Kincardine, Ont., councillor 'appalled' by male colleague's comments files integrity commissioner complaint

A town councillor in Kincardine, Ont., has filed a complaint with the municipality's integrity commissioner after a recorded council meeting during which a male councillor could be heard calling her a derogatory term she said left her "shocked and appalled."

At Monday's meeting in the Lake Huron community, councillors debated a plan to close a downtown street to traffic and hold an outdoor market on the pedestrianized street during summer weekends.

A motion to open the promenade market was defeated at a previous meeting, and Coun. Laura Haight introduced a motion to hold the market on Sundays after gathering input from the business improvement area. 

Coun. David Cuyler began to question Haight about why the motion had changed the days the promenade would open.

As Haight began to explain, Cuyler started to snicker. 

Mayor calls for calm

"Do you want the answer Dave or are you going to laugh?" Haight asked. 

"I'll laugh if I like," Cuyler responded. 

At this point, Mayor Gerry Glover, chair of the meeting, intervened and called for calm. 

"It's my minimum expectation that we observe the appropriate decorum and the code of conduct," Glover told council. 

The mayor warned councillors he'd have them on a "short leash" for the rest of the debate and wouldn't hesitate to adjourn the meeting if the tone of the discussion remained nasty. 

Haight resumed her explanation, but things continued to devolve. As the camera turns away to a councillor joining the meeting via video conference, Cuyler can be heard saying to Haight: "You're a f--king c--t."

A point of order is called and the mayor asks: "Do we have control here?" 

Cuyler then says, "I'm sorry."

The mayor asks if the apology is directed to Haight or if it's "In general." 

Cuyler says: "It's in general." 

The debate continues for a few minutes and Glover appears to confer with the clerk, then calls for a five-minute recess "so that we're moving forward here in the right direction in terms of apologies and comments that have been overheard, and said and reported."  

When he returns, Glover reminds councillors about turning their microphones off when others are talking. "I would just offer that friendly advice," he says, and the meeting resumes.

"Shocked and appalled was how I felt," said Haight in an interview with CBC News on Wednesday regarding Cuyler's comments. 

Cuyler says comment was directed to 'myself'

When called early Wednesday by CBC News, Cuyler initially declined to comment on the incident. He described his comments during the council meeting, which are captured at the 16-minute mark of the Rogers TV broadcast of the meeting, as "hearsay." 

However, on Wednesday evening, in an emailed statement, he said the derogatory comment in question "was not directed to anyone other than myself."  

"I sincerely apologize to the entire community and to all impacted by my actions. It was not my intention to offend or discriminate," he wrote. "I was frustrated with myself for personal reasons when I openly commented to myself."

He also maintained he's dedicated to his colleagues, the municipality of Kincardine and its citizens, and wouldn't "willingly participate or directly disrespect this community."

Haight said she didn't want to comment further about what Cuyler was recorded as saying during the council meeting, as she didn't want to interfere with the integrity commissioner's investigation. 

She did, however, say she's worried it's the type of comment that could discourage other women from becoming involved in politics. Municipalities across Ontario will hold local elections on Oct. 24. 

"There's a chilling effect that language like that has on women when they put their name forward to run for elected office," said Haight, who has served on council since 2006. "Women represent 50 per cent of the population and we're only 20 per cent of elected officials. That's a problem in my mind. We're subject to abuse that our male colleagues don't get. It's unfortunate that in 2022, these things still occur," she said.

Resident criticizes response

Airianna Murdoch-Fyke, who lives in Kincardine, watched the meeting and believes Cuyler should resign from council.  

"It was a disgusting display of bigotry and sexism," she said. "I don't think that word or that phrase should ever be used anywhere and I don't think it should be used by an elected official. 

Murdoch-Fyke said Glover also should have done more during the meeting to admonish Cuyler for his comments. 

"There's no situation where it's OK for a man to stay silent when someone uses that word against a woman," she said. "He just reminded councillors to make sure their mics are off and I don't think that's an appropriate response." 

Calls to Glover for comment were not returned on Wednesday. 

Haight's complaint could result in a censure against Cuyler, though the integrity commissioner does not have the power to remove him from office.