Protests greet Chiarelli inside, outside council chamber
Joanne Chianello | CBC News | Posted: December 12, 2019 8:35 PM | Last Updated: December 12, 2019
Beleaguered councillor's appearance Wednesday comes amid mounting calls for his resignation
Protests both inside and outside the council chamber greeted Coun. Rick Chiarelli as he arrived for Wednesday's budget meeting, his second appearance at city hall since allegations of inappropriate behaviour first emerged in September.
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Members of the public — and a few members of council — have called for Chiarelli to apologize and even resign over allegations he harassed former staffers and job applicants, including asking some if they'd be willing to go braless to work events.
Chiarelli has denied all allegations, blaming his accusers of a "mob mentality."
Wednesday's protests began even before the council meeting, when protesters hung bras and messages of support in trees outside city hall.
When Mayor Jim Watson called the last council meeting of the year to order at 10 a.m., most councillors refused to sit. By midday, 12 councillors remained standing.
They all took their seats after Chiarelli left the meeting around 12:30 p.m., before the budget vote was taken.
Meanwhile, in the public gallery, 15 people wearing T-shirts with "#Resign Rick" written on them stood in silent protest. One young man held a sign that read: "I don't have a bra. Rick, you hiring?" One woman wore a strapless bra over her top.
After about half an hour, the protesters marched into the foyer outside the council chamber where they chanted: "Hey hey, ho ho, Rick Chiarelli has got to go!"
Veronique Prevost, vice-president of Unifor Local 6004, helped organize both the protest and an online petition calling for Chiarelli to resign, which had nearly 1,300 signatures as of noon Wednesday.
"It's important to send a message of support to the 13 women who came forward, that we believe them," Prevost told reporters.
"What we'd like now, to begin with, is an apology from Mr. Chiarelli, and we need him to resign."
She said the protestors "feel support" from the councillors who stood during the meeting, but they want to see stronger action from city hall on protecting political staffers from harassment.
"This is our first step," Prevost said. "We're not backing down. You'll be seeing more of us."
Watson has promised a review of hiring practices and treatment of councillors' staff. The city clerk's office is expected to report back to council about the issue in March.
After leaving the council chamber, Chiarelli spoke briefly with reporters in the Lisgar Street parking area outside city hall, and said he had to leave because he wasn't feeling well.
"I have to go now, I'm just not very good," Chiarelli said. "I'm not supposed to be here. That's about the best I could do."
The College ward councillor had asked for an indefinite leave of absence, citing health reasons, including that he had fainted in October, had to be brought to hospital and was undergoing cardiac evaluation. Council denied his request for leave in October, which means Chiarelli had to show up to council before the end of November, or lose his seat.
Asked Wednesday to elaborate on his health, Chiarelli said only that he has provided a medical certificate that has "been misrepresented by the media."
He added he expected to suffer a "bit of a setback" for the next day or so, presumably from the effort of returning to council prematurely. He said that although his health is "not very good right now," as it improves he plans to do "a bit more" work.