Whitby mayor clears air on ‘unusual and concerning’ events this week

Whitby Mayor Elizabeth Roy has penned an open letter to her constituents about an “unusual and concerning” series of events this week that has seen a town council meeting adjourned over the conduct of one councillor and another councillor ejected from a regional council meeting two days later over “unacceptable behaviour.”

With still more than a day left in the work week, Roy thanked residents for their “patience” as her council negotiated a week filled with accusations of racism about a mostly ceremonial deputy mayor posting and a bit of political grandstanding.

“All too often, we see a pattern of politicians attempting to distract from poor behaviour, by creating a false narrative,” Roy said. “The allegations brought forward this week are exactly that and have created a sense of unrest on Council and in our community. I know many of you have been following the situation closely.”

“A great deal of false and misleading information has been shared and in situations like this, it can be challenging to separate fact from fiction.”

Whitby Mayor Elizabeth Roy

Monday’s Whitby Council meeting had to be adjourned early after Councillor Chris Leahy claimed his colleague and political ally Steve Yamada had faced “ongoing Anti-Asian racism” that led him to resign his role as deputy mayor in June.

Leahy was told to apologize or leave the chambers. He chose to neither and the meeting was then adjourned.

That evening Leahy accused Roy of holding a “secret meeting” without him, a violation of the Municipal Act.

Both Roy and CAO Matt Haskell issued statements denying the allegations and Roy said Thursday she “welcomes” an investigation into the incident.

As to the claims of racism, Roy called it “baseless” in her statement issued Thursday afternoon.

“The events that led to Regional Councillor Yamada’s resignation had nothing to do with racism, and everything to do with a long pattern of unacceptable conduct … both within and outside of Council. Any suggestion that race played a role in this situation is not only baseless but undermines the values we stand for as a town committed to diversity and inclusion,” Roy said.

“Regional Councillor Yamada has been spoken to about his behaviour on multiple occasions since the beginning of this Council term – by myself and other members of Council without success.”

Whitby councillors Chris Leahy (left) and Steve Yamada with former councillor Deidre Newman

Roy then cited Yamada’s ejection from the regional meeting by Durham Chair John Henry for trying to turn a debate on the homeless crisis into a political discussion of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s carbon tax.

Yamada has been tapped by federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre to carry the party’s colours in the next election.

As a next step in dealing with the allegations and Leahy’s conduct on October 7, Roy said the matter has been forwarded to the Town’s integrity commissioner.

“We have oversight bodies in place to deal with conflict on councils and this is the time to step back and let them do their work,” Roy said. “The majority of Whitby Council is determined to address these matters in a transparent manner and carry on the business of the Town in the way our residents expect and deserve.”