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  #81  
Old Posted Feb 24, 2020, 5:39 AM
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Hopefully the NDP will have the good sense to capitalize on this.
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  #82  
Old Posted Feb 24, 2020, 4:52 PM
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Originally Posted by danishh View Post
This gets fixed when the ward boundary review happens, hopefully we can have a democratic city again. Watson et al delayed the mandatory review last term to focus on other stuff (LRT), but it's happening this time and the next election will be under new boundaries.
The last two ward boundary maps have favoured the exurbs, and disfavoured the core, and every indication is that the Watson Clique will ensure that the next map does the same.
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  #83  
Old Posted Mar 2, 2020, 5:49 PM
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City didn't set up framework for performance reviews of city manager, auditor general

City didn't set up framework for performance reviews of city manager, auditor general
The admission is in a written response to an inquiry sent to city clerk Rick O'Connor last month from Coun. Riley Brockington, who was concerned there hadn't been formal performance evaluations for city manager Steve Kanellakos and auditor general Ken Hughes.


JON WILLING Updated: March 2, 2020
Postmedia


The City of Ottawa has revealed there have been no formal performance reviews of the current city manager or auditor general, even though council authorized staff to set up a way for the evaluations to happen.

The admission is in a written response to an inquiry sent to city clerk Rick O’Connor last month from Coun. Riley Brockington, who was concerned there hadn’t been formal performance evaluations for city manager Steve Kanellakos and auditor general Ken Hughes.

Brockington submitted the inquiry during a council meeting as the city came under fire for the poor performance of the Stage 1 LRT system and procurement of the Stage 2 Trillium Line project. The councillor, however, said his inquiry wasn’t solely rooted in concerns about the O-Train project.

In December 2014, council voted to have the mayor and deputy mayors conduct performance reviews of the city manager, while the mayor, audit committee chair and audit committee vice-chair would handle the performance reviews of the auditor general.

Kanellakos was hired as city manager in 2016 and Hughes was appointed auditor general in 2013.

However, neither has been subjected to formal, annual performance reviews as requested by council.

Staff said there wasn’t enough time and there were too many internal changes that prevented setting up an evaluation process.

“Unfortunately, this recommendation was not followed through in the city clerk and solicitor’s office (for a number of reasons, including workload, a change in city manager and an internal reorganization in the clerk’s office), and no such framework was established,” the staff written response says.

Kanellakos, as the top bureaucrat in the municipal government, reports directly to council. He’s ultimately responsible for carrying out council-approved resolutions. His contract ends April 30, 2021.

As auditor general, Hughes also reports directly to council through the audit committee. He’s considered an independent watchdog when it comes to government spending.

Hughes, whose contract ends on Dec. 31, 2020, reviewed Stage 2 procurement last year and found that the city followed the rules in awarding the Trillium Line contract to SNC-Lavalin.

In the written response to Brockington’s inquiry, staff point out that Kanellakos and Hughes have received performance feedback from council members through “informal processes.”

A report by the Ombudsman of Ontario last year on questionable hiring practices in Niagara Region has convinced officials at Ottawa City Hall to develop their own procedures for the three positions, including a process for performance reviews.

The staff recommendations scheduled to be considered by the finance and economic development committee on March 9 include new procedures for hiring the city manager, auditor general and integrity commissioner.

(The contract of independent integrity commissioner Robert Marleau ends Aug. 31, 2020).

In Niagara Region, the provincial ombudsman found that a method used to hire a chief administrative officer, the top bureaucrat for the municipality, was rigged so that a preferred candidate won the job.

