Troubling trends regarding public, private and online harassment, abuse, and personal attacks directed at councillors and County staff are addressed in a new Elect Respect resolution.

Council passed a motion in support of the Elect Respect pledge tabled by Picton councillor Phil St-Jean at its July 22 meeting.

Elect Respect is a grassroots movement developed in 2024 through conversations between Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward and female councillors in the Halton area who call themselves Halton Elected Representatives (HER). Shared experiences of harassment and abuse in public life led to a plan to stand up for a better way forward.

From that conversation came Elect Respect — a commitment to uphold the core values of democratic service, including the right to work free from threats, abuse, or intimidation.

What started as a handful of voices sharing their stories is now a movement. Municipal councils across Ontario are now passing Elect Respect resolutions, calling for the rejection and call-out of targeted harassment, abuse, and personal attacks while fostering of a supportive culture where people of all backgrounds feel safe to run for and hold office.

The resolution notes democracy is healthy when everyone is able to participate fully and safely and contribute to the well-being of their communities. But Ontario’s municipal councillors are dealing with hostile, unsafe work environments and face threats and harassment as a matter of routine.

Down in the gutter

Social media platforms have exacerbated disrespectful dialogue, negative commentary, and toxic engagement, which disincentivizes people, especially women and candidates from diverse backgrounds, from running for office.

One doesn’t have to look too far into the dregs of Meta’s PEC community pages to see these insidious forces at work right here.

Councillor St-Jean cited the University of Calgary’s Municipal Barometer, noting two thirds of Canadian Bipoc municipal candidates and councillors have experienced some form of harassment, either during a campaign or a term in office. More and more councillors across Canada are announcing they won’t seek reelection — and stating why.

“It’s harassment. It’s the way they are being treated publicly, privately and online,” the Councillor said.

Over the last year, Councillor St-Jean and his colleagues have engaged members of the public who demonstrate a keen interest in municipal operations and policy, and the diverse skill sets and backgrounds that could combine to make a good councillor.

“The number one comment I get is, ‘I will never do that.’ They don’t want to subject themselves or their families to the garbage that they see on local Facebook groups,” he said. “They see the atmosphere and they are not comfortable stepping forward. That’s bad for democracy all the way around.”

Mass Departure

Longtime Ameliasburgh councillor Janice Maynard echoed her colleague’s concerns and mentioned she had taken part in democracy workshops designed to encourage women and minorities to engage in municipal politics. After seeing personal attacks on sitting councillors on Facebook, three women withdrew from the process, stating they wouldn’t subject themselves to that kind of abuse.

Picton’s Kate MacNaughton reflected on a recent Healthy Democracies Forum for municipal councillors, and confirmed women councillors are leaving municipal politics in droves due to uncivil discourse, bullying, and feeling unsafe in their roles.

Nor is all of the toxicity coming from outside Shire Hall.

“I haven’t felt as safe this term. This term has been intimidating. There has been suppression of thought and discussion with bullying behaviour,” she said and noted the Elect Respect group advises calling out ugly behaviour when it happens.

“That’s a challenge to us at this table. We’ve seen bullying behaviour that’s not ok.Calling it out needs to be a team approach.”