Marxists abuse Integrity process to harass opponent.

Vincent J. Curtis

15 Sept 20

A small group of Marxist in Hamilton are supporting two homeless encampments in the downtown of the city.  They emailed city councilors to beg the city not clear the encampments.  One of the councilors sent them a blunt reply.  The Marxists responded by lodging an ethic complaint against him with the city's Integrity Commissioner.

The ethics complaint to the city Integrity Commissioner is a demonstration of why this experiment in extra-democratic processes should be abolished.  It is too subject to abuse.  There are no penalties to complainants who abuse the process.  Integrity complaints are a cudgel available at a whim to disable a political opponent.

A small, closely associated coterie of Marxists, who hide behind the names of alleged organizations,, are trying to foist little bits of chaos and disrespect for the rule of law in the city through homeless encampments.  When Councilor Whitehead addressed them in stern language on the subject of these encampments, the Marxists suddenly went all prissy-Victorian, and pretended offense.  Whitehead was allegedly “disrespectful” - of tramps and hobos.  His email in which he expressed his views was called, “uneducated” and “derogatory”, and consequently subject to an integrity complaint.

Whitehead was engaged as a city councillor on a matter before his committee.  The protections of free speech are particularly strong in those circumstances.  The Integrity Commissioner is obligated to dismiss the complaint out of hand in these circumstances, and ought to take action against those complaining.  This is transparently an effort at a political take-out, and that requires action to protect the process – or get rid of the process entirely.

Writing emails that are “uneducated”, “disrespectful”, and generally in plain language that conveniently offends prissifed-Victorian moral codes complainants don’t’ believe in themselves is the job of honest politicians these days.

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