{"id":832832,"date":"2025-03-09T14:13:20","date_gmt":"2025-03-09T19:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/09\/pickering-city-council-moving-meetings-online-due-to-threats-mayor-says\/"},"modified":"2025-03-09T14:13:20","modified_gmt":"2025-03-09T19:13:20","slug":"pickering-city-council-moving-meetings-online-due-to-threats-mayor-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/09\/pickering-city-council-moving-meetings-online-due-to-threats-mayor-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Pickering city council moving meetings online due to threats, mayor says"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"detailContent\">\n<p><span><a class href=\"http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/toronto\"><span>Toronto<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Mayor Kevin Ashe announced the change in a nearly 13-minute video on the city&#8217;s YouTube page on Dec. 30, 2024. The video highlights a number of incidents involving Coun. Lisa Robinson, before showing screenshots and airing audio of some graphic threats that Ashe says councillors have received as a result.<\/p>\n<h2 lang=\"en\">Kevin Ashe says councillors, city staff facing harassment stemming from Coun. Lisa Robinson\u2019s conduct<\/h2>\n<div>\n<p><span data-cy=\"author-text\"><a class href=\"http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/author\/tyler-cheese-1.6231199\">Tyler Cheese <\/a><\/span> <span> \u00b7 <\/span>CBC News<\/p>\n<p><span> \u00b7 <\/span><time datetime=\"2025-01-03T20:33:47.265Z\">Posted: Jan 03, 2025 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: January 3<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-cy=\"storyWrapper\">\n<p><span><span><\/p>\n<div title=\"Pickering city council moves meetings online due to threats, mayor says\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" data-cy=\"player-placeholder-ui-container\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.cbc.ca\/ais\/4dda39c2-5976-47ed-bf42-cabe9fedc2ab,1735935988557\/full\/max\/0\/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C34%2C3233%2C1818%29%3BResize%3D620\" srcset alt loading=\"eager\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Pickering city council moves meetings online due to threats, mayor says<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Pickering\u2019s mayor says security threats posed by the supporters of one councillor is forcing the city to make all council meetings virtual. CBC\u2019s Tyler Cheese has the details. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Pickering Mayor Kevin Ashe has decided to move all city council meetings online this year, saying the measure\u00a0is necessary due to ongoing security threats posed by supporters of one councillor.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Ashe announced the change in a nearly 13-minute video on the city&#8217;s YouTube page on Dec. 30, 2024. The video highlights a number of incidents involving Coun. Lisa Robinson, before showing screenshots and airing audio of some graphic threats that Ashe says\u00a0councillors have received as a result.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">About 100,000 people live in\u00a0Pickering\u00a0\u2014\u00a0just east of Toronto\u00a0\u2014 and residents who want to keep tabs on council will now have to rely on an online livestream. One community member\u00a0told CBC Toronto they&#8217;re worried the move\u00a0will lead to less democratic engagement in the city, even though the city accepts virtual delegations.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Ashe told CBC Radio&#8217;s <em>Here &#038; Now<\/em> that he&#8217;s not trying to silence Robinson by moving meetings online, but that the change is being made\u00a0to\u00a0protect councillors and city staff from some of her supporters.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not something we took lightly,&#8221; he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The council chamber should be a place for cordial, respectful dialogue, exchange of ideas about public policy where people can be heard. And it&#8217;s simply not a safe place right now.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Ashe said the\u00a0video about Robinson&#8217;s actions and resulting security concerns was made by a city employee. <em><strong>You can watch that video below:\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rouu5miQQ2A?si=IrksXyLyMTXVudN1\" frameborder=\"no\" title=\"YouTube content\" allowfullscreen loading=\"lazy\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Last September, Pickering&#8217;s integrity commissioner gave Robinson a 90-day pay suspension \u2014 the most severe penalty under current rules \u2014 after finding she demonstrated a continued pattern of &#8220;unacceptable behaviour&#8221; that risked hurting marginalized members of society.<\/p>\n<p>A month before that, Robinson appeared on a controversial podcast where the host labelled her colleagues pedophiles, Nazis, and fascists while posting their contact information. The show&#8217;s host also suggested a violent dog be let loose on council and that &#8220;70s biker types with the big biceps \u2026 [and] knuckles that had scar-tissue&#8221; should remove the mayor and councillors by force.