Embattled Toronto Coun. Michael Thompson has quietly stepped away from his appointment to a high-profile committee overseeing the city’s FIFA World Cup hosting duties.
The decision comes in the middle of an Ontario Court of Justice trial in which Thompson is fighting two counts of sexual assault following a Muskoka cottage holiday on Canada Day weekend in 2022.
Thompson has maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty, but the trial has loomed over the Scarborough Centre councillor, who remains actively involved in city business.
Thompson’s head of communications, Royson James, confirmed the resignation to Global News. In an emailed statement, he said the councillor informed Mayor Olivia Chow of his decision over the phone last Wednesday.
“Councillor Thompson is tied up in legal proceedings and a court case that has no definitive end date. As such, he felt it best to remove himself from this important committee so as to eliminate opportunities for media distractions that might hinder the effectiveness of the committee,” said James in an email.
James was adamant that Chow did not and has not asked Thompson to step down from the committee. “She accepted the councillor’s request with a ‘If that is what you wish,’” wrote James.
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Asked to comment about the circumstances of the departure, Mayor Chow only provided a brief statement, saying she was told Thompson notified her on Oct. 16 he was stepping away from the committee.
Chow told reporters earlier this month that she wasn’t reconsidering his appointment to the FIFA committee when details about the 2022 allegations emerged at the beginning of his trial three weeks ago.
“He has extensive experience on the file,” said Chow. “He is a councillor, and he is working as a councillor, and is paid as a councillor, so he is entitled to serve as a councillor.”
The outcome of his trial, Chow said, was up to the court to decide.
Thompson’s decision to step aside came ahead of his first complainant’s testimony earlier this week. Her identity is protected by a publication ban.
On Monday, she told the Bracebridge Court of Justice how she met Thompson in the spring of 2022 and the pair began a professional relationship, where the city councillor gave her the impression they could work together on city business.
She told the court that she and her friend arrived at the Port Carling cottage on the Sunday of the Canada Day long weekend after being invited by Thompson. Much like the first witness who testified, she said she was surprised by the lack of guests and were greeted by the Scarborough councillor and a young woman who appeared to be 21.
“I had thought there would be a small group of other adults there. I thought it was odd that there was only one vehicle in the driveway and that there was a 21-year-old alone at a cottage with a politician,” she told the court.
The witness also told the court that after drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana with Thompson, he asked if he could apply sunscreen to her while she sunbathed with two other women on the dock.
That’s when she alleges Thompson applied the sunscreen under her bikini and continued rubbing her buttocks and thighs.
“He asked me to turn over, which I did and he then proceeded to apply sunscreen to my breasts as well,” said the witness. “How was he able to access your breasts?” asked Crown Attorney Mareike Newhouse, before the witness responded, “He reached under my bathing suit.”
The witness recalled feeling numb while this was occurring, noting she was both intoxicated and high, but that she wanted to avoid making the situation awkward having just driven three hours to the middle of cottage country.
While the witness said at some point Thompson asked if it was OK and she indicated it was fine, she told Newhouse in her mind it was not. “I think I didn’t feel like I had another choice to navigate the situation. So, no,” she said.
A second complainant has yet to testify, but in laying out the overview of the case, Newhouse alleged that Thompson forced himself on her when she was intoxicated and had told him she didn’t consent.
The trial continues Friday in Bracebridge.
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