Dryden, Ont., councillor reprimanded over Facebook comments about deceased person

A Dryden councillor has been removed from a committee and faces a review from the northwestern Ontario city's integrity commissioner after commenting on social media about an Eagle Lake First Nation member who died.

Councillors voted Monday night to remove Ritch Noel from the working circle committee, which is aimed at improving relationships between the city and Indigenous people. They also voted for the integrity commissioner to review Noel's conduct.

Noel had commented on a post in a private Facebook group called Dryden Crime Report. People use the group, which has over 5,000 members, to warn others about suspicious activity in their neighbourhoods.

The post references a person who was allegedly looking in people's yards and vehicles. A comment on the post reads: "McBurglar is back in town, lock your vehicles."

Noel replied to the comment, saying: "not anymore bahaha," an apparent reference to the fact that the person in question had died.

A spokesperson for Ontario Provincial Police's Northwest Region told CBC News that police are investigating a death outside a convenience store in Dryden on June 13, the day the Facebook post was made.

"The investigation is ongoing, but the death is not considered suspicious," Autumn Eadie, regional media and communications officer for the OPP, said in an email to CBC News.

It really will signify to the family and our community that we're ignoring that they're hurt and that offence has been caused.- Mayor Jack Harrison of Dryden, Ont.

The City of Dryden has confirmed the person referenced in the Facebook post was a member of Eagle Lake First Nation.

Noel, a first-term councillor, said in an email to CBC News that he has retained a lawyer and "as such, I have no comment at this time."

In a statement issued June 19, Mayor Jack Harrison said Noel's comments "do not represent the City of Dryden's council nor staff at the municipality."

"My belief is that Coun. Noel's ability to represent the city on the working circle has been severely compromised," Harrison said during the council meeting. "If he remains on the working circle, it really will signify to the family and our community that we're ignoring that they're hurt and that offence has been caused."

Eagle Lake First Nation is an Ojibway community about 25 kilometres southwest of Dryden and is part of Treaty 3.

Chief Bernadette Wabange issued a statement on Friday commending the city's response to the incident.

"Eagle Lake First Nation remains committed to advocating for the rights and well-being [of] those affected and will continue to collaborate in productive dialogue to remove the stigma and challenges related to mental health," the statement says.

"At this time, [we] ask that the public show respect and sensitivity as the family navigates [through] the grieving process."

Tamara Small is an expert in Canadian politics whose research focuses on political communication and digital politics. She is also a political science professor at the University of Guelph.

Small said that seeing a politician facing a reprimand over comments on social media comes as no surprise. She said Facebook is often a forum where people make comments or posts that are not intended for public consumption. 

While people seem to perceive X, formerly known as Twitter, as a more public technology, when it comes to Facebook, they tend to let their guard down, she said.

"Facebook, because of the way it's structured, because you're with 'friends,' because if you're in a private group — those things are hidden to the broader public," Small said. "But … these people are not your friends in any sort of substantive way."

She pointed out that anyone can take a screen shot of messages in a private Facebook group or conversation and share them openly.

Her advice to anyone entering the political sphere is to delete their personal social media accounts immediately and create public accounts geared toward broader audiences.

"That would be my number one advice to people because, again, you're going to be held at a higher standard," she said. "You should always assume that someone's watching."