OPP investigating ‘criminal allegations’ from divided Ontario council

Ontario Provincial Police say they are conducting an investigation into “criminal allegations” after a city councillor appeared on an online show where the host referred to her colleagues as “pedophiles.”

In a statement Thursday, OPP said it was conducting an investigation into allegations made by Pickering City Council.

The request was originally made on Nov. 15 to Durham Regional Police, which forwarded it to the provincial force.

“The investigation is currently being led by the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch,” OPP said.

For almost two years, Pickering council has been divided over Coun. Lisa Robinson, who the mayor and other councillors have accused of alt-right associations and disrupting meetings.

Robinson has been found to have violated the code of conduct several times by the integrity commissioner and docked months of pay by her colleagues. She has challenged those findings through a judicial review.

After Robinson appeared on an online show where the host referred to councillors as “pedophiles” and “Nazis” and shared their contact details, Pickering Mayor Kevin Ashe said the integrity commissioner had determined “that he believes there was a criminal act, which was criminal harassment.”

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“And Coun. Robinsons’ attendance in that performance, may be aiding or recklessly aware of criminal harassment to her colleagues,” he said.

Robinson said in an email to Global News that she “was not on the podcast when the statement was made by the host” and said it was clear from the show the comments were his words, not hers.

“I publicly denounced everything he said in an email to my colleagues, and I went back on his show and denounced his actions there as well,” she said.

Robinson said she was dealing with “false accusations” and had herself been asking OPP to consider an investigation into “the corporation of the city of Pickering and my colleagues.”

At the end of 2024, Ashe also announced council meetings would be moved online after he said councillors had received a growing number of threats against them.

“Over the past two years, the City of Pickering has witnessed a growing infiltration of alt-right individuals, ideologies and influences that have created an atmosphere of uncertainly, fear and intimidation over our council,” Ashe said in a video announcing the change in December.

The video tracks a series of times the town and mayor allege Robinson, who is still a sitting councillor, has been involved with alt-right figures.

“The increasing threats to our safety demand action,” Ashe said in the video, which also included messages and voicemails that appear to reveal threats to council members.

— with files from Global News’ Lexy Benedict