COUNCIL IS UNANIMOUS
No leave for Chiarelli
City council unanimously rejected Rick Chiarelli’s request for a leave of absence Wednesday, forcing the embattled longtime Nepean councillor to show up for a meeting in November if he wants to keep his job.
“I don’t think there’s a lot of trust between Coun. Chiarelli and the rest of council and you saw that today, a unanimous vote where people are not willing to give him this ability to stay away from council and represent his constituents and do his job,” Mayor Jim Watson said after the meeting.
Watson said as more allegations come up, “it becomes more disgusting and very upsetting as to what was going on in his office for what appears to be many, many months, if not years.”
Chiarelli requested council’s support for a leave of absence as more women come forward with allegations about the councillor’s improper comments with his office staff and prospective hires. One of the allegations is that he asked women working in his office to gather intelligence on other people at strip clubs.
The city’s integrity commissioner is investigating, but it’s not known when Robert Marleau will complete the review. The strongest penalty available to council based on an integrity investigation is a 90-day suspension in salary. Council can’t fire a colleague.
The Ontario Municipal Act says a council seat becomes vacant when the member misses three successive months of council meetings without council’s authorization. Chiarelli’s absence on Wednesday ended the second successive month, since there are no other council meetings scheduled in October.
Council has temporarily assigned Kanata South Coun. Allan Hubley and Rideau- Goulbourn Coun. Scott Moffatt to look after College ward constituents while Chiarelli is away.
The 20-0 vote happened Wednesday after each council member received a copy of a new note from Chiarelli’s doctor. (Councillors Diane Deans, who has an authorized medical leave, Jenna Sudds and Hubley were absent from the meeting, as was Chiarelli.)
Chiarelli approved the release of the doctor’s note and the city distributed copies to reporters.
In the note dated Oct. 22, the doctor said Chiarelli suddenly fainted on Oct. 12, lost consciousness and was transported to an emergency room by ambulance. The doctor said there was a cardiac evaluation and tests are ongoing. Chiarelli’s “stress levels continue to be high,” the doctor wrote.
The doctor recommended that the city allow Chiarelli a leave until Dec. 1.
The motion in front of council asked to grant Chiarelli a leave of absence, but with no end date.
After the meeting, several councillors said they didn’t have enough details to support Chiarelli’s request for leave.
“We don’t have anywhere enough information to determine whether or not that’s appropriate,” Coun. Jeff Leiper said.
Coun. Matthew Luloff said it was a “terribly difficult decision to make,” but he mostly had trouble with the notion that two other councillors would need to help College ward for an unknown period of time.
“I’m not quite certain that what we were presented today meets the threshold for an indefinite leave,” Luloff said. “It’s not terribly fair to let one of your colleagues know that you’re going to be representing constituents as well as your own for an indefinite period of time. I represent 55,000 people. I can’t even imagine taking on another 25,000 for an indefinite period of time.”
“To have this request for leave come to us in the context of the broader allegations is something that requires more information,” Coun. Jean Cloutier said.
“His three months weren’t up yet and I didn’t think it was appropriate to give him indefinite leave yet,” Coun. Riley Brockington said. “I think, really, council should make an ultimate decision in this case at the last council meeting before the three months end. His medical condition can change and it also allows the councillor, if he’s able to, to come in, but I just felt that we didn’t have to do it today.”
Moffatt said he intends to continue giving College ward residents representation at city hall. He wants to hire a third staffer for the College ward office to assist constituents.
Two of Chiarelli’s relatives, one identified as his father and a woman who wouldn’t identify herself, were in the gallery watching the vote. They declined to go on record outside the council chambers.
Council is scheduled to meet twice in November. The next meeting is Nov. 6, when council receives the draft 2020 budget.
All Chiarelli has to do to keep his job is to show up for a council meeting during roll call and, if he wants to, leave for the rest of the day. Just showing up for attendance without participating in the agenda business would still reset the three-month clock.
“That would be a very frustrating experience for the public and for council and I would hope he would think long and hard about not doing something like that because I think it would put all of us, and particularly his constituents, in a very awkward position to play that kind of a game,” Watson said.
Watson said he found most bizarre a suggestion that Chiarelli might try stopping the integrity commissioner’s investigation through the court. Chiarelli’s lawyer, Bruce Sevigny, told CBC that they would file a judicial review to challenge the integrity commissioner’s jurisdiction.
Sevigny and Chiarelli haven’t responded to requests from the Citizen for comment.
Chiarelli released a lengthy statement on Oct. 3, saying he has “never treated a member of my staff (including job candidates) in a sexually harassing, discriminatory, or inappropriate ‘gender-based’ fashion.” jwilling@postmedia.comtwitter.com/JonathanWilling