Harassment at Barrie City Hall: Roundtable Discussion

Community groups and local activists say the handling of a workplace incident investigation at Barrie city hall points to structural flaws within the municipality’s handling of harassment cases. 

In October, Barrie’s municipal government voted to receive a staff report “concerning a workplace harassment investigation” involving a councillor and a union employee. 

After many closed-door council meetings, the issue was not sent to an external integrity commissioner, and council reached a settlement in December. Along with other structural changes to the reporting and harassment policies, the councillor will undergo city-funded workplace harassment training -- no official timeline or review process is set.

However for many, the resolution raises more questions than it answers. 

“This is not just a city issue,” said Shannon Murree, a Barrie-based realtor who’s been extensively involved in numerous philanthropic organizations and mentorship programs.“It’s already set how it should be: reporting in 12 months, etcetera etcetera, it’s black and white. This was an HR thing. Why it went back to the council -- I don’t know.”

According to a December 21st press release, the issue is resolved: “allegations of procedural irregularities in the handling of the complaint by City staff have now been settled between the City and the employee.” 

However for many like Murree, the fact that so much of the process has been behind close doors is cause for concern. 

“It’s kind of like everything is being swept under the rug,” said Murree, who’s been following the procedures extensively since last year. “If it were me, being an employee there, I’d want to question systems, policies and procedures.”

Victoria Butler, Barrie’s Poet Laureate and former city hall employee, said she was cautioned about harassment while working there. 

There were “warnings about who we were allowed to interact with and who we weren’t,” said Butler. “We’re the ones that are punished, almost, for them being creeps. This sort of thing doesn't surprise me but it drives me insane.” 

She says that the threat of harassment can have consequences for equity across the board.

“Women or anyone in a marginalized position is not going to want to pursue getting involved in this sphere when this is how we are treated,” said Butler. 

Alyssa Wright, who works with Engage Barrie, a community civic action group, said the whole harassment case -- and how it was handled -- reflects a history of structural inaction.

"Just watching the same actions and non-actions, and the same language that seems to repeat itself over and over continues,” said Wright. 

“Any sort of harassment is a bad thing. But what happens that makes the frustration happen is not exclusively what the perpetrator does, it’s what happens around it: the way that the system swoops in to protect the person that probably least needs protecting.” 

A city-issued press release, issued December 21, stated that  “no time did Council vote to suspend, block, or slow down an investigation” into the incident. 

The identity of the complainant or respondent is not publicly stated or known. 

View the full press release by the City of Barrie here.