Arnprior – An investigation by the Integrity Commissioner (IC) into allegations against the mayor of McNab/Braeside Township has resulted in Mayor Mark MacKenzie having his pay suspended for 60 days. In addition, his council also passed a motion at its December 19 meeting he provide a written apology and it be published on the township’s website.

At the council meeting, Tony Fleming, a Certified Specialist in Municipal Law with the law firm Cunningham Swan in Kingston, and the IC for McNab Braeside, released a report into an investigation conducted following an April complaint, with an additional May complaint, outlining numerous allegations of breaches of the Code of Conduct by the mayor.

He stated the mayor’s conduct “included behaviour that was bullying, intimidating and harassment as well as being dishonest, false and misleading, among other breaches.”

“Not only is the nature of the Member’s conduct serious, the frequency with which these breaches occurred duuing a six-week period demonstrate a marked disregard for the standards of behavior expected of elected officials as well as the requirements of the Code of Conduct,” the report concluded.

The allegations that were investigated by the IC occurred between March 2, 2023, and April 13, 2023. There were also other allegations made, however, the complainant did not register a complaint to the IC within six weeks of becoming aware of the contravention. The probe concluded there were 25 breaches of the municipality’s Code of Conduct in the six weeks by Mayor MacKenzie. Some additional later April and may allegations were investigated.

Mr. Fleming’s 37-page report found a pattern of conduct by the mayor that constituted bullying and intimidation of staff and that the mayor had made threats and behaved in an aggressive manner towards the complainant within the meaning of the term “harassment” as defined by the Code of Conduct.

“Our investigation found that the Member (mayor) breached the Code of Conduct requirements with respect to confidential information and publicly discussed a staff member’s employment and wages in a public meeting,” the report read.

“Lastly, our investigation found that the Member pressured and directed staff with respect to preparing the budget for a specific department in violation of the Code of Conduct.

“We note that our findings of breach of Code of Conduct are serious in nature and frequency and represent a course of conduct by the Member (mayor) that demonstrates a serious disregard for the standards of behaviour expected of an elected member of council,” the report stated.

Some of the allegations made against Mayor MacKenzie include:
March 2: He is alleged to have stated to the complainant “I want to make the financial statements for 2022 look as bad as possible” following a council meeting with the auditor.

March 7: He is alleged to have presented a recommendation from a committee to council requesting approval of council for the formation of a sub-committee of which the mayor would be chair. It is alleged the recommendation was false and was not approved by the committee for consideration by council.

April 3: He attended a meeting where the following is alleged to have occurred.

1. He is alleged to have stated he had “strong mayor” powers under Section 284.16 of the Municipal Act and therefore had the sole responsibility of creating the budget; and,
2. he is alleged to have told the complainant multiple times that they “better be very careful”.

April 3: He is alleged to have met with a specific department head with a spreadsheet prepared by a resident, with grant funding removed from the revenue side of the spreadsheet to make the deficit look larger than it was and pressured the department head to make budget changes based on these numbers.

April 18: He is alleged to have behaved inappropriately during a closed session of council. Specifically, it is alleged he was extremely angry and yelling; commented that another member was incompetent; accused council of being “on a witch-hunt”, “a lynch mob” and that they “should take him out to the nearest tree”; paced around the chambers, slammed things on his desk, packed up his belongings several times and threatened to leave the meeting; threatened to “expose” correspondence of the complainant; and turned his chair around and put his back to council for several minutes.

April 2023: He is alleged to have insisted on meetings with department heads regarding the budget and is alleged to have provided spreadsheets that the department heads were to work from in preparing the budget.

Up to and including May 2023, he is alleged to have repeatedly attempted to influence a department head to fire a subordinate.

May 3, 2023: He is alleged to have pressured a department head in a public committee meeting regarding staffing and repeatedly asked why a junior staff person wasn’t being promoted, as well as discussing that staff member’s hours and ages.

May 8, 2023: He is alleged to have behaved inappropriately during a closed session of council. Specifically, it is alleged the mayor

1. was angry and yelling;
2. threatened to “expose” the complainant and circulate an email from the complainant outlining concerns with the member’s behaviour; and
3. behaved in an intimidating and threatening manner towards the complainant.

Report Findings

In his extensive report Mr. Fleming detailed a response to each complaint. He found the mayor guilty of breaches of code of conduct in the majority of the complaints but found his comments about the “strong mayor” powers were not a breach. As well, he found the mayor did not meet with department heads regarding the budget and did not direct a department head to fire a member of staff.

 He noted in regard to the March 2 complaint, “multiple people indicated there was a pattern of intimidating behavior by the member (the mayor) related to the financials of the municipality.”

As well, he noted the mayor demonstrated on several occasions he took issue with the past financials of the municipality and “there was an environment of a campaign to uncover past wrongs in the financials.”

The IC found it is “more likely than not” the mayor made the comments.

In terms of the mayor describing himself as having “strong mayor” powers, the IC found this was a statement the mayor did make.

“The evidence from the complainant that the member (mayor) argued with staff is supported by the other evidence received that the meeting was heated and that the member (mayor) was angry and trying to convince the meeting attendees that he did have those powers,” the report concluded.

