Editorial: Stephen Blais’ harassment bill needed to be taken seriously

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Ottawa Centre’s Joel Harden got it right this past week, when the Ontario legislature debated — then promptly scuttled — a private member’s bill meant to substantially toughen the punishment for members of municipal councils and boards who harass and abuse staff.

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Rather than kill the proposal, the NDP MPP pleaded with the majority Conservatives, “let this bill go to committee, to fix what you don’t like, so we come away with something … to ensure safety in political offices.” Premier Doug Ford’s side of the chamber ignored him.

Ottawans know well the stark motivation for the private member’s bill, introduced by Orléans Liberal MPP Stephen Blais. During the last term of city council, the integrity commissioner found that then-College ward councillor Rick Chiarelli had harassed several female staffers, for instance asking one not to wear a bra, another to perform oral sex on a man in a night club. Current legislation doesn’t let councils expel a member for such abusive behaviour; they can only dock pay and bounce the offender from committees. Chiarelli could still take his council seat, vote on city matters and even run for re-election (which he didn’t, doubtless aware of the humiliation disgusted voters would have inflicted).

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Blais’ bill aimed to set up a process — starting with city councils and working through their integrity commissioners — to ask a judge to remove a miscreant member from council. The first version of his bill, introduced in 2021, garnered initial support from government but died on the Order Paper before the 2022 election. The current version added stiffer penalties, such as prohibiting an expelled member from seeking re-election for two terms.

This tougher iteration would have gone too far. In a democracy, voters should decide if someone turfed from their elected position for bad behaviour can be allowed a second chance. But that wasn’t even the government’s concern; it mumbled about integrity commissioners getting too much power and how the new bill might actually hurt women. Rubbish.

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Which is why Harden is right. The Ford government says it’s as worried about workplace abuse as the opposition is. So why wouldn’t it back Blais’ bill at second reading and send it to committee hearings, where everyone’s concerns would be thoroughly aired and expert witnesses called? Why not work with all MPPs to hammer out a version that would give local councils appropriate powers to deal with egregious misdeeds?

Whatever reasons drove the Conservatives to shut down Blais’ bill, they were misguided. What are the Tories waiting for? Another Chiarelli?