There will be no penalty coming to Peterborough’s mayor for breaching the city’s code of conduct.
At City Hall on Monday, council supported no penalty be imposed in response to a report from the Integrity Commissioner that found Jeff Leal contravened section 10 the Code of Conduct in relation to intimidation against Councillor Alex Bierk and, separately, bullying in relation to Councillor Joy Lachica.
Both incidents happened on April 2nd, 2024. During a meeting, Leal made a statement that he would ‘carve Councillor Bierk like a Thanksgiving turkey’ and that he’d ‘regret’ having said that. This was triggered by the mentioning of Leal’s wife during discussion. The report states the Mayor’s “turkey” comment was a figurative expression that was not meant or reasonably interpreted as a threat of violence or physical harm. However, consequently, the Mayor’s “regret” and “turkey” together constituted intimidation.
The second investigation centred on a complaint filed by Councillor Lachica alleging that the Mayor bullied and intimidated her, out of view of the public, following the April 2nd General Committee meeting. The report found “the incident in the corridor occurred in the context of a power imbalance that is a hallmark of bullying”.
In the end, council voted 7-3 against any penalty but that remedial measures referenced in the report be referred to staff for consideration in relation to potential amendments to the Council Code of Conduct and the Procedure By-law.
Leal released a statement following the release of the report, and it said his ‘comments were made in the heat of the moment, during the most hostile meeting environments I have experienced in all my years of public service. I regret my comments, and I apologized to both Councillors last year’.
