THUNDER BAY – “There was no conversation and here's our findings.”
That’s the claim put forward by At-large Coun. Rajni Agarwal following council’s decision to explore education sessions that will assist them in their capacity as elected officials.
Agarwal maintains that the appointed integrity commissioner, Principle’s Integrity, failed to interview the remaining members of the Fort William Business Improvement Area board, also known as the Victoria BIA.
“I actually have documentation which proves I wasn’t contacted as part of this investigation,” Agarwal said after the council meeting Monday. “I was sent an email saying that this is the report and we're going to do our investigation.”
In an email to Dougall Media, the integrity commissioner stated: “Because of our obligation to maintain confidentiality on issues relating to our investigation processes, we must allow the report and council's decision respecting the report to speak for themselves.”
Released on March 7, the report indicated that the process included notifying the respondent of the complaints against her and providing adequate information so that she could respond.
It added that anyone who is dissatisfied with the process is welcome to reach out to the Office of the Ontario Ombudsman to discuss available options.
Agarwal stated that there were comments made to her that were offensive, and that she wouldn’t back down when she called people out for what they were saying.
“I don't take kindly to comments that are offensive to those that I represent,” said Agarwal.
“Sometimes my tone is a little bit louder and direct, and some people may think it’s offensive. I’m direct and that's just who I am. I can learn to calm that down a bit. I'll try, but I will still be direct, and I still ask questions and stand for what's right.”
Late last month, council decided to amend the recommendation from Principle's Integrity to remove Agarwal from the board.
The integrity commissioner’s investigation started in Oct. 2023 with a complaint alleging Agarwal was "rude, abrasive and chronically late for meetings, resulting in significant disruptions and causing delays.”
Coun. Agarwal already had her pay docked for 30 days in a separate finding by the integrity commissioner that said she violated the code during a dispute with residents over the summer.
Agarwal was asked if there could be other complaints coming forward.
“Anybody can make a complaint to the integrity commissioner, and the commissioner has the right to decide whether an investigation is warranted. I just think that if the job is done fairly, then it's fine,” Agarwal noted.
“This last one wasn't fair. The one before it was just one video frame of a robust video and that's all they focused on. It wasn’t what it looked like and I don’t believe everything was examined.”
Agarwal mentioned that she isn’t on council because she needs the job but rather “to be a voice to help create better opportunities for our city.”
She added that clarifying conversations may assist in limiting complaints to the integrity commissioner.
“The amount of money that the city spends on the integrity commissioner is significant and might have been saved with a conversation. That's the taxpayer's money,” charged Agarwal.
“If you don’t agree with someone, do you throw them under the bus and take this step? I could have done the same to those members that, I believe, used very discriminatory language but I didn't because I said ‘why should I take city taxpayers' money and spend it on this?’ That doesn't make sense to me.”
City treasurer Keri Greaves provided the financial numbers for utilizing the integrity commissioner in both 2023 and 2024.
The annual allocation is $20,000 with the city spending nearly 25 per cent over their budget last year ($24,806) although it’s not clear, whether that number includes the summer complaint against Agarwal.
So far in 2024 the city has spent $7,693 though Greaves couldn’t say whether that includes the second Agarwal complaint.
According to Krista Power, city clerk, the municipal conflict of interest act dictates that when an integrity commissioner report comes forward, members have to declare a conflict.
“They can speak and are allowed to attempt to influence the outcome. They can't however vote on the sanction. The MCIA has a variety of different rules as it relates to other types of conflicts,” Power noted.
