Dryden Mayor Jack Harrison has issued a statement after three Integrity Commissioner reports regarding complaints against Councillor Ritch Noel came before council last week.
The Integrity Commissioner reviewed several allegations:
- A Dryden resident alleged Councillor Noel “invited him outside to fight, used abusive language, and made comments that the Complainant interpreted as threats of future physical violence,” and has since reported the event to the OPP. The Integrity Commissioner found this was not a Council matter.
- The Integrity Commissioner found that Councillor Noel violated the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act by initiating a discussion on a matter that he had a monetary interest in. However, he did not recommend bringing the matter to a judge for a formal penalty due to potential legal fees.
- The Integrity Commissioner dismissed a complaint brought forward by Council that Councillor Noel had violated their code of conduct.
Noel responded to the reports on Thursday.
“It is the responsibility of elected officials to represent those who elected them and I take that obligation seriously,” Noel wrote in a statement. “Part of that process involves holding senior staff accountable when the need to do so is present. There have been several other Integrity Commissioner reports that have determined that I have not violated the code of conduct. Mayor Harrison and Mr. Nesbitt should accept that as an elected official, I will continue to hold them to task and look forward to seeing our differences resolved.”
Mayor Harrison wrote back Tuesday morning.
“I urge our citizens to read the three [Integrity Commissioner] reports on the city website and judge for themselves the appropriateness of Councillor Noel’s behaviour,” Harrison wrote. “I also urge Councillor Noel, who last year was found to have bullied and harassed staff members by an independent investigator, to take respectful workplace training as directed by council so he can attend council in person.”
Harrison also wrote that while the Integrity Commissioner dismissed the complaint that Noel had violated their code of conduct, Harrison believes he used “demeaning language and brought forward unsubstantiated accusations against staff.”
Noel has now been the subject of seven Integrity Commissioner investigations during his time on Council.
