Recommendations ready for Ford government on councillor harassment, conduct [Video]

Ontario’s integrity commissioner has completed a series of recommendations for how the province can handle harassment and misbehaviour on local councils, Global News has learned, delivering nine suggestions to the premier.

At the beginning of the summer, Ontario Premier Doug Ford wrote to the integrity commissioner asking for advice on how to improve municipal conduct rules after growing pressure to come up with a way to handle harassment on local councils.

“This summer, the premier asked the Integrity Commissioner to provide advice on approaches to improve the standardization of the municipal integrity commissioner framework,” a spokesperson for the integrity commissioner told Global News.

“The Commissioner provided the premier with a report on Sept. 30.”

The issue has bubbled under the surface in the province for years. Councillors have been accused of sexual misconduct in some towns and cities, while a Mississauga councillor was alleged to have keyed a colleague’s car repeatedly.

The City of Pickering has made headlines …