Ottawa city staff plan to consult council members on a performance review process during a planned governance review in the middle of the 2018-2022 term.

jwilling@postmedia.com

twitter.com/JonathanWilling
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...uditor-general
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  #84  
Old Posted Mar 5, 2020, 6:10 PM
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Found these podcasts yesterday. "Council in 20": 3 Councillors, 3 Questions, 20 Minutes. There are 16 episodes so far, starting September 16th. Quite a contrast when listening to the LRT related discussions compared to today.

https://omny.fm/shows/council-in-20/playlists/podcast
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  #85  
Old Posted Mar 10, 2020, 4:57 PM
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Consultation on new Ward boundaries, including survey.

https://ottawa.ca/en/news/get-involv...representation
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  #86  
Old Posted Mar 11, 2020, 4:03 PM
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Originally Posted by J.OT13 View Post
Consultation on new Ward boundaries, including survey.

https://ottawa.ca/en/news/get-involv...representation
ah, 3 consultations in the central area, 6 in the exurbs.

true to form.
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  #87  
Old Posted Mar 11, 2020, 4:05 PM
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ah, 3 consultations in the central area, 6 in the exurbs.

true to form.
I'd argue 4/5, but fair enough.
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  #88  
Old Posted Jul 11, 2020, 1:05 PM
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Chiarelli should face 'most severe of sanctions' for alleged improper conduct: integrity commissioner

Michael Woods
Digital Multi-Skilled Journalist
@michaelrwoods Contact

Published Friday, July 10, 2020 2:46PM EDT
Last Updated Friday, July 10, 2020 7:01PM EDT


OTTAWA -- The city of Ottawa’s integrity commissioner is recommending “the most severe of sanctions” against Coun. Rick Chiarelli after investigating allegations of improper conduct toward women applying for jobs in his office.

The report recommends council suspend Chiarelli’s salary for three consecutive 90-day periods, which amounts to more than $79,000 in pay.

“Because the Councillor is the longest serving elected public office holder on Council and that this offensive and disreputable behaviour has been going on for a very long time, I have decided that the most severe of sanctions are warranted in this case,” integrity commissioner Robert Marleau writes in his 76-page report, released Friday after a 10-month investigation.

Chiarelli has denied any wrongdoing, and did not participate in the investigation. CTV News Ottawa has reached out to Chiarelli for comment on the report.

The report details three complaints from people who had interviewed for a job in Coun. Chiarelli’s office. Marleau received two other complaints from former employees of his office, which he said will be dealt with in a separate report.

In each of the three cases, Chiarelli made comments that left the complainants “uncomfortable, embarrassed and troubled,” the report said.

“The Respondent exploited the power dynamic of the situation, in which the respondent held out the possibility of employment, to sexualize the discussion and questions in a manner that was upsetting and unacceptable.”

“Such comportment by an elected public office holder deeply harms the public interest and seriously damages the trust convent with the citizens who elect them.”

Council will consider the report Wednesday and decide whether to penalize Chiarelli.

The 90-day salary suspension is the strongest possible penalty council can impose on a member for breaching the code of conduct. Marleau is recommending that penalty for each violation, hence the three consecutive 90-day sanctions.

The allegations of the three job applicants are laid out in the report.

One complainant said Chiarelli questioned her tolerance and limits for wearing revealing or provocative clothing, including directly asking her whether she was willing to go “bra-less.”

Another complainant said Chiarelli asked her if she was willing to not wear a bra at nightclubs to recruit young men at nightclubs for his campaign.

The third complainant alleges Chiarelli asked her if she would consider stripping, saying “you have the body for it.” He also allegedly asked her if she participated in “World Orgasm Day.”

Marleau’s investigation found all those allegations to be established, and found each complainant to be “credible, honest and open.”

In Chiarelli’s most detailed response to the allegations—released in October and appended to the report—he denied the allegations and claimed they were part of a coordinated political attack.

“I can say, without reservation, that I have never treated a member of my staff (including job candidates) in a sexually harassing, discriminatory, or inappropriate ‘gender-based’ fashion,” Chiarelli said in the statement.

“People should know that I formally retained legal counsel in July of this year, after learning that I was being targeted over my attempts to bring greater transparency to the LRT procurement process. I had no idea, at the time, of the direction that these political attacks might take,” he says. “We were made aware of one of my political adversaries attempting to persuade a number of women to join an organized group to speak negatively about me.”

