No punishment’s coming to Rideau Lakes Councillor Linda Carr after an integrity commissioner report deemed her alleged comments towards a staff member was workplace sexual harassment.
She staunchly denied the allegations in her opening remarks, which inadvertently identified the complainant, which was quickly pointed out during the meeting by Mayor Arie Hoogenboom.
The complaint alleged Carr said, “Are you here to work or to just keep showing off your fine [redacted] self to the crowd?”
Carr later revealed the incident in question took place before the September 2023 Elgin and Area Community Enhancement Committee meeting.
A complaint was received October 26th, 2023 and the investigation, conducted by then-Integrity Commissioner Tony Fleming, concluded July 2024.
“There are varying levels of harassment that fall within the broad ambit of sexual harassment in the workplace,” the report states.
“The comment in this circumstance was demeaning, and coming from a member of Council was an abuse of the unequal power that exists between staff and members of Council.”
Carr felt the investigation was politically motivated, stemming from the Elgin CEC not appointing “a certain individual,” as a member.
Carr and Joan Delaney are its council representatives.
Carr received a round of applause from meeting attendees following the conclusion of her prepared statement.
“We talked about other issues that may have motivated this. I don’t know what motivated this, but I think it’s a very difficult time for our council to have to deal with this,” Hoogenboom later said in his own comments.
Councillor Jeff Banks expressed his frustration with this process, and the five investigations into council’s behaviour in the past 18 months.
Banks himself was cleared of any wrongdoing following an integrity commissioner report from the since-fired William R. Hunter into comments he made in support of his wife and fellow Councillor Paula Banks, who herself has been subject to two investigations in her 16 month tenure.
Prior to the vote, Deputy Mayor Marcia Maxwell says council’s priorities are skewed.
Hoogenboom said council did themselves no favours by delaying the publishing of this report twice, snowballing public and media interest.
“I certainly think it was not helpful to the process when council voted to withhold the report in the first place,” he told council.
“Obviously, the legalities are there, and we can disagree with the legislation, but the legislation is quite clear, that these reports need to be made public, and that gives the opportunity for the accused to defend themselves.”
Hoogenboom said the legislation around these reports is flawed and that opinion is shared around the horseshoe.
In this case specifically, Hoogenboom says they were essentially asked to decide who to believe: their own staff, or their own deputy mayor.
Ultimately, the vote to suspend Carr’s pay 15 days, the recommended punishment from Fleming, went as follows:
Jeff Banks – No
Paul Banks – No
Joan Delaney – Yes
Sue Dunfield – No
Hutchings – No
Ron Pollard – No
Marcia Maxwell – Yes
Arie Hoogenboom – Yes
“Is this it? Do I have to go through some more of this?” Carr asked Hoogenboom following the vote.
To which the mayor replied, “As far as I’m concerned, it’s been resolved.”
Story by Grant Deme
