Harassment allegations against Ontario councillor substantiated: report

The City of Pickering, Ont., is taking action against a sitting councillor after an independent investigation determined harassment allegations against her were substantiated.

In 2025, city staff filed a complaint against Coun. Lisa Robinson under the Respect in the Workplace Policy, citing bullying, intimidation and harassment beginning in 2024.

Pickering Mayor Kevin Ashe told Global News the complaints were first handled by human resources before an investigation was outsourced to Turnpenney Milne LLP. The findings were presented in-camera at a special council meeting Monday.

Following the meeting, Ashe posted a statement on social media saying the process involved “a comprehensive review of evidence, including emails, letters, meeting recordings, published social media posts, videos recorded and shared by the councillor, integrity commissioner’s reports, and witness evidence.”

He said the “broader pattern, repetition, tone, platform, and foreseeable impact of the councillor’s public communication in the workplace” were also assessed.

“Following several months of review and analysis, the independent investigator concluded that the allegations were substantiated, finding that the cumulative effect of Councillor Robinson’s statements and actions directed at staff constituted workplace harassment and created a poisoned work environment,” Ashe said on social media.

He said the findings were then referred to an independent municipal law firm to recommend corrective actions.

Ashe told Global News that Robinson will now face three consequences.

He said administrative restrictions that have been in place for the past few years, including limiting contact with staff to email, restricted access in City Hall that only includes her office, and an inability to use her office for social media or public meetings.

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“Second thing was the recommendation to remove her ability to attend council meetings when we return to the chamber in September in person,” Ashe said, noting Robinson will only be able to attend virtually.

1:32 Pickering Councillor Lisa Robinson, filing for judicial review

He said the city will also be updating its indemnification clause so staff and members of council can access legal advice if harassment continues.

“I would have hoped that the integrity commissioner’s sanctions and reports would have course corrected,” Ashe said. “Unfortunately, that has not been the case.”

Robinson has been at the centre of multiple controversies since she was first elected to council in 2022. She has been accused of homophobia and racism dating back to 2024. She has also been subject to several separate investigations by the integrity commissioner, including for cyberbullying and intimidation, resulting in pay suspensions ranging from 30 to 90 days.

Ashe told Global News the ongoing actions of the councillor have negatively impacted the work environment.

“We’ve lost some good people. We’ve had to physically change our council chamber. We had to go online. We now have police at our council meetings when they return to our public meetings,” he said. “So it’s a cascading effect in terms of the negativity that’s occurring to our staff.”

Ashe told Global News that Robinson had “at least eight” opportunities to share her side of the story during HR’s review and the external investigation. He said she declined to do so every time.

Following the meeting on Monday Robinson took to social media to state her disagreement with council’s decision to accept the recommended penalties, claiming it was an “unfair process.”

“No one, not me, not council, not the public, has ever seen the evidence or the investigation report,” she wrote. “Today, in our in-camera meeting, I was not permitted to question the process, challenge the allegations, or defend myself in any way.”

“I have never threatened City staff. I have never encouraged violence. I have never directed anyone to act against any employee. What I have done is criticize government decisions, wasteful spending, policies, and the conduct of public officials. That is not harassment;  it is democratic accountability,” she continued.

Ashe said he feels Robinson’s statement is unfounded and the corrective action taken by council is fair.

“I don’t think Coun. Robinson’s observations are accurate, and in fact, I think they’re very hurtful. And I’m hopeful that she’ll see the error in her ways,” he said.

On May 31, Robinson announced in a video that she would be running against Ashe for mayor in the upcoming municipal election.

That campaign could be halted if regulations involving Bill 9, which was passed unanimously by the province last month, are put in place before October.

Municipal officials had been petitioning the provincial government since 2024 for a bill that would allow for the creation of a standard code of conduct for all municipalities, and penalties up to the removal and disqualification of a member of office if they are in serious violation of the code.

Ashe said provincial officials have alluded that the law won’t take effect until after the next election, but he said it is a welcome pursuit to maintain a safe work environment in the future.

–with files from The Canadian Press