A Pickering, Ontario councillor who stood for decency in school books, biology-based public bathrooms, and banning drag shows for children is going to the courts to remedy sanctions against her by the local integrity commissioner..Lisa Robinson has been in a series of controversies. She wanted to introduce motions to prohibit the flying of non-government flags on municipal property, restrict drag story hour events to adults only, and have a female only change room, a male only change room, and a universal change room at a public facility..However, Robinson said she could not even make the motions because no one would second them. She also had a sarcastic comment on Facebook about three people who made a formal complaint about a container bin placed in front of her home to house props for her annual charity event. And, after a speaking engagement regarding her attempted motions, she handed out business cards..The preceding events prompted investigations by the integrity commissioner, who interpreted the Facebook post as “bullying and intimidation.” Robinson was docked 30 days pay. When Robinson said in media interviews this made her a “modern-day slave,” her opponents alleged this was racism..Sanctions against the attempted motions and the business cards are still in process..In an online interview with former MP Derek Sloan, Robinson said accusations regarding her business card were especially “absurd.”.“It's not even that I handed out the business cards. Somebody alleges that they saw me hand out a business card–but which business card was it if I even handed it out?” she asked..“This is the exact reason why I got into politics is to stop this kind of corruption, to stop what's happening in the system, that people have access to justice, they have fairness, and I'm seeing firsthand that this is not the case.”.Instead, Robinson said she gets into “hot water in just about everything that I do” and has a “target on my back” because of her politics..All Ontario municipalities are mandated to have integrity commissioners. Each municipality appoints one and creates a code of conduct for the commissioner to apply..Lawyer Michael Alexander said his client Robinson was in a “wholly unjust” situation and that the commissioner has “way too much power” to define what bullying and intimidation means..“[It] is really insidious… that these codes of conduct have confidentiality provisions. And so the commissioner can shield the identity of the complainant and also the factual background to the complaint if he or she…or the complainant is concerned about reprisals,” Alexander explained to Sloan..“What we have here is an extraordinary situation. We don't know who the complainants are against Lisa, we don't know if any of these three men complained. We also don't know any factual context that would allow us to even understand whether bullying or intimidation took place or somebody feels bullied or intimidated.“.Alexander said there is “a reasonable apprehension of bias on the part of the commissioner” and that another Ontario councillor is suffering the same issues as Robinson..“The integrity commissioners are using these codes of conduct to enforce political correctness on members of council, and particularly for people who have alternative or conservative points of view,” said the lawyer..The integrity commissioner outsourced Robinson’s case to a Toronto firm called Principles Integrity. It began in 2017 and is run by Jeffrey A. Abrams and Janice Atwood-Petkovski. They have more than 35 years of experience working with municipal governance and provide their services to at least 40 Ontario municipalities..In a speech posted online, Robinson pledged to make the motions after she and other parents were kicked out of a Durham District school board meeting where they tried to raise concerns over materials in schools. Robinson said she relayed the circumstances to Atwood..“I showed her pictures of some of the stuff that's happening like a little boy doing fellatio on another little boy or teaching girls how to use tensor bandages to make them look like they have flat or chest so they can look like a man,” Robinson recalled..“And then the next thing you know she was calling me as cisgender and then she said, ‘Well why should those books bother you? Does the Handmaid’s Tale bother you? Does the To Kill a Mockingbird novel bother you?’ So I felt very, very uncomfortable at that moment.”.Principles Integrity issued a statement saying: "Given our statutory obligation to maintain confidentiality in matters we address we likely could not comment on the interview.".Robinson wrote the integrity commissioner to allege bias and ask if someone else could examine the case..“Unfortunately, they said, ‘No, this is it.’ And then they refused to give me any kind of evidence,” Robinson recalled..Council voted to accept the recommended sanctions, and Robinson expects the worst for matters still under consideration..“I will end up being sanctioned,” she said. “You can see their bias. So, I don't have a chance right now.”.Robinson was given 30 days to appeal, but Alexander has asked the divisional court to do a judicial review. He believes the sanctions will fail..“I don't think this will pass muster, even on the lowest possible standard of judicial review,” he said..“This…could set a precedent for municipal councils all across Ontario because they're all facing the same situation..Sloan is raising funds for Robinson, whom he said had been “drawn and quartered” under “the stranglehold” of the “bureaucratic state.”.“They have this integrity commission, where if you don't do everything just right, they can find something–just like the old Soviet communists used to say, ‘Find me the man, and I'll show you the crime,’ basically meaning they could pick they could find a crime to pin on anybody if they needed to,” Sloan said..Sloan invited viewers to donate by e-transfer to fundingthefight@proton.me, with the password “Freedom” and “Robinson” in the memo.
