Whitby councillor’s allegations of racism gain support and condemnation

Ajax Regional Councillor and liaison to Durham’s Anti-Racism Task Force Sterling Lee has condemned his colleague’s allegations of racism within Whitby’s council. Meanwhile, the centre of these allegations Regional Councillor Steve Yamada has come out in support of them.

In the last Whitby town council meeting, delegates and councillors debated recent changes to the process of appointing the deputy mayor. Previously, the position rotated through the town’s four regional councillors in order of their vote counts in the last election.

This process had been in place since 1988 but the town felt it was time for an update. During Councillor Steve Yamada’s tenure in the position last spring, this council changed this process to appointment by the Mayor and confirmation by council. Yamada resigned for the Deputy Mayor position following the change.

Mayor Elizabeth Roy tapped local councillor Niki Lundquist to take the job. During discussion around Lundquist’s confirmation councillor Matt Cardwell called Lundquist a “wonderful choice” for the role given her focus on decorum. He believed council “lost track” of that decorum over the last year.

Councillor Chris Leahy, a longtime Yamada ally who earlier got into heated exchanges with Roy, disagreed. He described Lundquist’s selection as a “patronage appointment.”

However, Leahy’s comments quickly veered away from the new appointment process and into grievances about Yamada’s treatment as Deputy Mayor. He argued Yamada was not given his due respect in the position.

He described the treatment as a series of “microaggressions” meant to undermine Yamada’s place. “I am calling out members of council for treating councillor Yamada in a different manner than those of us who aren’t of an Asian background.” (Yamada is ethnically Japanese.)

The accusation led to another heated exchange between Leahy and Roy who demanded an apology for the allegations of racism. Leahy refused to apologize or retract his comments and then refused to leave the chamber when Roy expelled him. Yamada himself sat silently beside Leahy.

Council took a five-minute recess to clear their heads and on their return adjourned the meeting when Leahy again refused to apologize. After the meeting, Leahy publically accused Roy and six other unnamed councillors of meeting during the recess which he believed was a violation of the Municipal Act.

The town has rejected this characterization of events saying “the business of Council was not materially advanced” during the recess. Roy later condemned Leahy’s behaviour.

“I have zero tolerance for unparliamentary language being used on the Council floor. This kind of behaviour undermines the public’s trust with local government,” she said, “making these very serious and unfounded accusations goes against our Council Code of Conduct. Which is why I was so shocked that a member of Council would insinuate that race has anything to do with making decisions around the Council Table.”

She later added, “I am deeply alarmed that a councillor would make such an egregious allegation against myself, fellow councillors and members of Town staff, without any evidence in support,” she continued, “The issue at hand, which Councillor Leahy is attempting to distract from, is his completely inappropriate accusations and behaviour, which undermine the public’s trust in local government.”

This is not the first major controversy around Leahy’s comments. During the last council term under former Mayor Don Mitchell, Leahy made a insulting comment about a fellow councillor while unaware his microphone was one.

On Oct. 9, Lee, who is also Asian-Canadian, also condemned Leahy’s actions and comments. Lee has been a longtime supporter of the “Stop Asian Hate” movement born during the COVID-19 pandemic and has served as the first council liaison to the Durham Region Anti-Racism Taskforce.

“As an Asian-Canadian, hate is something I know,” Lee said, “In a time of polarizing politics, we must do better than to brazenly use someone else’s ethnicity as an example of Anti-Asian hate or bias.”

“Accusations of that magnitude must consider the real pain and fear experienced by many in our communities,” he continued, “Any attempt to manipulate this term for political gain diminishes the gravity of this issue and disrespects the lived experience of those affected by racism and xenophobia.”

“We cannot take away essential conversations about equity and justice by individuals seeking to advance personal grievances and agendas,” Lee said.

Conversely, Yamada broke his silence in support of Leahy calling him an “ally.” He said, “It is true. This council has treated me differently regarding how I was addressed when I was Deputy Mayor. No other Deputy Mayor has been treated like that, and I appreciate being allowed a brief moment to express why my privilege as a member of council has been infringed.”

In his statement, Yamada noted Japanese people have faced a history of discrimination, particularly during the Second World War. He said the same parliament he’s running to sit in as a Conservative in the next election “stripped my grandparents of everything. They lost their home, their business,
their fishing boats, and, worst of all, their freedom. Their freedom was stripped from them because of their race.”

Following the Pearl Harbour attack in 1941, Canada joined the United States in rounding up their Japanese population. Roughly 22,000 people were relocated into camps. The government stole and sold much of their property. Japanese citizen did not get their freedom of movement back until 1949.

“When this was happening, no one spoke up. No one spoke truth to power. No one stood between them and the people who came in the darkness of night to rip
them from the foundations of their lives and put them in a Canadian internment camp. But it didn’t happen overnight,” Yamada continued.

“It happened slowly, while the drumbeat of aggression and propaganda grew louder and louder so that eventually, any person making the argument for humanity and decency was like a whisper in the face of the drumbeat that turned into loud cannons of hate and discrimination.”

“I want to suggest that Councillor Leahy’s comments yesterday were an even match against the cannons of microaggression towards me. Maybe my grandpa and great-grandparents are looking down and wishing they had an ally like Councillor Leahy in their time of need.”

“To be clear, I don’t know what the motives of councillors were, and frankly, I don’t care. My point of privilege, is that it is important that this council treat every councillor and the next Deputy Mayor better than they treated me. That is my wish for this body. Decency and fairness demand that we do. The residents who elected us demand it, too,” Yamada concluded.

A second meeting was held on Oct. 9 to conclude the previously adjourned business.