Marleau’s report concluded that “there is no credible basis for such a conspiracy theory. There is no evidence of an organized political movement. The three complainants did not know each other and there is no evidence of any collusion.”

In May, Marleau told council that the report would conclude without Chiarelli’s participation, and that he would take Chiarelli’s public statements as his denial of the allegations.

The report says 34 people were interviewed for the inquiry, which also examined extensive emails, Facebook messages, photographs, text messages and, in the case of one complainant, recorded telephone calls.

Chiarelli requested a leave of absence from council in October, citing a doctor’s note that he had fainted, but his colleagues denied the request. He had open heart surgery in December. Since council denied his request for medical leave, he has shown up to some council meetings.

Several of Chiarelli’s council colleagues have called for his resignation.This is a developing news story. More to come.
https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/chiarelli-...oner-1.5019388

That's the problem with our society. Politicians and those in power positions (CEOs, managers, cops...) get a slap on the wrist or maybe a fine, while a normal worker would get fired without a moments hesitation for pulling shit like this.
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  #89  
Old Posted Jul 15, 2020, 9:53 PM
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Council unanimously passed the recommendations. No surprise here.

Kavanagh motion to give Councillors' assitants a contact at HR passes. McKenney's motion to require interviews be conducted at City facilities passes. McKenney's motion for a third party present at interviews has been defeated.

https://twitter.com/KatePorterCBC/st...13102357671936
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  #90  
Old Posted Jul 16, 2020, 1:00 PM
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Cumberland By-Election October 5th.

https://ottawa.ca/en/news/candidate-...rland-election
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  #91  
Old Posted Jul 21, 2020, 10:59 PM
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There's only one way to get rid of Rick Chiarelli – and it's politically unpalatable

Randall Denley
Publishing date: Jul 21, 2020 • Last Updated 8 hours ago • 3 minute read


What is Ottawa city councillors’ end game when it comes to their unwanted colleague Rick Chiarelli? So far, councillors have tried to shame Chiarelli into quitting over his lewd behaviour with job applicants, and they’ve tried to force him out by suspending his pay for 270 days. It hasn’t worked.

Councillors need to step back and consider what they are trying to accomplish. If it is simply to punish Chiarelli for unethical behaviour, they have done that with a salary penalty of about $80,000. The bigger goal, surely, is to restore normal political representation for the people of College Ward.

That means getting Chiarelli out, but clearly shame is not a motivator. His behaviour up to now suggests that money is. Even with the severe penalty council has imposed, Chiarelli is still better off financially if he hangs in and waits for his term to expire in 2022.

The city integrity commissioner has yet to report on two more complaints from former employees. If Chiarelli is found at fault again, he could lose another six months’ pay. That would still leave him close to a year’s earnings, plus he would get six months’ pay as a retiring member of council. That’s a significant incentive to hang on to a job that involves showing up for a meeting once every three months.

The money is understandably important because Chiarelli surely knows that whatever he gets might be his last employment earnings. The long-time councillor is finished in public life and the job market would seem limited for non-practising law school grads in their mid-50s with a reputation for sexual misconduct.

Then there is the pension issue. but not until he’s 55, and he’s said to be somewhat short of pensionable age.

Unfortunately, there is no easy solution to the problem of how to get rid of Rick Chiarelli. He has committed no crime. He can’t be fired from his job. He will hang on to his position as long as it financially advantages him.

There is one option that would almost certainly work, but the cost and optics are both unattractive. If the city were to offer Chiarelli a settlement equal to full pay and benefits until election time, plus his retirement payout, it would run close to $300,000. He’d be a fool not to take the offer because it’s substantially better than what he will get as things stand now.

The question is, how badly do Ottawans want to see Chiarelli gone? Buying him out would be an expensive reward for a man who has disgraced his office, and arguably unfair to other councillors who have to earn their salaries. Replacing Chiarelli after would be costly, too. A byelection costs about $500,000.

