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Councillors Want Better Understanding of Harrassment Bill

Friday, 5 May 2023 09:31

By Geoff Waterfield

Welland city council wants to see provincial legislation before approving it

Welland city council is temporarily putting the brakes on supporting provincial legislation that addresses harrassment and abuse by municipal leaders.

Bill 5, in part, would allow for a violating member to lose their seat, even lose chance at re-election.

However, Councillor Graham Speck said he hasn't seen enough of the bill, just the coles notes.  "Trying to be pro-active here, can we get a copy of this?  Can we read the bill?  Is this coming up for a vote soon?  I can't properly support something if I haven't read it yet."

Council voted for city staff to provide the information on Bill 5 for next council meeting.

Councillor Bonnie Fokkens also hasn't read the bill, and stated her position.  "Before I would support that, I would say we need to have a policy in place of how to replace that vacant seat.  The last time it cost taxpayers $45,000, because we couldn't decide how we were going to replace a vacant seat."

Councillor Tony DiMarco added there needs to be clearer definition of what harrassment is, which can include different things.

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