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Council passes motion connected to workplace harassment investigation

City's legal services department and/or representatives of Toronto law firm Aird Berlis LLP can take actions needed to implement confidential direction provided Nov. 23
2020-09-21 Barrie City Hall RB 2
Barrie City Hall. Raymond Bowe/BarrieToday

City council gave final approval Monday evening to a motion dealing with a controversial workplace investigation.

It was that city legal services department staff and/or representatives of Aird Berlis LLP — a Toronto law firm with expertise in workplace law, including harassment — take actions needed to implement the confidential direction provided at the Nov. 23 general committee meeting.

Exactly what these actions are, or what they mean, is unknown as the details of these motions were formulated behind closed doors or in-camera, as the city calls it.

There was no discussion of these motions, which passed unanimously. Coun. Mike McCann was not at the meeting.

John Mascarin of Aird Berlis, hired by city council in late-October, to provide advice to Barrie councillors on alternative actions and related risks regarding a confidential staff report on a workplace harassment investigation, was not at Monday’s meeting. This legal advice is only to be circulated to members of council not directly associated with the matter.

CUPE Local 2380 president Michael Murphy has said several workplace harassment allegations were made during the past year and some were substantiated. This union has about 500 full-time members working for the city.

A confidential staff report concerning personal information, and advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege matters concerning a workplace harassment investigation, was received by council last month.

Council still has to hire an outside expert in human resources and municipal law to review staff’s handling of the complaint outlined in the confidential staff report, and report back to Barrie councillors on possible changes to policy and procedures on how complaints are dealt with in the future.

Council also amended its Code of Conduct earlier in November to loosen the deadline for filing complaints. They must be submitted no more than six months after the alleged violation occurred, and no action will be taken on a complaint received beyond this deadline.

Complaints previously had to be submitted within six weeks of the matter becoming known to the individual, and no more than six months after the alleged violation occurred, by a member of the public, an organization, a city employee or a member of council or city committee having reasonable grounds to believe the Code had been breached. This change in filing complaints came into effect Nov. 9, 2020.

The Code of Conduct is an agreed-upon understanding by all members of Barrie city council about what standards they should meet in the individual conduct of their official duties. It also applies to the behaviour of members of city committees and boards.