At the June 2nd general committee meeting, Peterborough City Council voted to recommend that Mayor Jeff Leal face no penalty in response to findings in the Integrity Commissioner (IC) Joint Inquiry Report. 

In his report released to the public last Thursday, Integrity Commissioner Guy Giorno found that Mayor Leal contravened the City’s Council Code of Conduct when he threatened Town Ward Councillor Alex Bierk and bullied Councillor Joy Lachica during and after an April 2nd, 2024 general committee meeting. 

The collective complaints the IC investigated regarding the mayor’s behaviour also allege that Leal acted out of his own private interest in endorsing the Bonnerworth Park redevelopment, due to his spouse’s involvement with the Peterborough Pickleball Association. 

Giorno did not find Leal had any advantage or private gain from his involvement in the park’s redevelopment, but was fulfilling a long-held campaign promise in improving and redeveloping the city’s parks and recreational areas.

According to the Council Code of Conduct, any member of Council found in contravention of the Code may face a reprimand or a suspension of pay for up to 90 days as prescribed by the Municipal Act, 2001. Council may also determine additional remedial measures to be taken. 

After Leal recused himself from Council proceedings, councillors did not consider or discuss the other sanctions for each contravention, with Ashburnham Councillor Gary Baldwin immediately motioning to consider that there be no penalty imposed in response to the report. 

Ashburnham Councillor Keith Riel then immediately asked for a point of order—the first of seven—on the basis that Baldwin’s motion was out of procedural order. 

“I am prepared to deal with this tonight as a city councillor and have a motion to do that in which to speak on it,” Riel said.

“It has absolutely nothing to do with engaging in my job as a city councillor reading an Integrity Commission report and what should be done to it. It’s either A, B, or C.” 

Despite Riel’s protest, the meeting’s Chair, Northcrest Ward Councillor Andrew Beamer, ruled Baldwin’s motion in order. 

Coun. Baldwin introduced the motion by presenting his summary of the events investigated with an interpretation that triggered an uproar from the public gallery.

“The Integrity Commissioner has concluded that the mayor's words to Councillor Bierk were figurative and cannot be reasonably intrusive as a threat of physical violence,” Baldwin said, prompting laughter from the public gallery. 

“This is an important distinction. The Integrity Commissioner concludes that the mayor's words were inappropriate and the mayor has apologized to the public.”

As stated in his report, the Integrity Commissioner did not feel that Mayor Leal’s choice words to Coun. Bierk constituted a threat by its Criminal Code definition, yet IC Giorno did not mince words about the Mayor’s apology.

“It failed to capture the gravity of what occurred, it attempted to justify the conduct, and it wrongly implied that Councillor Bierk was partly to blame,” Giorno wrote in his report.

Baldwin continued his remarks to rising tension in both council chambers and the public gallery.

“What I find unusual in this circumstance is the mayor, rightly so, has chosen to recuse himself,” Baldwin continued. “He’s not in council chambers, not involved in the discussion and will not be involved in the decision making process.”

“All other parties either directly named or indirectly are sitting here and will be participating in another decision.” 

Coun. Baldwin’s role in the events of April 2nd are well-documented in the Integrity Commissioner’s report, namely in assisting the Mayor in recalling what exactly he said to Coun. Alex Bierk during the April 2nd meeting. 

According to Coun. Baldwin, the Mayor said “If it comes to a war of words with Councillor Bierk, I will carve him like a Thanksgiving turkey [emphasis Arthur’s].” This claim contradicts what was reported by Arthur, and the IC’s report ultimately concludes that Baldwin’s recollection was not supported by the accounts of other witnesses. 

“I believe that the mayor and the one councillor sincerely recall a conditional reference to a “war of words,” but I find, on the balance of probabilities, that the “turkey” comment was not prefaced by such a conditional statement,” Giorno said in his findings. 

Baldwin made comment on the lack of recusal from councillors Lachica and Bierk in council’s decision, only to have Bierk call a point of order against him.

“I think it’s an unfair criticism to name me and Councillor Lachica having some pecuniary interest in this situation, where we are in fact the victims of what happened,” Bierk said. 

Council had the option to pursue a pay suspension of up to 90 days, which is why the mayor recused himself from the discussion of his conduct violations. 

Baldwin added that he felt the Mayor had been sincere in his public apology last April. 

“My own gut feeling and my own impression is that, having known the Mayor for 58 years, I believe in my heart that the Mayor apologized in public,” Baldwin said, while Coun. Lachica shook her head in disapproval and the public gallery grew more agitated. 