Putting money on the table is the only action that’s likely to motivate Chiarelli and while it is unpalatable, the alternative is to leave people in his ward without a councillor for nearly three years. That’s tough to justify.

Some have suggested that provincial rules need to be changed so councillors can fire a colleague like Chiarelli, but what would be the threshold for that kind of action? Allowing a majority of councillors to take away the seat of a person elected by the public is not a wise precedent.

It’s a small consolation, but at least at the municipal level unethical behaviour has real consequences. On Parliament Hill, ethical lapses are punished with an optional moment of reflection and everyone carries on as if nothing had ever happened.

Ottawa city councillors deserve some credit, but not much, for taking a strong stand against Chiarelli. It’s an easy position to take. So was docking his pay. Actually getting rid of him will be tough. If they want to show Chiarelli the door, they’re going to have to show him the money.


Randall Denley is an Ottawa political commentator and author of the new mystery Payback, available at randalldenley.com Contact him at randalldenley1@gmail.com

https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/de...-242f130fecab/
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  #92  
Old Posted Aug 20, 2020, 11:26 PM
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Diane Deans is returning to City Hall in September. Very happy to hear it!

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...ncil-1.5693890
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  #93  
Old Posted Nov 19, 2020, 10:04 PM
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Councillor plans to rename Rideau-Goulbourn ward because of namesake's slavery ties

Hana Sabah, Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: Nov 19, 2020 • Last Updated 10 minutes ago • 2 minute read


Before the 2022 municipal election, Ottawa’s Rideau-Goulbourn ward will have a new name, says its local councillor, who doesn’t think his ward should be named after a notorious slave owner.

The former Goulbourn Township, which is part of the present day ward, was named after Henry Goulburn, a 19th-century British politician who owned slave plantations in Jamaica.

In a recent newsletter, Coun. Scott Moffatt told residents he’ll be taking steps to change the name of the south Ottawa ward, with public consultation.

The township received its name in 1818, Moffatt wrote in his newsletter, because of Goulburn’s political status in Britain. However, Goulburn never set foot in Canada.

“He has no direct story to connect him to us and our communities,” Moffatt wrote, before detailing Goulburn’s slavery ties.

“He was an absentee owner of one of the most notorious plantations in Jamaica. At one time, he owned over 250 slaves. They were treated poorly. He tried to improve their lives, but he stopped short of favouring abolition,” Moffatt wrote. “Keep in mind that the slave trade had already been abolished by Britain in 1807. In 1826, he lost an election because it became known locally that he was a slave owner.”

Since writing his newsletter, Moffatt said he’s received some opposition, with several residents suggesting the history of the township should be preserved.

“A ward name is just a ward name,” said Moffatt, in an interview. “I can’t strip down the history of a township — it will still be preserved in our museum — but from this point forward, we’re going to have a ward name that doesn’t honour a slave owner.”

In his newsletter, Moffatt also underscored he’s not attempting to erase the past.

“The history of Goulbourn Township is a strong, positive story. Henry Goulburn’s is not. His story doesn’t change ours and his story doesn’t define the history of our township,” he wrote. “That said, the current ward of Rideau-Goulbourn is about the present and the future. The past is the past and, although the stories need to be told, our future needs to be positive and should not be tied to a negative story.”

Moffatt also closed the door on any suggestion he should have consulted the community prior to announcing his plan.

“That’s a very dangerous conversation to have … and I can’t sit here justifying keeping the name,” he said.

Moffatt said he’s in touch with local historians and is taking suggestions on the ward’s new name, which will eventually be chosen from a shortlist, with community involvement.

Until Rideau-Goulbourn changes its name, Moffat will identify the ward by its number — 21.

“Our website is now teamtwentyone.ca, our Twitter account is now @Team_TwentyOne and our team remains here to serve you,” he wrote in his newsletter.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...s-slavery-ties
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  #94  
Old Posted Nov 20, 2020, 2:18 PM
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"You know this community you were so proud of your entire life? It's named for a slave owner. You're welcome."

