High-ranking jobs at Township of Leeds and Thousand Islands on the line for making sexual harassment allegations

Two high-ranking employees with the Township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands may be fired. The reason, according to one councillor is because the pair made allegations of sexual harassment against the township’s newly appointed chief administrative officer.

“Now, I have to do what’s right and what’s honourable and do everything I can to try and ensure that I’ve resolved all recourses available which includes going public,” Coun. John Paul Jackson said.

Four Township employees collectively made 18 separate complaints towards Greg Borduas.

Two of those employees, treasurer, Sarah Haskinson, and director of public works, Michael Touw, are on stress leave and have sought legal advice.

A document obtained by CKWS-TV outlined some of the alleged sexual harassment, ranging from looking down the tops of female staff members to allegedly changing clothes in front of other female staff.

“Collectively, they showed a pattern of what was described to me and what I do believe was poor behaviour on the part of the individual that was being complained about,” Jackson said.

His motion to save the jobs of the two senior staff members was quickly dismissed, and council instead voted to terminate them.

“All these things that are surfacing, all these innuendos, these rumours, these lies, and these half-truths are all designed and politically motivated,” Mayor Joe Baptista said.

Another Township councillor, Jeff Lackie, was weary of the move to fire Haskinson and Touw.

“Personally, I am uncomfortable with the dissemination of some of this information,” Lackie said.

“Whether or not we’ve got it all, I can’t say. It doesn’t feel that we have.”