Van Holst's 'creed of convenience' target of mayor’s complaint to integrity commissioner
“To me, that was a creed of convenience,” Mayor Ed Holder tells CTV News shortly after submitting a formal complaint about Councillor Michael Van Holst to city hall’s integrity commissioner.
Holder takes aim at Van Holst’s promotion of his Order of Freedom, a creed posted online in September which the Ward 1 councillor believes provides a Human Rights exemption to COVID-19 vaccination policies.
Van Holst has twice promoted his creed by speaking at rally’s against COVID-19 vaccination mandates.
“What he did was incited others to follow the creed, to sign up and add thousands to his own list,” explains Holder. “Frankly, I see this as a public health and safety issue too, because as more people use this as an ‘exemption’, it had to be challenged.”
Holder says he tried to avoid filing the complaint by speaking privately with Van Holst.
“He made it very clear to me that this was his perspective, and that he felt the creed was sufficient to have an exemption,” says Holder. “So it was clear that providing logic to this argument wasn’t going to make a difference,”
The Council Code of Conduct includes a requirement that “Members shall seek to serve the public interest by upholding both the letter and the spirit of the laws of the Federal Parliament, the Ontario Legislature, and the bylaws and policies of the Corporation (City of London).”
On Monday, Van Holst told CTV News in a statement that he expects the complaint will be resolved quickly by the integrity commissioner.
“A freedom rally seemed like a good opportunity to speak to people who would be interested in the [creed] website, so I went and read the creed to them,” he added.
City council approved a COVID-19 vaccination policy for council members that is similar to the policy recently implemented for city employees.
It requires an attestation from all 15 members of council that they are either fully vaccinated or have a health or Human Rights exemption.
Potential violations of the policy would be sent to the Integrity Commission for investigation. If a council member was found in contravention, council could impose consequences ranging from a verbal reprimand to a suspension of pay.
Council does not have the authority to remove one of its members.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.