By Clint Fleury, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Coun. Rajni Agarwal has been docked 15 days’ pay after the city’s integrity commissioner found she violated council’s code of conduct.

In a 9-1 vote, council has decided to accept the recommendation in the city’s integrity commissioner’s report, which found the outgoing at-large councillor had engaged in an ongoing pattern of abusive conduct toward city staff.

Couns. Albert Aiello, Mark Bentz, Kasey Etrini, Andrew Foulds, Trevor Giertuga, Brian Hamilton, Greg Johnson, Kristen Oliver, and mayor Ken Boshcoff voted in favour of the recommendation, while coun. Dominic Pasqualino was the only holdout voting to oppose.

Couns. Micheal Zussino and Agarwal were absent from the meeting.

Agarwal, however, sent a mass email to council members and staff earlier in the day, which Foulds read in full during Tuesday night’s meeting.

In her email, Agarwal requested that council pass the commissioner’s recommendation “without debate, questioning or answering.”

“Out of profound respect for both this outgoing council concluding its work and the incoming council preparing to take office, it is my firm belief that public resources and our remaining council hours are best preserved for the city’s forward transition,” Foulds said, reading Agarwal’s email.

Boshcoff said the report is “one heck of a way to finish off a term” before saying he would honour Agarwal’s request.

“We have an analysis and study by an impartial qualified authority, who has reviewed these matters in considerable detail. And in summary, has made what they believe to be a fair decision. In respect of the wishes of Councillor Agarwal, I would think that it may be best for us to vote on this matter and conclude it tonight,” he said.

Bentz called the report a teachable moment, saying the public holds council to a higher standard.

“I think the public expects that ethically, professionally, we have to be respectful, particularly with regard to employees. Our words can be very impactful. We don’t deal with employees on a daily basis. So, if there are some sorts of events that are not very positive, it can really have a detrimental effect,” Bentz said.

All of the discussion on sanctioning Agarwal was procedural in nature, with Giertuga asking a question on why the city moved up the date of the report from the regular city council meeting on Nov. 10 to a special council meeting on Nov. 3 and whether there was a legal framework to make Agarwal’s suspension of pay retroactive, covering a period where the council is still performing duties as the end of the current term approaches.

Principals Integrity’s senior commissioner Jeffrey A. Abrams changed its recommendation from 30 days to 15 days due to the limited amount of time left in the term.

He said the 30-day suspension recommended was under the assumption that Agarwal would be re-elected. Now that is no longer the case, there is only one pay period left until the end of her term.

“We are advised that a maximum of 15 days’ pay is available to be withheld, up to and including the last day of the current term,” Abrams says in the memorandum sent to council.

Abrams said his schedule would not allow him to commit to the Nov. 10 meeting and the municipal act only allows suspension of pay “in respect of his or her services as a member of council.”

Giertuga said council has a duty to speak to staff respectfully, but also has an obligation to ask questions in a respectful manner.

This is the third time Agarwal was investigated by the integrity commissioner during her term on council.

The first was in 2023, after raising her middle finger during a confrontation, resulting in a 30-day pay suspension.

A second report in 2024 examined her conduct on the Fort William BIA board, which resulted in council having to commit to conflict-resolution training.

Source: TBNewsWatch.com