City administration commits to ‘broad’ harassment review that includes staff, management, councillors

A corporate services committee meeting turned into a serious discussion about allegations of bullying and harassment inside city hall.

The city of London committed to a third party review last week after a tidal wave of complaints were sent to an external organization; city manager Martin Hayward shed some light on that promise Tuesday afternoon, saying it would look into city staff, councillors and managers.

“We’re going to broaden this out, because every employee needs to be protected,” he said.

“We’ll be looking at cyberbullying, we’ll be looking at threats through emails.”

It’s still unclear who that third party will be, but Hayward said they’re well on their way to making a decision. Their job will be both to examine the handful of complaints the city itself has received about harassment and bullying, but also to look into workplace harassment policies and procedures.

The London Abused Women’s Centre received an “unprecedented” number of complaints from civic employees about the culture at city hall, and various other sectors, including the fire department and the London Police Service last week.

Tuesday’s meeting was the first time Mayor Matt Brown publicly addressed the tidal wave of allegations, despite multiple requests for comment from 980 CFPL.

“I think what we need to do is make sure our policies and our practices, and our people, are all focused on protecting everyone,” he said.

“We need to take action.”

Brown’s name was on the bottom of a letter, alongside signatures from councillors Virginia Ridley and Jesse Helmer, submitted to the committee for consideration. It was combined with a similar letter from councillor Tanya Park to create a nine-part motion addressing allegations. It was passed by the committee and still needs full council support.

Park feels that supporting the third party review, and asking civic administration to come up with another harassment reporting procedure for those who feel unsafe with the existing protocol, are good steps forward.

“I think it was a very honest and earnest conversation where council really took this issue by the horns,” Park said.

After meeting with several people last week and feeling “heartbroken” by their stories, Park hopes civic employees will feel more confident in the city’s approach to tackling bullying and harassment.

Councillor Paul Hubert added that although certain specifics may be discussed confidentially, people shouldn’t lose hope.

“It is not being dismissed, it is not being swept under the rug. It’s being dealt with.”

Hubert also spoke of a “spirit of sadness” that has engulfed the city, as a corporation.

“I think many of us have felt profoundly sad as we’ve heard stories, as we’ve reflected on the situation. There’s a heaviness that comes with those sorts of situations.”

And in order to rectify the situation, Hubert said it needs to be approached with the right attitude.

“Cultural change, structural change, takes time to happen.”