Mr. Fleming found the mayor did indeed tell the complainant “you better be careful” and noted the mayor also admitted this in his written response to the complaint.

“I did in fact caution her to be very careful as to what she says about me because it was already coming back to me that she was saying unflattering things to say the least, without basis as was becoming the pattern, and that would only seek to inflame the situation. There was no threat or warning,” the mayor had stated in his response.

In terms of the closed session of council on April, 18, the IC found other witnesses were consistent with the allegations and included that the mayor was “shouting and pounding his fist on the table. Accounts were consistent that the member (mayor) turned his chair around and put his back to council.”

In regard to meetings with department heads in April, the IC found this was not a true allegation but the only meeting that occurred was the meeting of April 3.

In terms of the allegation the mayor tried to influence a department head to fire a subordinate, Mr. Fleming found this was not so. He noted while the mayor “may not have liked the member of staff, he never directed the department head regarding the members of staff’s employment or requested that the staff member be fired.”

However, on the allegation he was asking why someone was not being promoted, the finding was “on a balance of probabilities” the mayor did question the department head regarding the employment of a specific staff member.

In regard to the closed meeting on May 8, the IC found witness statements the mayor “frequently targets the complainant in meetings and gets aggressive with the complainant in a manner that is very uncomfortable for the others present in the meeting.” Another witness described the mayor as “like a bully”, noting he makes derogatory comments towards the complainant.

Council Discussion

Following the presentation of the IC report, Deputy Mayor Lori Hoddinott began the discussion by questioning whether council could require the mayor to issue a letter of apology.  She said the township has faced challenges and there needs to be a commitment to accountability and transparency.

“I understand the actions of our mayor have stirred up uncertainty and concern among many of our constituents as well as ourselves,” she said.

The council is fully committed to the highest standards of ethical conduct, transparency and integrity, she said. The incidents under question have underscored the need for vigilance, she said.

“This report did not come about easily,” she added.

Prior to going to the IC, council worked to resolve matters in this “pattern of behaviour”, she said.

“Council actively attempted to halt this behaviour by addressing it individually and collectively,” she said.

“It reconfirms that when dealing with a bully, you stand up to him,” she noted. “What you are hearing or reading in this report tonight is the result of standing up.”

Misogyny, bullying, threating, racism and aggressive behaviour, to name a few, would not be condoned, she said.

“To be told women should have no positions of authority in the operations of this township, to be compared to a high school clique is not only a personal insult but an insult to every woman in this township,” Deputy Mayor Hoddinott said.

Council will be actively reviewing governance structures, she promised. These IC findings should be a catalyst for growth, she said.

Councillor Robert Campbell said he did not have a copy of the report. He was told it was emailed to him earlier.

“I sat here. I get along with everybody and try my best to get along with everybody,” he said.

He said the only issue he had with the mayor was when he turned his back on the council.

Councillors Kevin Rosien and Scott Brum did not comment.

Council voted to suspend the mayor’s pay for 60 days and also agreed to ask for a written apology which would be published on the township website. In a recorded vote, only Coun. Campbell voted against this.

The deputy mayor then read Mayor MacKenzie’s statement on the report. She stopped several times in reading the statement.

“Do I have to keep reading this?,” she asked.

Council then voted on accepting the statement from the mayor. This motion was defeated.

Mayor Responds

Mayor MacKenzie issued a written statement on the IC report, noting he disagreed with the assessment and recommendation. However, he did admit “the closed meeting of council on April 18 was not my finest moment”.

He has asked for a review of the process by the Office of the Ontario Ombudsman which includes the question of why 12 witnesses were chosen to be interviewed but none of them at the request of the mayor.

“When the conclusions are based on ‘balance of probabilities’ and the Integrity Commissioner’s Office only interviews witnesses from one side, this clearly skews the conclusions drawn,” he stated.

The mayor said he wanted to “ensure residents, stakeholders and fellow councils and staff that I take accountability for my poor choice of words, and actions that have caused harm.”

As well, he will be asking for the minutes to be made public to have a “full context of my frustration to be clear.

“I am misquoted by the complainant and their witnesses in several key instances in this report,” he said.

However, the words in the April 18 meeting are quoted accurately, he stated.

“I apologize for any offense that anybody at that meeting may have taken. Since those words are now made public in this process, I apologize to anybody in the public who may be offended by those choices of words,” he wrote. “In the new year, I will be making a few motions to improve the effectiveness and functioning of the township for all, myself included.”

The mayor began his response by noting he campaigned on open and transparent government, to protect McNab/Braeside’s environment and to implement fiscal responsibility with fair taxation.

“Councillors need to work together in open fashion to make decisions via processes laid out in the Municipal Act, our Procedural By-law and our policies in a collaborative and fair process,” he said. “How this township is truly governed and operated is often not even open and transparent to this council as a whole.

“Before developing any strong opinions on what might need to change in McNab/Braeside, residents may wish to hear the full context of how this township is actually governed, how the finances have been handled and how they are being handled now,” he wrote. “It will take me probably two months of blogs to unpack everything residents should be aware of.”