Addington Highlands Passes Unreasonable Behaviour Policy

Craig Bakay | Nov 15, 2023

Addington Highlands Council approved a Township Unreasonable Behaviour Policy at its regular meeting Nov. 7 in Flinton.

“It’s basically a customer code of conduct,” said Reeve Henry Hogg. “Maybe it’s misnamed.”

Essentially, the document approved outlines general principles for the public to interact with Township staff as well as general remedies available to staff.

The original document was amended to include the following clause from solicitor Greg Dobney:

“The CAO will endeavour to apply restrictions that would reasonably appropriate to address the particular Unreasonable Behaviour at issue while minimizing the impact on the individual’s access to Township services.

“In no case shall an individual be deprived of access to critical or emergency Township services.”

Before the final vote approving the new policy, council allowed three members of the public, Jamie Uson, Gwen Gower, and Marlean McLean, to address the new policy even though they had not contacted the township before the meeting to register as delegates to the meeting.

“My concern with the policy is that the language is so broad so as to be arbitrarily applicable to almost anyone for almost any reason,” said Jamie Uson. “As drafted, it’s impossible not to think this policy won’t have a chilling affect across the community causing community members not to communicate with the Township on matters of concern for fear that they themselves might be labelled unreasonable.”

Uson also called for specifics as to what could be lengthy and/or high volume.

“This document is a legal dog’s breakfast . . . and it is undemocratic.”

Gwen Glover also questioned how unreasonable would be determined and what punishment would be determined.

“Think this one over, there could be repercussions to it,” she said. “This doesn’t make sense the way it’s written.”

“As employers, we have to provide a workplace that’s safe for our employees,” responded Coun. Ken Hook. “This could be a tool that’s applied if necessary. I think people understand the spirit of the policy but they don’t like the language but I think it would be impossible to draft something that would address every possible concept of unreasonable behaviour and so maybe that’s why it has to be a little bit vague.”

Hook then added that “you can assume that any application of this could be challenged in court so I would assume that our staff is going to do a really good job establishing they have a really good case before any application of this.”

“One thing that truly stinks is this policy and you all know it,” said Marlean McLean. “And you should all be ashamed of yourself for wasting the time and money of taxpayers to put this on paper.”

Via email, Joanne Volpe, while seemingly agreeing that more clarification as to what constitutes unreasonable behaviour was needed, did point out that the Ontario Ombudsman’s office already provides guidance to municipalities: “Every municipality should develop and publicize a policy on trespass notices and service restrictions, or include these procedures in a respectful conduct policy. It should provide a mechanism for the affected individual to raise legitimate concerns. A trespass notice should be considered a last resort and should restrict access as little as possible, based on the circumstances” Volpe wrote.

Finally, Joshua Brown, via email, said: “The Council’s policy, in its current form, risks stifling the very dialogue that is essential for a functioning democracy. It’s a move that echoes technocratic tendencies, where governance is reduced to mere management, devoid of public input. This is not just undemocratic; it's a form of neo-colonialism, where power is centralized and the voices of the constituents are marginalized.”

After hearing the delegations, Deputy Reeve Tony Fritsch made a comment in support of the policy, and Reeve Henry Hogg began to make a comment but members of the audience interrupted him, and he did not continue.

The vote on the motion to approve the policy was then passed quickly, with all four council members voting in favour. As the chair of the meeting, Reeve Hogg did not enter a formal vote, simply saying the motion was approved after determining that a majority had been secured

(Editors note. Because Addington Highlands Council meetings are streamed and recorded, the Reeve asks for all council members to vote on every motion instead using a show of hands, whether or not a formal role call vote has been requested)

New signage

Coun. Ken Hook noted that the Township sign shown on CBC (during an item about the Unreasonable Behaviour Policy) wasn’t the most flattering and asked if it could be replaced.

Dep. Reeve Tony Fritsch replied that “it’s a project in the works” pointing out that all of the Township signs are in the process of replacement, a project that began before Hook was elected to this term of Council.

Berm removal on Road 41

Roads and Waste Manager Brett Reavie reported that berm removal on County Road 41 is “about 95 per cent complete” but since it is weather dependent, the remaining 5 per cent (near the south end) will have to wait for the spring. He said other ditching and brushing work is being completed as weather permits.