A LOOK AT THE “ELECT RESPECT’ MOVEMENT BEING ADOPTED BY MUNICIPAL COUNCILS

A LOOK AT THE “ELECT RESPECT’ MOVEMENT BEING ADOPTED BY MUNICIPAL COUNCILS IN AN EFFORT TO END BAD BEHAVIOUR, Clarington Council recently voted in favour of a motion to hold its councillors to the tenets of the Elect Respect pledge, which calls for an end to abusive and potentially threatening conduct towards public officials. In doing so, Clarington councillors are encouraging colleagues and residents to put an end to ever-increasing abuse of elected officials. “The threats that are going on, it has caused a number of individuals to choose not to run for office because of threats,” said Clarington Mayor Adrian Foster, noting the aggression aimed at elected officials was a key topic of conversation at recent conferences, including the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the Ontario Big City Mayors Association. So why exactly is the "Elect Respect" concept gaining so much traction among Canadian municipalities? First and foremost, it is seen as an effective and meaningful response to the growing toxicity, harassment, and abuse directed at public officials. It is a grassroots campaign that aims to address what many see as the deteriorating state of political discourse and the resulting harm to democracy, including discouraging qualified individuals from running for office. It’s no secret that the amount of harassment, personal attacks, and yes – threats – especially online via social media, has significantly increased in recent years. Municipal officials report experiencing constant abuse, intimidation, and even physical intimidation. The toxic political climate that is the result of all of this appears to disproportionately affect women and individuals from diverse backgrounds, discouraging them from seeking or remaining in public office. Clarington Councillor Lloyd Rang has called on residents in the community to join the movement. “I know there are more good people out there than those willing to cause dissent and division for no good reason,” he said, noting the behaviour is not only hurtful, it can be dangerous. “If this continues, if people continue to make racist comments, misogynistic comments, comments vilifying people on staff, whatever it is, somebody is going to get hurt,” he said. “Because when rage spreads, when anger spreads, people take matters into their own hands and that is dangerous. We have to nip this in the bud, Clarington – the good people of this community need to stand up and this is a good start.” There can be no doubt such an antagonistic atmosphere will ultimately push good people out of politics, and weaken the democratic representation we often take for granted at the municipal level. Civic engagement has been the bedrock for citizens of Durham Region over the many decades that I have followed municipal councils, and to see that slowly erode is, quite frankly, upsetting. Administrative staff also need to know they have a safe, inclusive, and respectful work environment, although there have been recent examples of what one may reasonably describe as a form of retaliation against a sitting councillor – meaning what goes around comes around, and no-one within the public realm is immune to aggression. The concept behind the Elect Respect approach originated with the Halton Elected Representatives (HER), a coalition of female leaders in Halton Region, Ontario, who shared stories of abuse. What started as a local initiative has grown into a movement gaining support across the Region and the entire country. Organizations like the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) are supporting and promoting the campaign. This institutional backing gives the concept more legitimacy and reach. Following the campaign's launch by Halton elected officials, the Halton Regional Council unanimously endorsed a resolution supporting the initiative. Municipalities like Clarington, St. Catharines, Thorold, and Niagara Regional Council have officially adopted the pledge through council resolutions. In addition to municipal associations, bodies like the Eastern Ontario Wardens' Caucus and the Western Ontario Wardens' Caucus have expressed their joint support for the pledge. Some municipalities are going further, by reviewing and strengthening their public codes of conduct to explicitly forbid verbal abuse during meetings and empower chairs to remove disruptive individuals. Pickering’s Ward 1 City Councillor Lisa Robinson, herself having been the subject of a harassment complaint initiated on behalf of the city's council by Mayor Kevin Ashe, recently appeared as a delegation before Durham Regional Council to speak in support of the Elect Respect initiative, which she says “…is not about silencing disagreement but about ensuring healthy debate.” The Pickering councillor also remarked on social media that “Disagreement is natural in politics, but personal attacks, threats, and abuse cross a line. This campaign calls for respectful engagement between residents, staff, and elected officials, no matter our differences.” Of course, this leads us to consider the impending provincial legislation known as Bill 9, the Municipal Accountability Act that some municipal leaders hope will empower councils to “act decisively” when governance is threatened. After a year marked by misinformation and Code of Conduct violations on Whitby Council, Mayor Elizabeth Roy said she welcomes the Ontario government’s reintroduction of legislation that would allow municipal council members to be removed from office for serious violations of the Code. Mayor Roy, in an op-ed offered to newspapers across Ontario, said municipal leaders are being tested, “…not just by the growing demands of our communities, but by toxic political behaviour that is becoming far too common around local council tables.” From stopping the spread of what the mayor considered “factually incorrect” information surrounding a summer recess, to ethics violations that required the Town’s Integrity Commissioner to get involved, Mayor Roy said she has experienced bad behaviour by councillors “first-hand”, calling it “some of the worst I’ve seen” in her 30 years in municipal politics. “Toxic behaviour and repeated ethics violations are threatening the function of local democracy, deterring new voices from seeking office and, in some cases, driving dedicated public servants out of government altogether.” Strong words, no doubt. Over in Halton Region, Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward and other municipal leaders are supporting the Elect Respect campaign as well, with Milton Regional Councillor Sameera Ali saying there have been “many instances” where she felt unsafe, “to the point where I had to move,” while Meed Ward recounted having being told she should be “hung in Civic Square for treason.” As of the date of publication of this column, Ontario's Bill 9 – the Municipal Accountability Act – has passed its second reading and is in the committee stage, with the government aiming to pass it into law at some point this autumn. Back in the summer of 2025, public hearings on Bill 9 were held across the province by the Standing Committee on Heritage, Infrastructure and Cultural Policy. The government intends for the bill to be in place before the 2026 municipal elections.