After another point of order against Baldwin’s directing a comment at Lachica’s response, Baldwin requested CAO Jasbir Raina’s opinion on Mayor Leal’s behaviour, which spurred angry replies from the gallery and multiple points of order from Bierk, Riel, and Lachica. 

Chair Beamer allowed Baldwin’s question, but during his next point of order, Bierk argued that the question was out of order, as City staff were purposefully left out of Guy Giorno’s report due to the power imbalance between themselves and the Mayor.

“We're talking about a very specific event between the mayor and members of council,” Bierk pointed out. “The report has nothing to do with staff and mentioned that it makes no mention of the relationship between the mayor and staff because of the complexity of that relationship.” 

Chair Beamer laughed uneasily as he informed council there had already been seven points of order and tried to reign in comments from the public gallery. 

After CAO Raina said that the mayor’s behaviour exhibited no “red flags” through their limited interactions. Baldwin then finished speaking to his motion, opening the discussion on whether or not Mayor Leal should face a penalty. 

Coun. Riel was exasperated at Baldwin’s motion, voicing his opposition to its lack of accountability while citing the amount of public outrage he’s dealt with as a result of Leal’s behaviour. 

“I'm prepared to make a motion that I think is fair to the Councillor or to the Mayor,” Riel said. 

“I think it's what Council should be doing, but also the general public is looking for some sort of action and certainly from the emails, the phone calls, and the in-person meetings, it's not a slap on the wrist.” 

“I think we all are held to a standard,” Riel said. “The mayor, because he’s the voice and face of the City, is held to a higher standard than all of us.”

Despite not planning to speak on the report, Councillor Lachica explained that she felt that Baldwin’s motion made the mayor’s behaviour towards her permissible. 

“The message is loud and clear,” Lachica said. “It said it's okay. That it's okay what happened in that corridor. That it’s okay what happened the second time amongst council and with council as witness, and that it is okay whatever continued occurrences may or may not have occurred.”

“We should all be able to do this job and to serve our community equitably, without distraction and with the mutual respect that we deserve, as in any workplace, and we should do it with respect and mutual respect for our differences,” Lachica said.

“I want to continue to serve this community,” Lachica continued. “I will do it because there’s a bar of respect and professionalism that this council in this chamber upholds. That’s why I brought this complaint forward, [...] not just for myself, but for the integrity of this work environment and the integrity of the City so that we will not be distracted and we will do the work together that we should be doing.”

Lachica’s statement garnered loud applause from the public gallery. 

Coun. Bierk also condemned Baldwin’s motion, speaking out against the Ashburnham Ward councillor’s framing of the events the report outlines.

“It was evident in [Baldwin’s] speech tonight, which primarily focused away from the harm that the mayor has caused to us, and it is evident in the report where there are efforts to recontextualize, to hear things differently, to characterize toxic behavior more mildly,” Bierk said. 

Bierk then remarked on what he and his wardmate went through over the last year, saying Lachica has displayed resilience in speaking out and dealing with the fallout of the complaint. 

“​You demonstrated great courage as a queer woman in a hallway with 1, 2, 3, 4 men and in a toxic, violent situation that left her shaken and rattled,” Bierk continued, recounting how he, Coun. Baldwin, and CAO Raina witnessed the mayor berate Lachica. 

Bierk also pointed out that it was indeed Baldwin that initially proposed that Council adopt a Code of Conduct in 2016. 

“I believe that he has the ability to understand the importance of not only a Code of Conduct, but of us abiding by that,” Bierk said. 

After further comments on Baldwin’s motion from Bierk and Riel, Northcrest Councillor Dave Haacke asked to separate the two resolutions of the motion, suggesting that the reprimand from the public was sufficient as its own penalty. 

“There's no greater consequence, to me, than public shame,” Haacke said. “The public is very clear about it.”

“I’m not belittling any experience that happened to Councillor Lachica or Bierk, because … I think we've all been there, but we all wear public shame, and I have before,” Haacke continued.

“Shame” is exactly what the public gallery started to yell as Baldwin’s motion carried 7–3, with councillors Lachica, Riel, and Bierk voting against the rest of Council, save for Mayor Leal. 

Council will ratify this decision at the next city council meeting on June 9th, where all items discussed on June 2nd will be up for public delegation and further deliberation. 

With files from Sebastian Johnston-Lindsay at the Peterborough Examiner.