Mayor of Wilmot reads apology to council after report finds he violated codes of conduct

Wilmot mayor apologizes at meeting From CTV Kitchener’s Krista Simpson: Wilmot Mayor Les Armstrong read an apology at council for a social media post over the summer.

KITCHENER — Township of Wilmot Mayor Les Armstrong addressed his council for the first time Monday night, following a report by the integrity commissioner that found he had violated two codes of conduct.

Councillors met virtually to discuss the investigation by the independent third-party that was launched after Les Armstrong posted a controversial video to his personal Facebook page over the summer.

In June, Armstrong shared a video with a headline that read "white lives matter. BLM (Black Lives Matter) exposed.

"Another view. Interesting," Armstrong wrote when sharing the post.

Armstrong defended the post at first, but later issued an apology in the form of a prepared statement.

The integrity commissioner's report found that his initial action of posting the video and his subsequent apology were both in violation of the township's code of conduct for elected officials and Waterloo Region's code of conduct for members of council.

The report recommended Armstrong present a "sincere apology" to the people of colour in Waterloo Region, acknowledging the offensive nature of the video and the steps he's taken to educate himself since.

Armstrong issued an apology Friday, and read it to council Monday night.

“I want to take this opportunity to apologize to those in our community, specifically the BIPOC in our community of whom my actions, specifically of posting a controversial and offensive video on social media, have hurt,” Armstrong said during the council meeting.

The mayor went on to say that he has also been reflecting on his white privilege.

However, after hearing the apology, Ward 2 Councillor Cheryl Gordijk said it doesn’t go deep enough into acknowledging the pain he has caused.

“One of the more hurtful things that you did besides the post was on your steadfastness not to remove the post before you were called out on it. A forced apology to me as recommended in the in the integrity commissioner’s report is not really necessarily an apology,” Gordijk said during the meeting.

Alim Nathoo was one of the people who filed a complaint about the mayor's actions.

"I did appreciate that he did say that racial profiling does exist within Waterloo Region, I did appreciate that," he said. "For me, I think I can move on."

However another delegate said he hoped the mayor would reach out to him directly. Nigel Gordijk is married to Coun, Gordijk.

"Les Armstrong has been a guest in my home," he said. "There were numerous ways the mayor could contact me if he wanted to. I'm still waiting."

Council voted in favour of a motion that includes asking for a new apology from the mayor, as well as asking him to continue to provide quarterly updates on his racism education.

The motion also called for staff to bring the voices of BIPOC to council permanently and the entire council will also complete anti-racism and equity training.

Armstrong declined an on-camera interview with CTV News. He said he's waiting for guidance on whether what he read on Monday night fulfills what's required in the motion.

With reporting by CTV News Kitchener's Krista Simpson