Ottawa City Council voted to reprimand but not dock the pay of Coun. Stephanie Plante for social media posts during the debate on Sprung structures. Integrity Commissioner Karen Shepherd ruled Plante violated Section 7 (Discrimination and Harassment) of Ottawa’s Code of Conduct for Members of Council, saying the first-term councillor engaged in “harassment, intimidation and bullying” members of the public on social media. Shepherd recommended Plante’s pay be suspended for three days as punishment for violating the Code of Conduct. However, councillors voted 16 to 8 in favour of a motion from Coun. Glen Gower to receive the integrity commissioner’s report and reprimand Plante for violating Section 7 of the Code of Conduct. Plante “categorically” rejected the findings of the integrity commissioner, saying it was a “curtailment of my freedom of speech. I was engaging in legitimate political debate.” Plante addressed council before the vote on the integrity commissioner’s report “I understand that some of my comments were perceived by certain residents as disrespectful, and I regret if my tone contributed to those feelings. That was never my intent, as the integrity commissioner says so herself,” Plante said. “My goal is to speak clearly about what I saw as an important political issue affecting our communities.” Plante also raised concerns with the integrity commissioner’s investigation. “The commissioner admits that she did not analyze my posts individually, she admits I disclosed no personal information, she provided no case laws that supports treating feelings as a standard for adjudication and she cited no authority that allows an integrity commissioner to substitute feelings for facts,” Plante said. Plante told councillors the integrity commissioner’s findings “rest on how people said they felt.” “Political debate is emotional. People are upset, offended, frustrated over a lot of different things, we deal with this every single day,” Plante said. “Our job is to argue about policy, and people will sometimes disagree strongly.” Shepherd told council she looked at all the social media posts, but the investigation looked at all posts as a whole “in terms of the pattern.” The integrity commissioner said she received formal complaints last year, alleging that, “within the context of the public debate on Sprung structures, Coun. Plante engaged in online harassment and intimidation of residents and community stakeholders.” Shepherd says the formal complaints cited approximately 30 social media posts, with the posts directed at or referring to four witnesses and a local MPP. The report said that Plante responded to one post about the proposed use of the Sprung structure with a meme featuring the caption “Behold a man has arrived to share his manly view.” The report also noted comments on social media between Nov. 8 and 10 after staff said Barrhaven would not be one of the selected sites for a Sprung structure. Shepherd’s report said Plante responded to a user on X who had commented on a comment from “Witness 2,” saying “(Witness 2) has been in (Facebook) groups using the same talking posts as (the local MPP) and (Witness 4). It’s also like they are working together.” The report says there was a thinking emoji at the end of the post. Shepherd concluded Plante contravened the Code of Conduct for council members by engaging in “harassment and intimidation of residents and community leaders on social media.” The commissioner did conclude that Plante did not inappropriately disclose personal information about residents in social media posts. Mayor Mark Sutcliffe told reporters the comments occurred during a “politically charged” debate on Sprung structures, but he felt a reprimand was appropriate for violating the Code of Conduct. “I want to say that I think that a lot of councillors, and myself, spent a lot of time thinking about this and were conflicted by this situation. It’s never comfortable to be in a position where you’re asked to rule on a report on one of your colleagues, and I think there was a lot going on at that time that needs to be taken into account,” Sutcliffe told reporters. “At the heart of it though was, I think, a simple question of whether there was a breach of the code of conduct. The integrity commissioner found that there was. I thought her findings were sufficient to determine there was a breach in the code of conduct.” Sutcliffe said elected officials should “turn the temperature down, not up” during debate on issues. “I think it’s a lesson for all of us that when we engage with the community, we hold ourselves to a higher standard,” Sutcliffe said. “It’s our job to elevate the discussion and keep the discussion focused on the facts and not the people involved.” The posts came as the City of Ottawa explored potential locations for temporary tent-like structures to house asylum seekers. Councillors said locations in Barrhaven, Alta Vista and Orléans had been shortlisted as possible locations. In November 2024, the city announced 1645 Woodroffe Ave., near the Nepean Sportsplex, and 40 Hearst Way, at the Eagleson Park and Ride, would be locations for a newcomer welcoming centre. Last March, the city announced it would no longer build Sprung structures for newcomers in Nepean and Kanata.
