Next Monday, Peterborough City Council will receive a long-awaited report from Peterborough’s Integrity Commissioner, Guy Giorno, about his inquiry into a series of complaints made about Mayor Jeff Leal’s conduct last year. The now-public joint inquiry report details Giorno’s investigation into a collection of complaints during and after a general committee meeting of Council last April. 

According to Giorno’s report, complainants allege that Mayor Leal contravened “sections 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 29 and 39 of the Code, and of the Municipal Act, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and the Workplace Violence Prevention Policy.” 

Arthur reported last April that Leal had made threatening remarks toward Town Ward Councillor Alex Bierk during a heated debate about a notice of motion from Councillor Joy Lachica on the Bonnerworth Park redevelopment. 

At the general committee meeting on April 2nd, 2024, coun. Lachica drafted a motion for city staff to provide Council with alternative solutions to the park’s redevelopment, which included a request to reduce the amount of pickleball courts in the site plan. 

Coun. Bierk voiced his support for the motion by stating he was not against pickleball but in fact keen to learn from Leal’s spouse, Karan Leal, a known member of the Peterborough Pickleball Association (PPA). 

Arthur’s Editor-in-Chief at the time, Sebastian Johnston Lindsay, then heard Leal threaten Bierk. While the altercation was not picked up by Council microphones, it was corroborated to Giorno by multiple councillors present. 

“You’re going to regret you ever said that,” Leal told Bierk. “I’ll carve you like a Thanksgiving turkey.”

“I just heard you said I’m going to regret I ever said that,” Bierk said, addressing Leal through the chair, Northcrest Councillor Andrew Beamer, who tried to de-escalate the situation.

Several complaints to the Integrity Commissioner were filed shortly thereafter concerning Leal’s threatening remarks to coun. Bierk. Some complaints allege that Leal violated Section 10.a of the City of Peterborough's Council Code of Conduct, wherein a member of Council “must not… use indecent, abusive or insulting words or expressions toward any other Member, any member of staff or any member of the public.” 

According to the Integrity Commissioner’s report, there were 13 complaints made to Integrity Commissioner Giorno regarding Mayor Leal’s conduct in Council chambers last year. 

All of the complaints either reference Mayor Leal’s behaviour around the April 2nd, 2024 general committee meeting or allege that Leal acted out of his own pecuniary interest in endorsing the Bonnerworth Park redevelopment, due to his wife’s involvement with the PPA.

A complaint obtained by Arthur states that Mayor Leal contravened the Code of Conduct by failing to disclose this interest in Council’s discussions and direction of the Bonnerworth development.

“Mayor Leal had an obligation to disclose this interest and recuse himself from debate and voting on matters relating to this development,” the complainant cites. 

Giorno’s report finds that Mayor Leal did not contravene section 29 of the Council Code of Conduct regarding influencing decisions made at Council for any sitting member's private advantage. 

“Specifically, in participating in decision-making on the Bonnerworth Park redevelopment, he did not use his office or position to influence or attempt to influence a decision for the private advantage of himself or his spouse,” Giorno writes.

The report does find, however, that Mayor Leal breached Section 10 of the Code of Conduct and made intimidating threats to Coun. Bierk during the proceedings of the April 2nd meeting. 

During Giorno’s investigation, Mayor Leal also states that Arthur’s reporting of the threat was misrepresentative of what he said.

“I made an error of judgment in the public forum of General Committee, and so I decided to apologize during the next available public forum, City Council. I read my apology to ensure accuracy,” Mayor Leal stated in the inquiry. 

“At that point in time, I knew that the article in Arthur had reported my words out of context,” he said.

“Still, I recognized that Councillor Bierk deserved an apology as I did not act in a professional manner. Since, I have worked conscientiously to regain my positive relationship with Councillor Bierk as we move forward.”

Mayor Leal also alleges that Arthur did not seek clarification from the Mayor’s office about the comments made by Leal on April 2nd. 

On April 4th, 2024, Arthur asked the Mayor’s office for a statement on the comments made during the April 2nd meeting. The Mayor’s office replied with a similar public apology Leal would later read during the following council meeting on April 8th.

When asked by Arthur about this statement, Mayor Leal confirmed he received this correspondence.

“My comments to the Integrity Commissioner were in reference to the article published in Arthur on April 3rd, 2024,” Leal told Arthur in an email. “I can confirm that I received a request for comment on April 4th, after the first article was published.” 

Integrity Commissioner Giorno later found Leal’s apology to be inadequate.

