Burlington politician calls for creation of anti-bullying task force

A Burlington councillor says city hall must be a “safe place” for everyone to voice their opinions.

Blair Lancaster’s motion, which calls for the creation of a task force on anti-bullying and harassment, was approved during a committee meeting on Monday.

Lancaster reveals that she received a “very disturbing” email last week containing racist comments and a photo of a severed hand in regards to rezoning for a mosque in north Burlington.

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Lancaster adds that she has experienced bullying, threats, reputational slurs, assaults and harassment during her tenure as Ward 6 councillor.

She suggests that when residents are afraid to share their point of view during a public meeting because someone else “yells,” “screams” and “hijacks the meeting,” it goes against the spirit of community engagement.

She believes now is the time to develop some policies and strategies which will be the work of the task force.

Lancaster adds that “bullying and harassment is sort of like graffiti. If you don’t deal with it right away, you just get more of it, and it escalates.”