The speaker of Toronto City Council has issued a warning to her fellow councillors, asking them to respect council procedures and behave better while in the council chamber.
Coun. Frances Nunziata issued a memo on Friday to Mayor Rob Ford and other city councillors, asking them to review guidelines on council procedure and behaviour.
Council will be meeting Monday for the first time since November’s scheduled meetings wrapped up.
"I have been approached by several Members of Council about the disruptions that occurred at the November meeting of City Council," Nunziata said in the memo. "Disruptive, disrespectful and unparliamentary behaviour reflects poorly on City Council, and undermines public confidence in our ability to govern."
Last month was a particularly heated month for city council that saw Ford stripped of most of his powers after a raucous vote. Earlier in November, the mayor admitted to smoking crack cocaine, leading to the vote, when an overwhelming majority of councillors voted to limit his powers and re-assign them to Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly.
During the meetings leading up to the vote, Ford had used hand gestures to mock a fellow city councillor and accidently knocked over Coun. Pam McConnell. Ford later apologized to McConnell.
As the November meetings proceeded, councillors -- including the mayor and his brother Coun. Doug Ford -- engaged in rowdy debate, often shouting and interrupting each other. As well, members of the public attended the meetings to heckle the mayor.
Nunziata said that, according to council procedures, some of the responsibilities councillors are responsible for include:
- Speaking respectfully at all times
- Listening and participating the meetings without disrupting the proceedings
- Using appropriate language
- Abiding by council's decisions
- Obeying rulings and decisions
- Obeying the Members' Code of Conduct
- Sitting silently during a vote
Nunziata pleaded with them to abide by these guidelines and act accordingly.
"We completed a set of extraordinary meetings last month and I know it has been an emotionally charged period. We have nine scheduled meetings left between now and the end of the term," she said.
"While I encourage each Member to carry out their duties with the necessary passion and intensity that is required by our position, I am seeking everyone's cooperation so that we can do so in a way that is consistent with parliamentary tradition and our own rules of conduct."
But not everyone approved of Nunziata's memo; Coun. Adam Vaughan told reporters that she has no right to scold city council.
"She's as rude and disruptive in the meetings as anybody and the minute she gets out of the chair, she's the worst behaved," he said.
