It has been 2 years since Brampton’s Integrity Commissioner ruled that Wards 9/10 Councillor Gurpreet Dhillon sexually assaulted a local woman while he was representing the City on an economic development trip in Turkey. Council unanimously imposed the maximum penalty of a 90 day suspension. Dhillon then unsuccessfully appealed the Integrity Commissioners jurisdiction to the Ontario Superior Court. On Friday (Aug 5, 2022), City Council met to discuss recent revelations that the City paid “hush” money as part of a lawsuit filed by Dhillon’s victim. Councillor Dhillon sat through the entire Special Meeting and voted on every motion.
Councillors must declare a conflict of interest and leave the meeting whenever they have a financial interest related to items on the agenda. Voting on motions that could result in council transferring city related costs to Dhillon clearly has financial ramifications for Dhillon. Dhillon and his council enablers recently fired the Integrity Commissioner who’s job it is to assess conflicts of interests, citing high costs. The Councillors and city are now being sued for $3M.
In what should have been a unanimous 9 to 0 decision to be more transparent in what transpired with the settlement, and why city funds were used to cloak Dhillon with protection, all four motions put on the table to address the matter failed on a 5 to 5 vote. Motions can only pass with a majority of votes. Even a simple motion to release Dhillon’s victim from her own non-disclosure agreement if she chooses to, failed on a 5 to 5 vote. Councillors Jeff Bowman, Martin Medeiros, Pat Fortini and Doug Whillans all supported Dhillon by preventing council from taking action. These same councillors were recently found to have illegally passed a motion in May to pre-appoint their friend as a replacement to Councillor Charmaine Williams.
Want to have a say in this matter? Sign the NoHushMoney.ca Petition. Watch our analysis:
