Toronto Coun. Matlow could be docked 10-days pay for breaking council’s code of conduct

A report from Toronto’s integrity commissioner says mayoral candidate and councillor Josh Matlow violated council’s code of conduct for criticizing two city staff members on Twitter.

In the 51-page report, which was released on Friday, Integrity Commissioner Jonathan Batty said he received two “complaints” about the Toronto-St. Paul’s councillor made by city staff under the “Code of Conduct for Members of Council.”

The first complaint was made by former city manager Chris Murray about a tweet from Matlow dated June 16, 2022, which accuses Janie Romoff, general manager of Parks, Forestry and Recreation, of lying about opening public washrooms in the spring of that year.

“I don’t appreciate being lied to. Nor should you. All park bathrooms were not opened by May 24 this year. That’s unquestionably untrue,” the tweet from Matlow stated, commenting about information he received from Romoff.

The second complaint was made by then-interim city manager Tracey Cook after she was appointed, over a tweet from Matlow on July 19, 2022, which implied she was the wrong person for that role. Matlow was the only councillor to vote against the appointment.

“I believe the mayor and council chose the very wrong person to serve our city as Acting City Manager. I refuse to ignore Tracey Cook’s decisions to omit facts regarding SmartTrack, and her approach to the violent encampment clearings. I can’t support this choice in good conscience,” the tweet from Matlow stated.

Batty said the investigations were terminated on Aug. 19, 2022, due to the municipal election in the fall but resumed after election day on Oct. 24, 2022.

While Batty did clear Matlow of some allegations, he did conclude that his conduct toward Romoff violated Article XII (Conduct Respecting Staff) and Article XIV (Discreditable Conduct) of the code of conduct.

The integrity commissioner also said while Matlow’s behaviour toward Cook did not violate Article XII (Conduct Respecting Staff), it did violate Article XIV (Discreditable Conduct) and Article 17 (Reprisals and Obstruction).

“I stand by my comments,” Matlow told CityNews when asked for his reaction to the integrity commissioner’s findings.

“There seems to be a fallacy here that only politicians are political. The reality is there are times, not all the time … but there are times when that line is blurred, and when city staff do take actions that are in the interest of whether it be the mayor’s office or sometimes their own. When they provide evidence-based advice we should support that, but when it doesn’t make sense I say it out loud,” he said.

In a statement issued after the report was released earlier in the day, Matlow said he believes elected officials should put residents they serve first.

With regards to the June 16 tweet, Matlow said he was questioning a claim made by the general manager of Parks, Forestry and Recreation that park bathrooms had been opened by May 24, 2022.

“Evidence provided by Torontonians who themselves couldn’t access park bathrooms demonstrated that this claim was false. In fact, there weren’t even signs indicating why many bathrooms were out of service – they just weren’t open.”

With respect to the second tweet on July 19, Matlow said, “I explained to residents why I was the sole vote on council opposing the appointment of Tracey Cook as the Acting City Manager. I could not support her appointment based on her prior actions, including knowingly sharing inaccurate information about SmartTrack ridership data and her support for the violent approach to encampment clearings, which today the Ombudsman found was contrary to the City’s pledge to a human rights approach.”

Back in 2018, Matlow receiving a reprimand for similar violations.

This time around, Batty recommended Matlow’s pay be suspended for 10 days. The report will be reviewed at a council meeting next week, at which time councillors will decide whether to adopt the findings of the integrity commissioner and follow through with the recommendations.

Earlier this week, Matlow, known as a veteran progressive councillor and critic of former mayor John Tory, confirmed he would be running in the June mayoral byelection, set for June 26.

With files from Mark McAllister and Mike Visser of CityNews