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CBC
4 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
Rick Chiarelli was a victim of 'cancel culture,' his wife tells Bill 9 hearing
The wife of a former Ottawa councillor whose alleged sexual harassment prompted a provincial bill to enhance municipal accountability says the legislation would make it easier for public servants to be harmed by false accusations. Lida Chiarelli told a consultation on Bill 9 in Whitby, Ont., on Thursday, that her family had "lived through a nightmare" after her husband Rick Chiarelli was accused of sexual harassment in his role as an Ottawa councillor in 2019. "We all know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my husband did nothing wrong, but he had absolutely no way of defending himself," she told the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy. Three damning integrity commissioner reports in 2020 found that Chiarelli had sexually harassed women working for him. The council imposed the strictest penalty available — docking his pay for 450 days and then a further 90 days on his way out of office — but was unable to force him from office. Bill 9 aims to make it easier to remove misbehaving officials with a process that would include a unanimous vote by the rest of council. 'Cancel culture' But Lida Chiarelli said the bill would encourage "cancel culture" to destroy politicians via anonymous complaints. "Political assassinations should not be given credibility by a supposedly confidential formal process that favours the accuser but muzzles the person who should have the right to defend themselves," she told the hearing committee. "My husband was falsely accused of allegedly having said things to women in work interviews that they didn't like," she said. "There was no documentation, no proof, only hearsay for these allegations." Three women lodged formal complaints that the then College ward councillor had asked them inappropriate questions during job interviews, including about not wearing a bra to work events. Another report found that Chiarelli bullied and harassed a young female staffer by offering to pay her money to pick up a man from a Montreal nightclub and perform a sexual act on him. Chiarelli left office in 2022 having always maintained his innocence. Last week, two of Chiarelli's accusers addressed a Bill 9 consultation in Ottawa, with one of them saying the legislation as currently formulated would not have protected her.
Ottawa Citizen
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Ottawa Citizen
Provincial bill to kick out misbehaving councillors a good, but flawed start
Experts, Ontario city councillors and a former employee of disgraced ex-councillor Rick Chiarelli told Members of Provincial Parliament on Thursday that Bill 9 is 'long overdue,' but still has its flaws. Article content If passed, Bill 9 would give Ontario municipalities a standard code of conduct with the power to remove council members from office for serious violations. To remove a member, a recommendation from a municipal integrity commissioner, approval from an Ontario integrity commissioner and a unanimous vote by the rest of council would be necessary. Article content Article content Article content This bill comes three years after former Ottawa Coun. Rick Chiarelli refused to resign and was docked a maximum penalty of 450 days of pay for various code of conduct violations. The city's integrity commissioner issued three reports between 2020 and 2022 that condemned Chiarelli's behaviour toward women who were on his staff or had applied to work for him. Article content Article content The Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy met at the Sheraton Hotel in Ottawa from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on July 17 for public consultations on the bill. Article content Stephanie Dobbs, a former employee of Chiarelli and complainant against him, told the committee that she never saw justice or accountability. Article content After telling the committee to not take her criticism of Bill 9 as a lack of gratitude, Dobbs called it 'ludicrous' to let the decision to remove a member from office rest in the hands of other council members. Article content Article content 'As the legislation currently stands, I'm doubtful of the ability to enact change,' Dobbs said. Article content She added that putting the decision in council's hands turns the situation into a 'political spectacle,' which she later told the Citizen is her biggest concern about the proposed law. Article content Article content Throughout the public consultation, speakers like Coun. Lisa Deacon from the Township of Russell, Robin Jones with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, and University of Ottawa emeritus professor Barry Wellar all called for the voting requirement to be changed to a two-thirds supermajority. Article content Many speakers, including Dobbs, think the decision to remove a council member should be a matter decided by the courts. Article content 'My concern is (the committee) dismissing the many voices that have been really pushing today,' Dobbs told the Citizen. 'If they choose not to go with amendments and to make this improvement, they'll be met with a lot of criticism and a lot of unhappy constituents.'
