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Niagara regional council has voted to dock the mayor of West Lincoln, Ont., oneย weekโs pay following an investigation that discoveredย he violated itsย code of conduct by asking a lady in Could if theย COVID-19 vaccine modified her menstrual cycle.
Mayor Dave Bylsma posed the query to Emily Spanton in a non-public Fb message inย Could.
โNot a traditional query to ask an acquaintance, however did you discover any modifications in your interval?โ he requested partially.ย โOnce more it is also none of my enterprise. I respect your particular person and privateness.โ
Spanton beforehand advised CBCย thatย previousย messages with Bylsma had been largely round civic points. She mentioned she discovered the COVID-19 query about her cycleย startling andย invasive, and determinedย to not reply.
โI do not see something that I might say that will flip this right into a productive dialog,โ sheย mentioned on the time.
On Thursday night, council obtained a 19-page report compiled by interim integrity commissioner Michael Maynard following a criticism filed by St. Catharines Coun. Laura Ip on Could 19.
The councillor wrote that asking anybody about their menstrual cycle is โto this point past applicable conduct for an elected official that I do not know the place to start.โ
Bylsma replied in a proper response dated June 7, 2021, that the message was despatched privatelyย and the truth that it was shared publicly was Spantonโs choice.
The mayor added he had apologized inside two days, and prompt Ipโs criticism was an try to make use of the integrity commissionerโs workplace to โsuppress sincere debate.โ
Mayor violated 2 sections of code of conductย
In his evaluation, Maynard described Bylsmaโs query as โalarmingly invasive and arguably insulting.โ
He decided the mayor contravened two areas of the Pursuit of Excellenceย part of the areaโs code of conduct, noting Bylsmaโs โactions had been irresponsible, and likewise appeared to violate a belief relationship with Ms. Spanton.โ
Council voted 29-1 in favour of the integrity commissionerโs advice that Bylsmaโs pay be suspended for seven days.
Solely West Lincoln Coun. Albert Witteveenย voted no.
Councillors are paidย $30,204 per yr, in line with the regionโs website. Which means Bylsma will lose roughly $580.
No precedent as a result of query by no means requested
The mayor had alreadyย confrontedย criticism and received a court summons forย collaborating in an anti-lockdown rally.
That matter stays earlier than the courts. Heย faces a possible wonderful as much as $10,000.
When contacted by CBCย about councilโs choice to dock his pay, Bylsmaย despatched a quick assertion by textual content: โIโll proceed to show vaccine damage and oppose medical apartheid.โ
Bylsmaย expressed comparable sentiments throughout the assembly, alluding to research he mentioned confirmedย impacts of COVID-19 vaccines on girls and drawing particular consideration to a current article within the New England Journal of Drugs.
St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzikย responded, referringย to correspondence in the same journal that said: โOur research discovered no proof of an elevated threat for early being pregnant loss after COVID-19 vaccination.
โI wanted to learn that into the general public area so that folks can see we wonโt simply put out the title of a journal and say it validates what we predict with out really studying the data that was supplied,โ mentioned Sendzik.
Bylsma advised council on Thursday that he made aย โhonestโ and โfullโย apology to Spanton.
Heย added be believes the integrity commissionerโs report confirmed โbiasโ and was โflawed.โ
The mayor additionally took challenge with a number of facets of the investigation, together with that the integrity commissioner was โhanging out into new territoryโ as he couldnโt level to any comparable state of affairs or precedent on which to base his choice.
In the course of the council assembly, Ip fired again, saying Bylsmaโsย problem of its findingsย โcalls into query the sincerity of the apology.โ
As for his level about there being no precedent, sheย had a solution for that too.
โIโd counsel that is as a result of no councillor has ever requested a citizen about their menstrual cycle earlier than.โ
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