Two banned residents return to council meeting as Sebben looks to suspend workplace policy

At least one Stratford councillor is calling for the much-maligned respectful workplace policy — used to ban three local residents from city property for three months — to be suspended.

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After putting forth a notice of motion on Monday, Coun. Cody Sebben intends to bring forward a vote at council’s July 22 meeting to do just that.

With the ban ending last week, two of the residents — Barb Shaughnessy and Mike Sullivan — returned as delegations to speak to council in support of Sebben’s upcoming motion. Before starting his presentation, Sullivan asked all councillors to close their laptops after accusing one of reading through an online seed catalogue earlier in the meeting. Sullivan said the city council did not fully understand the implications of the respectful workplace policy when it was approved last year. The policy is “trying to consider voters as (city) employees,” he said.

“The workplace policy as it applies between your employees is probably OK, but it should not apply in the same way to members of the public as voters in your municipality,” Sullivan said.

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In his remarks, Sullivan referenced the case of Bracken V. Fort Erie, where the town had issued a trespass warning against a resident whose staff claimed made them feel unsafe. However, the Court of Appeal ruled in 2018 that Fred Bracken, while confrontational, was not threatening or violent and Fort Erie’s notice violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“He was not engaged in nor did he threaten violence towards anyone. That’s the trigger. That’s the point at which the mayor will act and the police, for that matter. But before that happens. . . we are free to speak and speak our minds. That’s what living in Canada means,” Sullivan said.

“In a free and democratic society, citizens are not to be handcuffed and removed from public spaces traditionally used for the expression of dissent because of the discomfort their protest causes,” he said.

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While many Ontario cities have similar workplace policies, these policies, Sullivan said, do not apply to the public. Some of these cities, he added. actually quote the Appeal Court’s ruling in their policies.

“The manner in which this policy (in Stratford) was implemented has created chaos, was illegally restricting charter rights (and), in turn, giving Stratford a black eye. “A thorough review is necessary before any further damage is done,” he said.

Speaking to the Beacon Herald on Tuesday, Sebben said he had heard from “a lot of people” who have concerns about the policy and its application, and that he shares in those concerns.

“The policy set out to create a better atmosphere and workplace. At least from my opinion, it’s certainly done the opposite of that. The past few months have been very, very tense at council,” he said.

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The situation that has unfolded at city hall since April has led to residents telling Sebben they are worried about raising their disagreement with other unrelated city policies, he said.

“Instead of encouraging engagement in the community, it’s (done) a lot to discourage it. . . . It takes a lot for somebody to get involved in the first place and come and speak to council. On top of that, if you have people who are hearing other people’s experiences with (the policy) and the way it’s been implemented recently, it just discourages people even more,” Sebben said.

Along with suspending the policy, Sebben is looking for it to be reviewed as a way to explore its pitfalls, which included two council meetings and a subcommittee meeting being cut short or outright cancelled before they even began. Sebben was one of two councillors, along with Geza Wordofa, who voted against ending a June 24 meeting early.

“I think there is a need for (the policy). I think the way it is now, it’s my opinion it’s not working the way that I certainly intended it to be put in place,” the councillor said.

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