Ottawa city council will reprimand but not suspend the pay of Rideau-Vanier Coun. Stéphanie Plante after an integrity commissioner report found she harassed and intimidated residents using memes and emojis during contentious online debate last year over a city plan to house asylum seekers.
“Political debate is emotional. People are upset, offended, frustrated over a lot of different things. Our job is to argue about policy, and people will sometimes disagree strongly,” Plante said Wednesday at the council meeting where her colleagues took the issue to a 16-8 vote.
The city’s integrity commissioner, Karen Shepherd, investigated complaints into the councillor’s conduct largely involving four unnamed “witnesses” and a local MPP. She found Plante contravened the city’s code of conduct through “bullying and intimidation” of residents in a series of social media posts made last year.
Shepherd recommended council dock Plante’s pay for three days, a punishment Plante called “punitive,” not “proportionate.”
The complaints arose from animated online discussions during debate over whether the city should build newcomer reception centres in tent-like facilities.
Plante was in favour of the plan, arguing the structures would alleviate the strain on Ottawa’s existing and overloaded shelters.
Use of ‘manly view’ meme pejorative, report finds
Shepherd’s investigation could not substantiate one allegation against Plante — that she had inappropriately disclosed personal information about residents. But it found she had “on a balance of probabilities” contravened the code of conduct by harassing and intimidating residents.
In one instance, after one of the witnesses posted online about the structures, Plante responded with a meme with the caption: “Behold, a man has arrived to share his manly view.”
The poster was offended by the meme, finding it pejorative and inappropriate, Shepherd wrote in her report. In a footnote, the report cited the website Know Your Meme to explain the meme means “to reveal one’s own weaknesses.”
Plante’s colleagues on Ottawa city council voted to accept the integrity commissioner’s report, but not to penalize the councillor by docking her pay. (Jean Delisle/CBC)
Plante told Shepherd, however, that the meme was intended to convey the witness was commenting beyond their knowledge and that they were incorrect about the proposed uses of the reception centres.
Another complaint pointed to Plante’s use of a thinking face emoji in a post where she suggested the witnesses were working in concert.
‘Tone is not the same as abuse’
At Wednesday’s council meeting, Plante grilled Shepherd over the findings of the report.
“As a whole, my posts did not contain abusive language. That means there was no threats, no insults, no profanity, nothing that meets the ordinary threshold of abuse, bullying, intimidation. Instead, she criticizes my tone,” Plante said.
“Tone is not the same as abuse or bullying.”
Repeatedly throughout the questioning, Shepherd responded by saying her report “stands” and refused to expand or elaborate on her findings beyond the contents of the report.
Councillors moved two motions related to the report.
River Coun. Riley Brockington moved a motion that would have simply received the report, clearing Plante of wrongdoing and discipline. Stittsville Coun. Glen Gower then moved a separate motion to receive the report and formally reprimand Plante for her conduct, but not to impose the recommended penalties.
Councillors, plus Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, voted in favour of the reprimand.
Sutcliffe said he and other councillors spent a lot of time thinking about the situation and were conflicted about how to respond.
“I have a lot of respect and understanding for the position that councillor Plante felt she was in that the time,” Sutcliffe said, calling the debate on the temporary shelters “politically charged.”
Ultimately, Sutcliffe agreed with the integrity commissioner’s finding that Plante had breached the code of conduct but said he felt a reprimand was the proper response.
Brockington said he did not believe Plante’s conduct met the bar for investigation at all.
Citing Shepherd’s public 39-page report, Brockington added: “I don’t believe the matter needs to go any further.”
Plante said she is speaking with her lawyer about next steps, such as an appeal to Superior Court.