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The incoming mayor of Clarington, Ont., will take office alongside a councillor who has been criminally charged with uttering threats against him, raising questions about how council will navigate the matter.
Coun. Corinna Traill was charged in December with two counts of uttering threats in a voicemail she allegedly left Tom Dingwall. The allegations against her have not been proven in court.
Traill was re-elected this month as councillor for Ward 3, and will serve her fifth term. Dingwall was elected mayor, defeating incumbent Mayor Adrian Foster, who has held office since 2010.
John Mascarin, a lawyer with Aird & Berlis LLP who specializes in municipal law, says he’s not aware of a situation like this, where criminal proceedings are underway involving multiple members of council.
“You’re going into a council where you know you have some dysfunction even before it starts,” Mascarin said. “That’s going to be tough for the council to oversee that and I’m not really sure how they’re going to manage it.”
John Mascarin, a lawyer with Aird & Berlis LLP who specializes in municipal law, said he thinks it will be hard to navigate what he said may be ‘a very strained relationship’ between Dingwall and Traill. (Aird Berlis)
Traill previously denied making the threats, saying the voicemail in question was created using artificial intelligence.
She declined an interview but said in an emailed statement that she was grateful for the “tremendous and continued support” from her ward.
“It will be my pleasure to work with Mayor Elect Tom Dingwall, and I would like to again extend my congratulations on his victory,” she said in a statement.
Dingwall did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
CBC News asked Traill, her legal counsel and Dingwall for the status of the court case, but didn’t get a response.
Melissa Westover, spokesperson for the Municipality of Clarington, declined to comment, saying any questions about the incoming council should be directed to the councillors.
Dingwall said voicemail included sexual assault threat
In a social media post in September that now appears to be deleted, Dingwall said he received a voicemail from Traill in August, telling him to stay out of next year’s mayoral race to allow a friend of hers to “run unencumbered.”
Dingwall went on to say that the message “made it clear” that if he did not, he would be killed and his wife would be sexually assaulted.
Coun. Granville Anderson, who was re-elected to his position as regional councillor for Ward 1 and Ward 2, said he hopes that all council members will focus on prioritizing residents’ needs during this upcoming term. (Granvilleanderson.ca)
Coun. Granville Anderson, who was re-elected to his position as regional councillor for Ward 1 and Ward 2, said the criminal matter is “not a good look for Clarington.”
He said doesn’t know Dingwall well, but hopes that all council members will focus on prioritizing residents’ needs during the upcoming term.
“I hope he’ll come in and put the interests of Clarington residents first, and we can work together to build this community up,” he said.
But Mascarin said he thinks it will be hard to navigate what he said may be “a very strained relationship” between Dingwall and Traill.
He said mayors have always had the role of trying to bring council together and encourage collaborative work – but this role may be fraught considering the ongoing criminal matter.
“It’s going to be a very tricky situation for this council,” he said.
CBC News reached out to all other members of council for the upcoming term but didn’t receive a response.
What happens if Traill is found guilty?
If Traill is found guilty, Mascarin said a conviction alone wouldn’t mean she’s automatically removed from office.
However, if she were incarcerated, she would be automatically disqualified from holding office, he said.
Ontario’s Municipal Accountability Act, Bill 9, also allows a councillor to be removed from their seat for a serious violation of the province’s standardized code of conduct for municipal officials. While the bill has passed, it hasn’t yet been proclaimed into force Mascarin said.
Bill 9, also known as the Municipal Accountability Act, passed its third reading at Queen’s Park Tuesday. Priscilla Ki Sun Hwang has the details.
Mascarin said the process could include an investigation by the municipality’s integrity commissioner and the provincial integrity commissioner. Such investigations can only begin after a criminal matter has concluded, he said.
Ultimately, council has to vote unanimously to remove a member, which Mascarin said he thinks would be a rare occurrence.
“I’ve often said that you’re just not going to find that [unanimity], especially on something that’s quasi-controversial,” he said.
Anderson declined to comment on what may happen if Traill is found guilty.
“We will cross that bridge, if that should happen,” he said.