“I find the apology downplayed the gravity of what had occurred. It described the comments as intemperate and ill-chosen, which they were, but did not mention that two of the comments were threats and that one of the threats used a figurative expression of metaphorical violence,” Giorno writes.

“More significantly, by stating that the Mayor did not regret responding, just the manner of responding, this statement omitted the important fact that the threats were made in response to something for which Councillor Bierk had already apologized three times.” 

The report’s summary of events reveal another significant complaint from the April 2nd general committee meeting. Councillor Lachica filed a complaint on April 27th, 2024 about an incident following the April 2nd meeting.

The report describes coun. Lachica being confronted by Mayor Leal for the chaotic proceedings of the meeting, specifically being blamed for the actions of an individual who had been ejected from the gallery for shouting at the Mayor.

Lachica’s complaint, corroborated by Giorno’s investigation, states that the Mayor raised his voice at her in the presence of coun. Bierk, City CAO Jasbir Raina, and Ashburnham Councillor Gary Baldwin. 

Giorno concludes that the confrontation occurred as a result of heightened feelings following a conflict of interest accusation levelled against him by the ejected individual. The Mayor was also angered by the fact that this individual was a constituent of the Town Ward and supportive of Councillor Lachica’s motion. 

“The implication was that Councillor Lachica had something to do with the individual’s protest,” Giorno writes. 

Giorno reports that councillor Lachica was clearly upset after the confrontation.

“I felt utterly shaken, intimidated and bullied. I felt afraid and uncomfortable to exit through the doors to the parking lot,” Lachica said in her statement to Giorno.

Giorno further confirms that Mayor Leal’s behaviour constituted bullying, citing a power imbalance between the Mayor and coun. Lachica. 

“What happened should have been known to cause fear, humiliation and distress to Councillor Lachica. The confrontation should have been expected to leave the Councillor shaken and upset. In fact, the Mayor’s confrontation had these effects.”

Lachica’s complaint reveals a fulsome picture of what occurred on the night of April 2nd, and meetings following that night illustrate the tension between the Town Ward councillors and the Mayor. 

Giorno found that the Mayor was still frustrated about the proceedings of April 2nd at an April 8th closed session and expressed anger at councillors aggressively questioning City staff. 

“Councillor Lachica understood Councillor Bierk to be a particular subject of the Mayor’s comments,” Giorno writes. 

“On a point of order, she objected to what she called the Mayor’s patriarchal and condescending remarks, and said they were similar to what had occurred on April 2, when was told she was responsible for the conduct of someone in the gallery.”

This then devolved into a back-and-forth between Leal and Lachica about procedural responsibility for interjections and decorum during Council meetings.

Giorno concludes that, by causing coun. Lachica significant stress and continuing to defend his actions almost a week later, Mayor Leal was bullying her.

“Compounding the corridor incident was the Mayor’s upholding of the same position six days later,” Giorno writes. 

“If the Mayor was unaware of the impact of the April 2 incident on Councillor Lachica, then she made him aware on April 8. By doubling down on his earlier comments, he reinforced the bullying.”

After detailing his investigation into the complaints, Giorno concluded that while the Mayor did not contravene section 29 of the Code in his decision making on Bonnerworth Park, he indeed violated section 10 the Code by threatening Councillor Bierk and confronting coun. Lachica.

At the next council meeting on June 2nd, councillors will consider sanctions for each contravention, choosing between no penalty, a reprimand, and a pay suspension for up to 90 days.  

Council can also choose non-punitive and remedial measures to impose, including a request for an apology. Recommendations for remedial measures from Giorno include the provision of training from Integrity Commissioner John Ewart on harassment and bullying, and amendments to the Council Code of Conduct.  

In an emailed statement to media, Mayor Jeff Leal acknowledged the Integrity Commissioner’s report, accepting Council’s forthcoming decision on the contraventions yet still trying to contextualize his behaviour. 

“I appreciate that his report fully exonerates me of the most egregious and false conflict-of-interest allegations that my family and I have been subjected to over the last year,” Leal wrote.

“My comments were made in the heat of the moment, during the most hostile meeting environments I have experienced in all my years of public service. I regret my comments, and I apologized to both Councillors last year.”

“I will recuse myself from the Chamber when my colleagues discuss the Integrity Commissioner’s report, and will accept their recommendations.”

In an email to Arthur, Councillor Lachica provided brief comment on the findings ahead of Monday’s council meeting. 

“I’m appreciative that IC Giorno’s Joint Inquiry report has come forward,” Lachica told Arthur. 

“The content and the outcome speaks for itself.”