"Now let's change the name of the Ward as of today to never again mention this guy's name, except for the fact that his name is still plastered everywhere else."
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  #95  
Old Posted Nov 20, 2020, 2:49 PM
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So far at least, he seems to be handling this thorny issue he's deliberately waded into quite skillfully.
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  #96  
Old Posted Nov 20, 2020, 4:53 PM
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So far at least, he seems to be handling this thorny issue he's deliberately waded into quite skillfully.
He threw a grenade and skillfully minimized collateral damage.
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  #97  
Old Posted Nov 20, 2020, 5:16 PM
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He took the lead instead of waiting and eventually giving in to pressure by the public. Good on him. With the ward boundaries review that might be an ideal time to change the name anyway.
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  #98  
Old Posted Nov 23, 2020, 5:37 PM
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Renaming Rideau-Goulbourn shouldn't take place without public discussion
Coun. Scott Moffatt failed a crucial test of leadership — not to mention democracy — when he announced unilaterally, prior to any public consultation, that the ward name will be changed before the next election because discussion would be “a very dangerous conversation to have.”

Randy Boswell
Publishing date: Nov 23, 2020 • Last Updated 56 minutes ago • 3 minute read




Rideau-Goulbourn Coun. Scott Moffatt deserves credit for recently confronting the historical racism embedded in the name of the municipal ward he represents, as well as the former Goulbourn Township and other namesake streets and landmarks honouring the 19th-century British politician — and slave owner — Henry Goulburn.

But Moffatt failed a crucial test of leadership — not to mention democracy — when he announced unilaterally, prior to any public consultation, that the ward name will be changed before the 2022 municipal election.

The councillor has stated that any discussion of the matter would be “a very dangerous conversation to have.”

He should not blur the line between difficult and dangerous. Labelling a discussion too perilous to even initiate is a recipe for self-appointed judges of history, morality and public discourse to make imperial decisions on behalf of the rest of us — including the 25,000 or so residents of Rideau-Goulbourn.

Avoiding a difficult discussion and end-running a proper decision-making process robs the community of an opportunity to learn more about the past. It would also rob residents — including members of the Black community — of the chance to speak their minds.

I’m sure Moffatt’s intentions are noble. But his peremptory action may, for example, deprive anti-racism advocates of a forum to connect the Goulbourn naming issue to the current societal debate over systemic racism.

Henry Goulburn’s reputation for being “a slave owner with a conscience” — as one biographer has described him — shouldn’t stop Moffatt’s push to rename the ward. But all citizens of Ottawa would benefit from understanding more about Goulburn’s life (including the horrors that took place at his Jamaican sugar plantations) before his name is summarily swept under a rug by the well-meaning councillor.

Organizations such as the Goulbourn Township Historical Society and the Goulbourn Museum have a right to seize upon this teachable moment to deepen residents’ knowledge of the past, warts and all.

In fact, two weeks before Moffatt announced his personal discovery of the Henry Goulburn slavery issue in an Oct. 30 podcast, the museum had announced plans for a research project and public forum titled “A Transparent Look at Sir Henry Goulburn and Slavery.”

“We are looking forward to sharing the results of our research and hosting an in-depth discussion,” the museum stated in Oct. 16 social media posts.

There is a question implied in Moffatt’s royal proclamation: Can we have respectful conversations about potentially divisive subjects, or is it better to let a benevolent philosopher king make tough decisions for us?

Well, if we can’t have civil conversations, then we’ve stopped being the kind of city and country in which friends and neighbours can disagree, even vehemently, and remain friends and neighbours.

We’ve lately been witnessing a slide into that kind of society south of the border, and Canadians and Americans alike must resist such crippling polarization.

