The Rideau Lakes Integrity Report details alleged sexual harassment

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An integrity commissioner’s report alleges a Rideau Lakes Township councilor sexually harassed a staff member by making an “inappropriate” comment before a meeting last year, an accusation the councilor strongly denies.

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The newly released report, which was originally kept secret by the council last month, suggests that Coun. Linda Carr has breached the council’s code of conduct for sexually harassing a council employee.

According to Integrity Commissioner Tony Fleming’s report, his office received a complaint on Oct. 26, 2023, alleging that Carr made an “inappropriate comment to a staff member” before a committee meeting.

“It specifically alleges that the member said, ‘Are you here to work or just show your beautiful (redacted) self to the crowd?’” Fleming’s report says.

During a meeting of the city services committee Tuesday, where the report was publicly placed on the agenda, Fleming explained that “the redacted word would have identified an individual.”

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The alleged comment violated section 6.10.3 of the council’s code of conduct, which states that all members must conduct themselves in a manner that ensures a workplace free from intimidation, sexual harassment or violence, the report said.

Carr strongly denies making the comment, and several of her colleagues have supported her – not only during the many discussions on the issue, but also as witnesses to the investigation.

The report says Carr denied making this comment during the investigation, and that there was also witness evidence to support Carr’s story.

“Witnesses were brought forward who were near the member during the meeting and had no recollection of the member making inappropriate comments,” the report said.

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However, Fleming said there was also evidence “from others present at the meeting that contradicts the member’s account.”

Several of those witnesses were “unequivocal” that Carr had made an inappropriate comment to the staff member before the meeting, “with one witness confirming that the specific alleged comment was made.” Other witnesses vaguely remembered a comment being made to the staff member, the report says, but they couldn’t remember exactly what was said — only that it was “nasty.”

Fleming said that, based on a “balance of probabilities,” it is more likely than not that Carr made the alleged comment to the staff member.

“We found the witness evidence that contradicted the member’s account to be more credible and accepted the explanations of the member’s comments,” Fleming wrote.

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“The evidence from these witnesses was consistent and provided specific details of the meeting and the alleged exchange between the member and the staff member. The evidence given by the witnesses in support of the member’s account was less credible.”

The comment constitutes sexual harassment in the workplace and violates the code of conduct, the report said. Harassment is a “serious violation of the code of conduct,” and Fleming suggested the council vote to suspend Carr’s pay for 15 days.

At the meeting this week, where the report and recommended sentence were discussed, Carr maintained her innocence and defended herself to the public.

“I have been in shock from the start of this investigation. Anyone can tell you that when I speak, everyone usually knows what I said because I’m loud. But in this case, no person sitting across the table from me can verify what was actually said,” Carr told her council colleagues.

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Carr said she has taken sworn statements from witnesses sitting all around her who say she made no such comments.

“I did not do this and I hope those involved in this deception are held accountable. These investigations are costing taxpayers and myself thousands of dollars, and this must stop.”

The rural community voted twice in September to keep the report’s contents private — a relatively rare, if not unprecedented, move — in hopes the province would take notice and address their concerns about the integrity commissioner’s investigation process.

The Municipalities Act, which governs such investigations in Ontario, says municipalities are required to make the integrity commissioner’s reports public, although it does not specify when the report must be made public.

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The majority of the council took a position on the issue, choosing to officially state that they did not believe the report’s findings. She questioned the investigative process, how Fleming reached the conclusion, how he obtained his information, and questioned the priority of confidentiality over transparency throughout the process.

‘The suspect, below process, Also never know who their are prosecutors. The commissioner based his results on false evidence, not on factual evidence facts,” Carr said.

When asked how he reached his conclusions, Fleming said he was unwilling to discuss the research process.

“I am not here to justify the report’s findings. My report speaks for itself. I feel 100 percent comfortable with the process we went through and I support 100 percent,” said Fleming.

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The Council originally hoped that by taking a stand and keeping the report private, they would get the province’s attention. They hoped for a special ombudsman to review what happened during the investigation, or the possibility of judicial review.

Instead, the city learned that a judicial review would cost between $20,000 and $30,000 — something they said they were unwilling to impose on taxpayers — and they received letters from both the Ontario Ombudsman and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, reiterating their expectation that the municipality would release the report.

The report was eventually released this week, recommending that Carr lose her pay for 15 days over the alleged violation. However, the Council voted against imposing the sentence, closing the case.

“Again, I say I didn’t do anything, I didn’t do anything, and I hope that if it all comes out, you should watch yourself because I’m sick of being accused of something I didn’t do,” Carr said. .

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