Brampton councillor faces suspension
Coun. Gurpreet Dhillion denies the allegations, challenges report. Integrity commissioner finds he harassed woman during a business junket
Brampton’s integrity commissioner has determined Coun. Gurpreet Dhillon sexually harassed a woman while in Turkey in November 2019, and recommended he be suspended without pay for 90 days, the harshest penalty her office can prescribe.
In a damning 268-page report released Friday, Integrity Commissioner Muneeza Sheikh found that Dhillon, regional councillor for wards 9 and 10, engaged in the “unnecessary, unwelcome, and unwanted sexual touching” of a Brampton woman in her hotel room while on an official trip with the Canadian Turkish Business Council.
As part of her investigation, Sheikh said she reviewed a cellphone recording the complainant made of the alleged attack, in which the woman can be heard saying “no” to Dhillon 74 times over the course of 2 minutes and 57 seconds.
The commissioner’s report is not a finding of criminal wrongdoing or guilt, and the complainant’s allegations, which include sexual assault, have not been tested in court.
In a statement Friday, Dhillon said “I completely deny the allegations and conclusions made in this report,” which he described as “one-sided” and “politically driven.”
He said that, despite repeated requests, the integrity commissioner “refused to disclose the purported evidence” against him, which represented a “total lack of due process.”
Dhillon’s lawyer said the councillor had launched an application for a judicial review challenging the validity of the report.
“I hold myself accountable to the people of Brampton. The allegations against me are wholly inconsistent with who I am and my six-year track record as a public servant,” Dhillon said.
Sheikh wrote in her report she was alerted to the allegations against Dhillon by Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown on Nov. 27, after the complainant reached out to him, alleging that Dhillon had sexually assaulted and harassed her.
Brown didn’t file a formal complaint with the commissioner, but Sheikh wrote that she “exercised my own discretion to treat it as a complaint that required at least a preliminary investigation.”
The complainant, who is not named in the report but is described as a Brampton business owner, didn’t file a formal complaint until March 19.
According to Sheikh, Dhillon refused to participate in the integrity commissioner’s investigation, citing “procedural irregularities.”
Over the course of the investigation, which included interviews with the alleged victim and people she told about the incident, as well as a review of notes, photos, and other records, Sheikh concluded Dhillon “tried to force himself” on the complainant at the Movenpick Hotel in Ankara, Turkey, between the evening of Nov. 14 and early hours of Nov. 15.
Sheikh wrote that in the audio recording, the councillor can be heard “pleading with the complainant to have sex with him,” but she repeatedly resists.
“The complainant made it clear that she did not want to engage in any sexual contact or sexual activity with Councillor Dhillon,” Sheikh wrote, and the woman’s dozens of refusals in less than three minutes make “very clear how vigorously the complainant was refusing.”
Sheikh concluded that Dhillon “forcefully lifted up the complainant’s skirt while he had her in his grip” and lifted her off the ground.
The commissioner wrote that the complainant was clearly traumatized by the encounter, and on the recording can be heard “panting uncontrollably” after Dhillon leaves the room.
Sheikh concluded Dhillon’s conduct “was grossly discreditable and was unbefitting of his role” as a councillor for Brampton, and violated the city’s respectful workplace policy as well as council rules.
“Misconduct of this nature … warrants the highest level of discipline,” she wrote, but the integrity commissioner only has the power to recommend a 90-day suspension without pay.
“I am displeased there is no avenue … that allows for Councillor Dhillon’s immediate removal from City council.”
In addition to the suspension, Sheikh recommended council formally reprimand Dhillon and take other remedial action it deems appropriate, such as barring him from visiting municipal offices except to retrieve mail or attend council meetings and prohibiting him from travelling outside the province on official business.
She also recommended Dhillon issue a formal apology to the complainant and the public “for his gross misconduct.”
Council will consider the report at its meeting Wednesday.