Article content
A London city councillor’s social media posts about sex workers, the homeless and agencies helping them may be considered controversial, but she didn’t violate city council’s code of conduct, the city’s integrity commissioner has ruled.
Anova, which provides shelter and counselling for abused women, and several homelessness and addictions advocates filed a complaint against Ward 4 Coun. Susan Stevenson over a series of social media posts and comments to the media.
Article content
The complainants alleged the first-term councillor and member of the city’s police board made criticisms that were harmful to members of marginalized communities and undermined public confidence in the ability of the city and other agencies to serve those vulnerable groups.
The integrity commissioner reviewed the social media posts and a transcript from the Craig Needles podcast as part of its analysis that determined Stevenson’s words were “controversial” but don’t breach city council’s code of conduct.
“We do not agree that her comments, statements and posts damage public confidence in the City of London, nor bring into disrepute either the city, or the organizations which serve the homeless, those engaged in sex work or those with substance abuse issues,” the integrity commissioner said in a letter released Monday to Stevenson and the complainants.
“It is fair to recognize that the issue of serving the needs, and responding to the challenges of the homeless population is complex and can be controversial. Her posts do no more than highlight the challenges of finding solutions to what has become a chronic and persistent problem across many communities.”
Share this article in your social network
