A Windsor city councillor formally said "I'm sorry" for controversial sexual assault comments.
Ward 3 councillor Rino Bortolin complied with the ruling of the integrity commissioner and apologized to his council colleagues for comments he made after a council vote failed to go his way.
The comments were published by the Windsor Star, when Bortolin shot back at a vote to fund an outdoor light display by calling attention to a sexual assault that never happened.
Bortolin, also the Liberal candidate for Windsor West MPP, used Monday's council meeting to apologize once again.
"I apologized for that comment the day it was published, and I apologized many times since, and now by way of a motion by my council colleagues, I'm apologizing again," said Bortolin."I shouldn't have made that comment. I'm sorry."
Bortolin has requested a judicial review of the ruling, claiming when councillors voted to accept the commissioner's findings, they failed to take into account each councillor's right to speak up about issues concerning their wards.
"By accepting that report, council voted to accept a document that would order councillors to toe the line instead of standing up for their constituents," said Bortolin during his apology.
Mayor Drew Dilkens said he was pleased with Bortolin's apology and understands his desire for a judicial review, though expectations for councillors were made very clear when they took office in the fall of 2014.
"There was no issue with that code of conduct or the way it was framed until he was called to task for one of his comments, and now he has an issue with it," said Dilkens.
