about someone's resilience and fortitude, and they were wrong.
In my passion for swift change, I may have acted hastily and made incorrect assumptions. I did offer to meet with the injured party, as I believed our differences could be reconciled through open communication and the taxpayer could be saved the expense of the Integrity Commissioner.
As stewards of municipal tax dollars, it is our responsibility to ensure their judicious use. The expenses incurred in this process highlight the need for open communication and understanding among council members.
I firmly believe that a simple conversation could have reconciled this matter, avoiding unnecessary financial burden on the citizens of North Bay.
The complaint was lodged in March by Horsfield following the emails and social media posts referencing her age, pregnancy, and ability to perform her duties, particularly as budget chief. Inch, Horsfield, and by extension, various members of North Bay City Council were included in the email chain. Mayor Peter Chirico was interviewed as the sole witness by the acting integrity commissioner.
