The North Bay city councillor ruled by an acting integrity commissioner to have breached the municipal code of conduct by harassing her colleague says she will attempt to put some distance between the two by changing seats in the council chambers.
See related: Unanimous penalty for city councillor due to harassment
On Friday afternoon, Coun. Sara Inch made a formal request to CAO John Severino change the seating arrangement in the council chambers located in North Bay City Hall. Inch, as vice-chair of the general government committee, sits directly to the right of Deputy Mayor Maggie Horsfield, the chair of general government. Inch is asking to be seated by her rank in the election — sixth.
North Bay City Council meets this week on Monday at 6:30 p.m. in place of its usual Tuesday time slot, which falls on Halloween.
In her request, Inch refers to the unease she believes Horsfield — the complainant in the integrity commissioner investigation — feels sitting next to her as one of her reasons for initiating the seat change.
"I have recently become aware of Councillor Horsfield's discomfort and distress in sitting next to me, as revealed in her recent statements to the media, Inch writes in her letter. "I want to assure you that it is never my intention to cause anyone distress or discomfort. My religious and philosophical beliefs emphasize the importance of doing no harm, and I am committed to upholding these principles in all my interactions."
When contacted on Friday afternoon, Horsfield said she had no issues with the seating arrangement.
See: VIDEO: Horsfield addresses Inch situation
As they have since the onset of this council's term, Horsfield and Inch sat within inches of one another during a special committee meeting on Oct. 16, their first public interaction following the special council meeting that saw Inch penalized.
Inch says she has apologized repeatedly for her actions but feels she has received little guidance from the municipality's leaders and the City of North Bay's Human Resources department on how best to move forward.
"I believe this adjustment will not only be fair but also contribute to a more harmonious and respectful environment within the council chambers," Inch concludes.
On Oct. 12, North Bay City Council imposed as a penalty a loss of remuneration for 90 days for multiple breaches of the municipality's code of conduct on Inch. A report from the acting integrity commissioner ruled Inch had harassed Horsfield via email and social media posts earlier this year.
See related: City councillor faces penalty for code of conduct breaches
Inch will continue to attend all council functions and perform her duties without pay for three months. Council members voted unanimously to dock the first-term councillor's pay. Councillors Lana Mitchell and Tanya Vrebosch were absent from the vote.
See: the full Report from the Acting Integrity Commissioner
Acting Integrity Commissioner Nicole Singh investigated the complaint filed by the deputy mayor relating to a series of emails and social media posts from Inch referencing Horsfield's age, pregnancy, and inability to perform her duties and ruled Inch's actions "amounted to harassment under the Code of Conduct, reflect a pattern of behaviour by the Respondent towards the Complainant that was unwelcome and ought reasonably to have been known to be unwelcome. I find that the three incidents complained of, individually and in their totality, could affect a person’s dignity and psychological health."
The other option available to the council was a reprimand but the members agreed on the financial penalty after Horsfield addressed her colleagues about Inch's actions.
"Actions have consequences," said Horsfield on Oct. 12. "We’re here today to accept the report in which Councillor Inch breached the code of conduct over and over and over again. A conversation would not have stopped her pattern of behaviour. The harassment continued even after the complaint was filed. The simple fact of the matter is that we wouldn’t be here today if the code of conduct had not been broken.
"We have a code of conduct. We have a process for investigating any breaches. The process was followed and the outcome is that she breached the code on all three accounts. If the cost of the report is such a factor, then a 90-day pay suspension is in order, to recoup some of the cost for her actions."
Inch apologized that evening. "I take full accountability for my behaviour. I assure you that I am reflecting deeply on my actions and the responsibility that comes with this position. I have also experienced harassment myself, bullying, unwelcome negative comments," she said before Mayor Peter Chirico warned Inch to stay on topic.
"I am committed to learning from this experience and making amends. I will actively work on fostering a more respectful and collaborative environment within this council. I would like that very much. Our community deserves leaders who can engage in constructive dialogue and we set an example of professionalism and decorum together," Inch said. "Moving forward, I will be more mindful of my words and actions both online and offline."
