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Elected P.E.I. Councillor Challenges Being Suspended and Fined From Elected Job for A Sign Critical of Residential School Hysteria
Voters’ choice is under attack by woke elected bodies. It’s happened to at least two school trustees in Ontario and others in Alberta and Manitoba. The elected official makes a statement the leftists on council or the school board don’t like and they suspend him, thus denying the voters the services of the person THEY hired. Only the voters, at the next election, should be able to dismiss an elected official. The latest example is Murray Harbour Councillor John Robertson in P.E.I. The Canadian Press (February 23, 2024) reports: “Between late September and early October last year, coinciding with the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the councillor displayed a sign on his property with the message, “Truth: mass grave hoax” and “Reconciliation: Redeem Sir John A.’s integrity.” The thought police on council nuked him. “The councillors then decided to impose a $500 fine and suspend him from his municipal post for six months. Robertson, elected in November 2022, was also removed as chair of the maintenance committee and ordered to write an apology to the mayor, council and the Indigenous community.” To his credit, Councillor Robertson has taken the matter to court and is seeking judicial review, arguing that the other councillors’ actions infringed on his right to freedom of speech, expression and belief. — Paul Fromm
P.E.I. councillor punished for posting sign questioning Indigenous unmarked graves seeks judicial review
Murray Harbour Coun. John Robertson claims fellow councillors exceeded their authority and violated his Charter rights by fining and suspending him
Author of the article:
The Canadian Press
Michael MacDonald
Published Feb 23, 2024 • 3 minute read
A makeshift memorial is seen outside the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in Kamloops, B.C., after the possible discovery of 215 unmarked graves on the property in May 2021.Photo by Cole Burston/AFP via Getty Images/File
CHARLOTTETOWN — A village councillor in Prince Edward Island is asking a court to quash sanctions imposed on him after he displayed a sign on his property questioning the existence of unmarked graves at former residential schools.
In documents filed last week with the P.E.I. Supreme Court, Murray Harbour Coun. John Robertson claims fellow councillors exceeded their authority and violated his rights on Nov. 18, 2023, when they decided he had breached the council’s code of conduct.
The councillors then decided to impose a $500 fine and suspend him from his municipal post for six months. Robertson, elected in November 2022, was also removed as chair of the maintenance committee and ordered to write an apology to the mayor, council and the Indigenous community.
The councillor’s application for judicial review, dated Feb. 16, says those sanctions were unreasonable because they failed to account for his fundamental rights to freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, as guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Robertson argues that he shouldn’t be punished for stating personal opinions that have nothing to do with his role as an elected member of council.
Between late September and early October last year, coinciding with the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the councillor displayed a sign on his property with the message, “Truth: mass grave hoax” and “Reconciliation: Redeem Sir John A.’s integrity.”
Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, is considered an architect of the residential school system because he championed policies of assimilation and violence toward Indigenous people.
In May 2021, the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation announced that ground-penetrating radar had revealed the possible remains of as many as 215 children around the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia’s interior. Since then, many other First Nations across Canada have searched for unmarked graves at school sites in their territories.Recommended from Editorial
“The subject of Mr. Robertson’s impugned statements included questioning the reliability of news reports of a political nature and providing an opinion respecting a political figure and did not relate to any function undertaken by Mr. Robertson as a member of council,” the application says, arguing the other councillors employed an “overboard interpretation” of the code of conduct.
The document says Robertson has resisted requests to resign, “asserting that the expression of his personal opinions on political topics were not properly the subject of the council’s oversight.” Terry White, mayor of Murray Harbour, population 282, could not be reached for comment Friday.