{"id":621494,"date":"2026-04-22T17:34:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T17:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/621494\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T17:34:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T17:34:16","slug":"pickering-mayor-files-complaint-after-lisa-robinsons-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/621494\/","title":{"rendered":"Pickering mayor files complaint after Lisa Robinson’s video"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pickering Mayor Kevin Ashe has filed a formal complaint with the city\u2019s integrity commissioner after Coun. Lisa Robinson published a video questioning findings<\/a> related to the former Kamloops Residential School \u2014 the latest in a long line of controversies involving the Ward 1 councillor.<\/p>\n

Robinson posted a nearly four-minute video titled \u201c215 \u2018Mass Graves\u2019 at Kamloops: Zero Bodies Found After 5 Years \u2014 The Lie Exposed\u201d on her YouTube page on April 9. In it, she repeatedly questions the validity of the findings and the reporting that first emerged in May 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were told a nightmare, and we reacted with horror. Now we know the nightmare was exaggerated, manipulated, and unproven. The real tragedy is the loss of trust, the pain inflicted on everyone and the mischance of honest remembrance,\u201d Robinson said in the video.<\/p>\n

In a statement issued Monday, Ashe said Robinson\u2019s remarks caused harm to Indigenous community members, survivors, and families, calling her comments \u201cdeeply hurtful\u201d and incompatible with the city\u2019s commitment to reconciliation.<\/p>\n

Ashe emphasized that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission documented the systemic abuses of residential schools through testimony from more than 6,500 survivors and witnesses, and that these truths \u201care not matters for political speculation or denial.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mayor confirmed he has filed an official complaint with the integrity commissioner, who will now review the matter independently. Ashe also said the city is in discussions with Indigenous partners about how to support healing and reaffirmed Pickering\u2019s commitment to \u201ctruth, compassion, humility, and friendship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robinson has been sanctioned multiple times in recent years, including a 90\u2011day pay suspension in 2024<\/a> for conduct violations and a prior 60\u2011day suspension in 2023<\/a> for comments deemed transphobic and homophobic.<\/p>\n

\"LisaLisa Robinson is a city councillor for Ward One in Pickering, Ont.<\/p>\n

Robinson pushes back, accuses mayor of misrepresenting her remarks<\/p>\n

In her own statement, Robinson accused Ashe of \u201cdeliberately misrepresenting\u201d her comments and said she has never denied the documented harms of residential schools.<\/p>\n

Robinson argued that her video focused specifically on the 2021 announcement by Tk\u0313eml\u00faps te Secw\u00e9pemc First Nation regarding 215 potential burial sites detected through ground\u2011penetrating radar. She claimed the First Nation\u2019s February 2026 update shows \u201czero confirmed human remains,\u201d and said questioning the evidence is not denialism.<\/p>\n

\u201cReal reconciliation cannot be built on preliminary radar anomalies presented as proven mass graves,\u201d Robinson said, adding that elected officials should not be \u201csilenced\u201d for asking questions.<\/p>\n

She said she welcomes the integrity commissioner\u2019s review, stating, \u201cFacts matter, and Canadians deserve them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The integrity commissioner will now determine whether Robinson\u2019s latest comments breach Pickering\u2019s Code of Conduct. If so, she could face another suspension \u2014 her ninth since 2022.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pickering Mayor Kevin Ashe has filed a formal complaint with the city\u2019s integrity commissioner after Coun. Lisa Robinson…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":621495,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49,48,44],"class_list":{"0":"post-621494","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-canada","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=621494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621494\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/621495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=621494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=621494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=621494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}