Coun. Stevenson reprimanded for social media posts about homeless Londoners, vows to fight integrity investigation
CTV
There were fireworks at the final city council meeting of 2023 — but it wasn’t the year-end celebratory kind.
There were fireworks at the final city council meeting of 2023 — but it wasn’t the year-end celebratory kind.
On Tuesday, council debated imposing a penalty on Ward 4’s Susan Stevenson for posts on social media platform X that an investigation by London’s Integrity Commissioner determined violated the Council Code of Conduct.
Ten complaints were filed by the public in September after Stevenson posted photos of several homeless individuals accompanied by references to criminal activity and vandalism.
“We find that the photos reflected an invasion of privacy of those homeless individuals,” explained Integrity Commissioner Janice Atwood of Principles Integrity.
The Integrity Commissioner determined that the posts violated rule seven (discreditable conduct) of the Council Code of Conduct that requires council members to treat members of the public appropriately and without abuse, bullying or intimidation.
However, Stevenson used her speaking time during the council meeting to launch a blistering attack on the investigative process.
She asserted the Integrity Commissioner failed to follow the city’s investigation procedures that require formally notifying councillors of a complaint and giving them an opportunity to respond in writing before a determination is reached.
