![\"Text](\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/a\/assets\/texttospeech.svg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Listen to this article<\/p>\n
Estimated 4 minutes<\/p>\n
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n
New details are emerging about a March 10 \u201cverbal exchange\u201d that prompted a code of conduct complaint<\/a> against St. John\u2019s Ward 4 Coun. Tom Davis.<\/p>\n On June 2, St. John\u2019s city council voted to suspend Davis with pay for 30 days after an investigation found that his comments created a “poisoned” work environment.\u00a0<\/p>\n In an interview published by online news publication AllNewfoundlandLabrador on June 4, Davis said the \u201cverbal exchange\u201d happened when he mentioned an episode of the popular interview podcast, Diary of a CEO.\u00a0<\/p>\n In an interview with CBC News, St. John\u2019s Councillor-At-Large Lynn Hammond said Davis brought up an episode featuring author and self-described psychotherapist Erica Komisar.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the episode, which runs over two hours, Komisar argues that mental disorders in children, like ADHD, are tied to a mother’s physical presence over the first three years of a child’s life.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI heard him raise these comments in a context that, at that moment, I felt that he was presenting them as factual information,\u201d Hammond said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hammond said Davis made the comments before a regular council meeting, during a casual conversation about babies and sleeping.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt that he was presenting it as factual information. And so I told him it was harmful and I asked him to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n Hammond wouldn\u2019t say what Davis said in response \u2014 but she said she chose to leave the room.<\/p>\n Davis declined multiple interview requests.<\/p>\n Hammond said Deputy Mayor Ron Ellsworth offered to make a code of conduct complaint. While speaking with CBC News, Ellsworth supported Hammond\u2019s account of the incident.<\/p>\n \u201cThe issues were not directed at me, but I felt that they needed to be addressed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The summary of the investigation also states that separately from the March 10 incident, Davis made offensive comments which failed to respect the opinions of others and comments that questioned the competency of staff.<\/p>\n Davis has apologized publicly and agreed to undergo training. His suspension ends in July.<\/p>\n Hammond, meanwhile, said she isn’t trying to vilify Davis, and hopes council can move on from the issue. <\/p>\n Inaccurate claims<\/p>\n During the episode \u2014 titled \u201cChild Attachment Expert: We’re Stressing Newborns & It’s Causing ADHD! Hidden Dangers Of Daycare!\u201d Komisar claims that a rise in mental disorder diagnoses in children is directly tied to increasing numbers of women entering the workplace in the mid-20th century.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf you really look there was an uptick in mental illness in children going back decades, and it had everything to do with the shift in society towards self-centeredness, towards narcissism, towards individualism, towards \u2018me me me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n CBC News asked Dr. Janine Hubbard, a registered psychologist who specializes in childhood development, to review the episode. Hubbard pushed back against Komisar\u2019s claims.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is nothing you can do as a parent that is going to cause your child to have a neurodevelopmental disorder. I can say that emphatically,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Komisar also claims putting young children in daycare triggers cortisol \u2014 stress hormones \u2014, leading to problems later in life. Hubbard said that claim isn\u2019t accurate either.<\/p>\n \u201cCortisol exposure and then solving the issue actually provide skills that are going to be really, really necessary as a child continues to grow up.\u201d<\/p>\n Hubbard said it can be difficult to tell what information is accurate \u2014 especially when it seems like a so-called expert has done their homework.<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s often, you know, a\u00a0grain of truth or a little bit of the research that is accurate, but then either how it is interpreted or the context within which it is explained isn’t accurate,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n She recommended turning to sources like the Canadian Psychological Association for information backed up by research.<\/p>\n Download our\u00a0free CBC News app<\/a>\u00a0to sign up for push\u00a0alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our\u00a0daily headlines newsletter here<\/a>. Click\u00a0here to visit our landing page<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":753454,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[49,48,75],"class_list":["post-753453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753453","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=753453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753453\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/753454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=753453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=753453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=753453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782127150_834_default.jpg\")
St. John’s Councillor-at-Large Lynn Hammond says she believes Davis presented harmful comments as fact. (Katie Breen\/CBC)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782127150_119_default.jpg\")
Janine Hubbard is a registered psychologist. (Darrell Roberts\/CBC)<\/p>\n