Quirk ‘abusive’ to citizen, rules Region’s integrity commissioner
In the midst of the argument, outgoing Grimsby regional Coun. Tony Quirk bragged no one had ever successfully brought an integrity commissioner complaint against him in the four years he sat on council.
That changed on Oct. 18 when integrity commissioner Edward McDermott ruled that regional council should reprimand Quirk for disparaging St. Catharines businessman and teacher Ted Mouradian during a heated email exchange in July.
Mouradian made seven complaints about Quirk — he lost his council seat on during the Oct. 23 to Wayne Fertich — but McDermott dismissed all of them save one.
In his ruling, published on the Niagara Region’s website Tuesday, McDermott found Quirk was “discourteous, inappropriate and abusive” when he said in the July email that Mouradian’s conflict resolution students were not well served by him.
Mouradian filed his complaint after his July 22 exchange with Quirk, which was also copied to every member of council. He told councillors that embattled regional chief administrative officer Carmen D’Angelo should be fired.
Quirk responded to the email by saying Mouradian had an agenda to discredit D’Angelo, who Quirk looked forward to defending in a wrongful dismissal suit.
Mouradian wrote that he did not have a political motive, other than that he teaches a “relationship model” at a Mexican university to fix “corrupt and mismanaged organizations.”
“It is now time for the ready students in this council to stand up to those students who are not ready to move them aside for the betterment of the citizens of Niagara,” he wrote.
Quirk retorted by saying Mouradian has an “inability to separate fact from fiction on the internet” — a reference to a 2016 report written by local activist Ed Smith about Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority that Mouradian shared via email. Quirk is a member of the NPCA board that unsuccessfully tired to sue Smith for defamation based on that report.
“I don’t think your students will be well served. But that is just my opinion. Good luck in Mexico.”
When Mouradian said he would file a complaint with the integrity commissioner Quirk wrote “So bring it, Ted” and said no complaint against him has ever succeeded.
In his interview with McDermott’s investigator, Quirk said he was protecting D’Angelo from attack.
“When asked about making a negative statement about (Mouradian’s) professional life, Coun. Quirk responded that ‘self-righteous hypocrites need to be called out,’ further noting that (Mouradian) was ‘… attacking an unelected public servant [the CAO] who can’t fight back.’ ”
In an interview, Mouradian said he believes the complaint process was fair and accepts the result. He is concerned, however, that a different standard was being applied to him versus someone else who would make a complaint.
McDermott’s report pointed out that Mouradian is politically active and that fact formed part of the rationale for dismissing some of Mouradian’s complaints. Nevertheless, Mouradian said he is satisfied with the report.
Quirk declined an interview request Tuesday, but in an email to The Standard said his comments about students was a reference to councillors, not Mouradian’s students in Mexico and that the commissioner imposed his own meaning on Quirk’s words.
The report recommending a reprimand of Quirk will go before regional council Thursday evening, which is also the final meeting of this council.