Timmins Coun. Rick Dubeau says he is looking into taking libel action against the mayor.
The statement was made at the March 27 council meeting during a discussion about the city's integrity commissioner’s report on a complaint made by Dubeau last year. He is also filing a complaint with the Ombudsman’s Office to look into the commissioner's investigation.
For the discussion, Mayor Steve Black stepped down from the chair, with deputy mayor Joe Campbell taking his seat.
According to Nigel Bellchamber’s report included in the council agenda, an investigation started in the summer of 2017.
The complaint was broken into 12 parts.
“Nine of the twelve components of the complaint were filed with reference to the section of the code that indicates that members of council shall not engage in harassment nor should they make written or verbal abuse or threats,” it reads.
In reviewing those nine items, the commissioner was “unable to see where the complainant clearly indicated to the respondent that he considered the conversations that they were engaged in by email as unwelcome.”
The commissioner said he couldn’t conclude that the conversations constituted the definition of harassment according to council’s code.
“The tenth part of the complaint was one that the complainant considered to be a threat. We do not share that conclusion,” according to the report.
According to the report, the other complaints were about the mayor participating in a podcast, and that he had “inappropriately used his office” to promote a business by wearing its t-shirt while proclaiming an event.
According to Dubeau, however, the reason why he filed the complaint isn’t in the report.
“I filed a complaint that on several occasions the mayor threatened to bring forward a charge that I had a pecuniary interest in a matter that had been brought to council, and you all saw this, several times he did this,” said Dubeau. “The implication is that I benefitted financially on a matter that I voted on. The allegation is untrue and in my opinion constitutes libel. That is the thrust of my complaints.”
Dubeau said he asked Bellchamber why this wasn’t included in the report and was told that he should talk to a lawyer about libel because it’s a civil action.
“Now that I’ve been made aware, I’m investigating action for the charge of libel because the mayor has accused me of accepting a bribe, plain and simple,” he said.
At the meeting, Dubeau also laid out the timeframe for his interactions with the integrity commissioner.
“His report does not jive with the facts of the correspondence,” said Dubeau.
Unhappy with the process of the investigation, he told council he also plans to file a formal complaint with the Ombudsman’s office. While he said they can’t investigate the results of the report, they can look into the process.
The city hired Amberley Gavel Ltd. as its integrity commissioner for a two-year period in January 2017.
The hourly rate is $300. Clerk Steph Palmateer said the city hasn’t received an invoice for the report yet.
Read the integrity commissioner's full report here.
