After a tumultuous year of infighting, misinformation, and ethics violations at Whitby Council, Mayor Elizabeth Roy says she welcomes Ontario’s plan to reintroduce legislation that would, for the first time, allow municipalities to remove councillors from office for serious misconduct. Roy, who has spent three decades in local politics, described the behaviour she has witnessed recently as “some of the worst I’ve seen,” warning that toxic conduct is eroding democracy and driving good people away from public service.
The legislation, known as Bill 9 – the Municipal Accountability Act – comes after a series of high-profile incidents across Ontario, including Whitby’s sanctioning of councillors Chris Leahy and Steve Yamada earlier this year and Pickering’s repeated struggles with Councillor Lisa Robinson, who has lost 15 months of pay over repeated code of conduct breaches. Pickering Mayor Kevin Ashe said the bill will finally give councils the power to act decisively when rogue behaviour undermines governance and public trust.
Support for tougher accountability is widespread. Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward has joined other Halton Region leaders in the Elect Respect campaign after facing harassment herself, while Milton Regional Councillor Sameera Ali has spoken about feeling unsafe in her role. Roy, meanwhile, has called for the legislation to go even further by lowering the removal threshold from a unanimous vote to a two-thirds supermajority and by expanding disciplinary tools to include suspensions, censures, or the stripping of leadership roles.
Roy argues that unchecked misconduct has fueled voter disillusionment, pointing to turnout in the 2022 municipal election, which dropped to 32.9 per cent from 38.3 per cent in 2018. With the final year of council’s term approaching – what she calls the “silly season” – she fears disruptive behaviour could intensify, making the case for strong new measures. “If we want residents to participate, whether by voting, running for council, or staying informed, we must demonstrate that respectful, accountable leadership is the standard, not the exception,” she said.