A formal complaint demanding an investigation into a London city councillor who seemingly endorsed the idea of arresting homeless people who refuse supports has been sent to the city's integrity commissioner.
The four-page complaint alleges Ward 4 Councillor Susan Stevenson has violated the city's code of conduct, as well as the Ontario Human Rights Code, with her conduct over the "past several months." It was addressed to Mayor Josh Morgan and London's former integrity commissioner Gregory Stewart, who has since been replaced by Toronto-based lawyers Jeffrey A. Abrams and Janice Atwood-Petkovski.
"Councillor Stevenson has engaged in multiple incidents promoting harmful and stigmatizing narratives against unhoused folks, unhoused folks with addictions, and/or unhoused folks with mental illness," the letter of complaint states. "I am concerned that the council has failed to address her behaviour thus far, which has only become more emboldened."
The complaint goes on to cite a July 16 tweet by Stevenson in which she shared a blog post from a U.S. political commentator that suggests homeless people who refuse treatment, counselling or employment be detained by police and not allowed to live in public spaces. Stevenson added a comment with the tweet that "London could be first" with a smiling face emoji surrounded by hearts.
"This act is incredibly reckless and dangerous. Arresting people without legal charge, simply for being homeless and/or in crisis, is a clear human rights violation and would be a violation of the Ontario Human Rights Code and section 1.2 of the City of London’s 'Code of Conduct for Members of Council,'" the letter states.
The Ontario Human Rights Code prohibits discrimination in specific social areas such as housing. The city's code of conduct requires council members to perform their functions with integrity, independence, and impartiality and not bring the city into disrepute or damage public confidence.
The letter also claims Stevenson has refused numerous offers of free education surrounding London's homelessness crisis.
"Councillor Stevenson clearly has little regard for these requests, demonstrated by her ongoing social media activity that continues to elicit fear and condone violence towards the unhoused members of our community. Often this commentary is hidden behind rhetoric of 'asking the hard questions' and 'public safety'," the letter states.
"The history of Councillor Stevenson’s social media presence combined with her news articles, policy choices, and politics illustrates she has a clear bias and is committed to criminalizing and dehumanizing unhoused community members in London... The impact of her behaviour on the overall integrity and public confidence in City Council is significant. Council’s further complicity in her behaviour is unacceptable."
The letter ends with a demand for an investigation into Stevenson's actions and that the outcome of any such investigation be transparent and made publicly available.
A similar letter of complaint was sent to Ali Chahbar, the chair of the London Police Services Board. Stevenson has been a member of the police board since she was elected to council at the end of 2022.
LondonNewsToday.ca reached out to Stevenson for comment about the two letters of complaint filed against her. She stated that she could not provide comment at the time as she has not personally seen the complaints.
