Toronto integrity commish recommends docking Josh Matlow 10 days pay over tweets
Council does not have to follow the recommendations
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An integrity investigation into tweets by Toronto Councillor Josh Matlow last year about city staff has recommended he be reprimanded and docked 10 days pay.
In a report to next week’s meeting of city council, Integrity Commissioner Jonathan Batty says he found that Matlow, who has announced he’ll run to be mayor of Toronto, had violated the Code of Conduct for members of council.
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The commissioner notes two previous integrity reports concluded the councillor had breached the rule for respecting staff.
“Councillor Matlow has escalated his criticism of specific city staff to social media and, in the case of (former interim city manager Tracey) Cook, has engaged in subsequent reprisal,” the report says.
Council does not have to follow the commissioner’s recommendations.
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Matlow said in a statement in response to the report that elected representatives have a responsibility to put residents first.
“That includes taking a stand when encampment clearings are done violently, advocating for park bathrooms and water fountains to be open and functioning, and demanding that billion-dollar projects are never approved based on misleading figures,” Matlow said.
“The integrity commissioner has concluded that council should reprimand me for speaking out on these issues through two social media posts I shared with residents.”
According to the report, former city manager Chris Murray made a complaint after Matlow tweeted last June 16 about information the councillor received from the general manager of parks, forestry and recreation.
“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,” Matlow tweeted.
The report says a second complaint was made by Cook regarding a July 19 tweet about her promotion to interim city manager.
“I believe the mayor & 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,” Matlow tweeted.
The commissioner found that subsequent criticism of Cook by Matlow at a committee amounted to reprisal.
Matlow said in his statement that the evidence supports his position that Torontonians could not access public washrooms despite staff claims.
His post about Cook explained to residents why he was the sole member of council to oppose her appointment to interim city manager, which he based on prior actions and support for the approach to park encampment clearings, Matlow said.
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