Rino Bortolin issues apology for 'rape' comment during first meeting in new city hall

The new era for Windsor's city council came with a long-awaited apology.

During the first live-streamed council meeting, Coun. Rino Bortolin apologized for the "rape" comment he made in the media in October.

"I should have not have made that comment. I'm sorry," he said.

This is the first time the city councillor and provincial Liberal Windsor West candidate has apologized under formal motion. City council voted 7-1 — with Bortolin unable to vote — in favour of an apology back in May.

"[I] just could not reconcile how a council could spend minutes deciding to spend millions of dollars on Christmas lights while taking months and months to install a few, simple alley lights," Bortolin said Monday.

Bortolin takes no issue with the council's request for an apology, but finds another issue far more compelling.

"When council voted to accept the integrity commissioner's report, they voted to accept the reasons in that report," he said. "Council voted to accept a document that would prefer councillors toe the line instead of standing up for their constituents."

He considers the ruling to be an "anti-democratic sentiment" which limits political debate. Bortolin said he filed an application last week for a judicial review of the integrity commissioner's report.

"If the integrity commissioner's report is allowed to set the parameters for political discussion in Windsor, we will all be poorer for it," he said.

'Sorry, not sorry'

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said there was never a barrier for Bortolin to install alley lights and referred to his apology as an instance of "sorry, not sorry."

"He signed a document and agreed to the Code of Conduct ... and there was no issue with the way it was framed or written until he was called into task for one of his comments. Now, he has an issue with it."

The Windsor mayor said Bortolin had ward funds of almost $74,000 when he took office in 2015 and committed $12,000 for security lights in alleys and parks.

"He's framing it that the city was stopping him and he's the little guy being held down ... He's had money all along that he's been able to use to install lights and alleys."

Dilkens added the city has policies for installing street lights or sidewalks — but not for alley lights.