To be clear: I support Moffatt’s plan to change the name of the ward. It also happens to be the name of the street I live on in Sandy Hill, though Goulburn Avenue (unlike Rideau-Goulbourn) matches the actual spelling of Henry Goulburn’s name.

Yes, it would be a pain to change our address. But it would be less painful than living on a street we now know was named for a man who owned slaves at a time when slave-owning was already widely condemned in Britain and beyond.

As with Russell Township, Russell Road and (my employer) Carleton University’s Russell House residence — all named for the 19th-century Upper Canada administrator and slave owner Peter Russell — there are good reasons in 21st-century Canada to expunge certain names from our commemorative landscape, and to remove or modify certain monuments to the past.

We also need to find more ways to commemorate worthy figures from Indigenous and other ethnocultural communities that have shaped Canada.

We needed to say goodbye to the Edmonton Eskimos and McGill Redmen, and we need to honour more women and more non-politicians from Canadian history.

But all such changes should occur after diligent research about the word or individual in question, after a thoughtful and civil public discussion, after the careful weighing of local circumstances and sensibilities — and after everyone who wants to has had their say.


Randy Boswell is a Carleton University journalism professor.

https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/bo...lic-discussion
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  #99  
Old Posted Nov 25, 2020, 2:13 PM
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Ottawa councillor texts while driving during Zoom meeting


Matt Skube
CTV News Ottawa Anchor, News at Five & 11:30
@mattskubeCTV Contact

Published Tuesday, November 24, 2020 2:35PM EST
Last Updated Tuesday, November 24, 2020 4:13PM EST




OTTAWA -- An Ottawa city councillor apologized on Tuesday after he appeared to be driving while distracted during a committee meeting.

During an audit committee meeting on Zoom, Osgoode ward Coun. George Darouze could be seen getting into a car and driving while in the meeting.

The video appears to show Darouze using his cell phone while driving and wearing headphones. His Zoom feed cuts out after about two minutes.


CTV News Ottawa has reached out to Darouze's office for comment, but he has not responded. He did post an apology on his Facebook page.

“This morning, I inadvertently texted while I was driving,” he wrote. “I apologize for this and commit to my family and residents that this won’t happen again.”

He later deleted that apology and issued a second apology on his Facebook page.

“This morning I was texting and driving. This was stupid thing to do and I should not have done this. I commit to my family and residents that this won't happen again,” he said.

Criticism built up online Tuesday afternoon after Twitter user Bikeview.ca posted video of Darouze’s Zoom video feed online. They also tweeted saying they had filed a police report about the video.

Ottawa police say they are aware of the video, and said the matter would be investigated should a public complaint be received.

The Twitter user who posted the initial video confirms to CTV News that he has filed a complaint.

No one else in the meeting immediately commented—or appeared to notice—that Darouze was driving while on the video call.

Darouze’s video pops back up around 12:30 p.m., where he can be seen back in the office he in at the beginning of the meeting.

He remained on committee meeting call until the end of the meeting.

Speaking to reporters following the audit committee, chair Coun. Jean Cloutier said he did not see Darouze's screen at the time, but said that Darouze's action were inappropriate.

"Texting and driving is not appropriate anywhere, at any time, on any street anywhere in the world," he said.

A statement from Mayor Jim Watson’s office said: “Councillor Darouze has released a post on his Facebook page regarding the incident. Mayor Watson trusts he will not do this again.”

https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/ottawa-cou...ting-1.5202662
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  #100  
Old Posted Nov 25, 2020, 2:58 PM
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Update: he went to the police station, gave a statement and paid a $615 fine.

https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/ottawa-cou...jmtYOPmiCb1rg4

In Ontario, first time offenders (assuming he was never caught before) have to pay a fine of $615 and lose three demerit points. Did he lose those points? Also, are the distracted driving counts suppose to pile up (video conferencing, headphones and texting)?

Just to be clear, he shouldn't get an ataboy for going to the police station. This is something he's surely done countless times, and might continue to do. The only reason he paid the fine was because he got caught... by the public, not the cops.
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