Ontario has something called the Occupational Health and Safety Act. It's important legislation. It protects workers from unsafe work environments. Workers should not be injured or subject to violence at work. It's important to have this legislation.
The Occupational Health and Safety Act started out mostly to protect workers from physical threats or injury. More and more rules were put in place as time went on. "Harassment" was added to it. The Municipal Act was altered to provide for a Code of Conduct which would govern the behaviour of elected officials. And this brings me to the Town of Amherstburg.
Did you know that the Town of Amherstburg has a Code of Conduct for members of Town Council? It's 24 pages long. You can view the entire Code of Conduct on the Town's website at https://www.amherstburg.ca/en/resources/Code-of-Conduct-for-Members-of-Council.pdf. Here is a sample of one of the requirements under the Code of Conduct:
"Council shall not use indecent, abusive, or insulting words or expressions toward any other member of Council, any member of staff, or any member of the public."
Sounds good, right? Sounds like a reasonable policy, right? Sounds like a good way to control the behaviour of someone who is getting out of control, right?
Well, let's think about that for a minute. What if a member of Council is talking too long and another member says, "More of your conversation would infect my brain." (This is a line from Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors.) What should we make of that? Is that abusive language?
I suppose it could be interpreted that way. And if the recipient of that remark interprets it that way, then the Integrity Commissioner can be called in. A member of the public or a member of Council can lay an official complaint with the Integrity Commissioner.
The Integrity Commissioner then has the power to investigate, render a report to Council, and make a recommendation, which is then voted on by Council.
Think about that for a moment. Any member of the public can lay a complaint against any member of Council. Any time. For free. So if you happen to have an axe to grind against an elected official, your free, taxpayer-funded complaints department is available to you at any time.
And what if you happen to be an employee of the Town? If you don't like a criticism from an elected official, why not use the complaint mechanism available to you under the Code of Conduct? If the Commissioner investigates and finds no fault, so be it. If the Commissioner investigates and finds fault, the employee wins.
In other words, the Code of Conduct can be used as an excellent weapon to intimidate elected officials into being overly-super-careful about what they say.
Is that what you want from your elected officials?
I want my elected officials to be critical thinkers, to be outspoken, to tackle hard issues, and to have the freedom to say what needs to be said without fear of reprisal from the thought-police. But the Code of Conduct would silence even William Shakespeare.
And getting back to that Code of Conduct, who do you think that 24-page document was designed to protect?
Consider, for comparison, the Town's Code of Conduct for Staff. Here is the link to the 5-page document: www.amherstburg.ca/en/resources/CodeofConductforStaffEmployees.pdf.
That's right. The Code of Conduct for Staff was last updated in 2007 and is only 5 pages long. By comparison, the Code of Conduct for Council was updated in 2016 and is 24 pages long.
Of course, you are a smart reader and two questions immediately leap to mind. Firstly, when they were updating the Code of Conduct for Council in 2016, why didn't they update the Code of Conduct for Staff at the same time? Secondly, why is the Code of Conduct for Council 24 pages long but the Code of Conduct for Staff is only 5 pages long?
Maybe it's time to look at the Code of Conduct for Staff. It probably needs to be updated. And that Code of Conduct for Council? Maybe that one needs to be a little shorter.
The Occupational Health and Safety Act started out mostly to protect workers from physical threats or injury. More and more rules were put in place as time went on. "Harassment" was added to it. The Municipal Act was altered to provide for a Code of Conduct which would govern the behaviour of elected officials. And this brings me to the Town of Amherstburg.
Did you know that the Town of Amherstburg has a Code of Conduct for members of Town Council? It's 24 pages long. You can view the entire Code of Conduct on the Town's website at https://www.amherstburg.ca/en/resources/Code-of-Conduct-for-Members-of-Council.pdf. Here is a sample of one of the requirements under the Code of Conduct:
"Council shall not use indecent, abusive, or insulting words or expressions toward any other member of Council, any member of staff, or any member of the public."
Sounds good, right? Sounds like a reasonable policy, right? Sounds like a good way to control the behaviour of someone who is getting out of control, right?
Well, let's think about that for a minute. What if a member of Council is talking too long and another member says, "More of your conversation would infect my brain." (This is a line from Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors.) What should we make of that? Is that abusive language?
I suppose it could be interpreted that way. And if the recipient of that remark interprets it that way, then the Integrity Commissioner can be called in. A member of the public or a member of Council can lay an official complaint with the Integrity Commissioner.
The Integrity Commissioner then has the power to investigate, render a report to Council, and make a recommendation, which is then voted on by Council.
Think about that for a moment. Any member of the public can lay a complaint against any member of Council. Any time. For free. So if you happen to have an axe to grind against an elected official, your free, taxpayer-funded complaints department is available to you at any time.
And what if you happen to be an employee of the Town? If you don't like a criticism from an elected official, why not use the complaint mechanism available to you under the Code of Conduct? If the Commissioner investigates and finds no fault, so be it. If the Commissioner investigates and finds fault, the employee wins.
In other words, the Code of Conduct can be used as an excellent weapon to intimidate elected officials into being overly-super-careful about what they say.
Is that what you want from your elected officials?
I want my elected officials to be critical thinkers, to be outspoken, to tackle hard issues, and to have the freedom to say what needs to be said without fear of reprisal from the thought-police. But the Code of Conduct would silence even William Shakespeare.
And getting back to that Code of Conduct, who do you think that 24-page document was designed to protect?
Consider, for comparison, the Town's Code of Conduct for Staff. Here is the link to the 5-page document: www.amherstburg.ca/en/resources/CodeofConductforStaffEmployees.pdf.
That's right. The Code of Conduct for Staff was last updated in 2007 and is only 5 pages long. By comparison, the Code of Conduct for Council was updated in 2016 and is 24 pages long.
Of course, you are a smart reader and two questions immediately leap to mind. Firstly, when they were updating the Code of Conduct for Council in 2016, why didn't they update the Code of Conduct for Staff at the same time? Secondly, why is the Code of Conduct for Council 24 pages long but the Code of Conduct for Staff is only 5 pages long?
Maybe it's time to look at the Code of Conduct for Staff. It probably needs to be updated. And that Code of Conduct for Council? Maybe that one needs to be a little shorter.