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
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.