<\/p>\n<p>Robinson posted a video of her own\u00a0on YouTube, in which she called the city&#8217;s video &#8220;laughable&#8221; and the decision to move meetings online &#8220;cowardly.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Robinson pushed back against the notion of council members feeling unsafe.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They are the ones that are creating this fear when there is none,&#8221; she said in her video. <em><strong>You can watch Robinson&#8217;s\u00a0response video below:\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/b24uC8ZNP7o?si=9nArBWIDxtW_Wwzg\" frameborder=\"no\" title=\"YouTube content\" allowfullscreen loading=\"lazy\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>CBC Toronto reached out to Robinson on Thursday for further comment, but did not receive a response.<\/p>\n<h2>A distraction from pressing matters, says resident<\/h2>\n<p>Abdullah Mir, a Pickering resident and activist,\u00a0said he&#8217;s\u00a0frustrated the situation has taken centre stage at city hall.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;[It&#8217;s] been a massive, massive distraction from the real issues facing the city,&#8221; he told CBC Toronto.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"At dusk, the front of the Pickering's City Hall is seen against a blue sky. A clock tower is on top.\"   src=\"https:\/\/i.cbc.ca\/1.7336211.1727453069!\/cpImage\/httpImage\/image.jpg_gen\/derivatives\/original_1180\/ont-pickering-council-20240927.jpg?im=\" data-cy=\"image-img\"><\/p><figcaption>Tensions at Pickering city council have been high since last summer when Coun. Lisa Robinson first appeared on a controversial podcast where the host labelled her colleagues pedophiles, Nazis, and fascists. (Doug Ives\/The Canadian Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>One of those issues is the recently approved urban boundary expansion in northeast Pickering, which Mir said may open up sensitive environmental areas and could raise property taxes.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;But instead it&#8217;s just been hijacked by this assorted nonsense,&#8221; he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Mir feels the move to online meetings is justified given security concerns, but worries civic engagement will take a hit even though residents are allowed to attend and delegate virtually via Microsoft Teams.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s really not the same,&#8221; he said.\u00a0&#8220;As much as we are a technologically advanced species and civilization, we still have that craving for human interaction.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Ontario working on bill to remove councillors<\/h2>\n<p>Last month, Municipal Affairs Minister Paul Calandra tabled a bill at Queen&#8217;s Park that, if passed as is,\u00a0would allow councillors to be removed from office and disqualified from running again.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Ontario municipalities have for years been calling for updated codes of conduct to address workplace harassment, as well as stricter penalties for those who violate the rules \u2014 including removal from office.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>However, removal and disqualification could only happen if the municipal integrity commissioner recommends it, if Ontario&#8217;s integrity commissioner agrees and if councillors \u2014 except for the member in question \u2014 unanimously agree to it in a vote.<\/p>\n<p>That legislation\u00a0won&#8217;t begin moving through the system until the Ford government returns to the legislature this March.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Ashe did not say whether he would make use of the legislation, if passed, to attempt to remove Robinson from council.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;But I&#8217;m very thankful that the province has responded to this call for action by dozens and dozens of municipalities. And I think Councillor Robinson&#8217;s escalating and continuous infractions of our code of conduct is exactly why we need this type of legislation,&#8221; Ashe said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>With files from The Canadian Press<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/toronto\/pickering-city-council-meetings-going-online-1.7421853?cmp=rss\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Toronto Mayor Kevin Ashe announced the change in a nearly 13-minute video on the city&#8217;s YouTube page on Dec. 30, 2024. The video highlights a number of incidents involving Coun. Lisa Robinson, before showing screenshots and airing audio of some graphic threats that Ashe says councillors have received as a result. Kevin Ashe says councillors, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":832833,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27471,142331,104640],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-832832","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-council","8":"category-pickering","9":"category-youtube-videos"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=832832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/832833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=832832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=832832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=832832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}