City of Brockville, Ont. to discuss new policy on social media abuse towards politicians
City officials in Brockville will discuss adopting a new policy centred around hostility towards city staff on social media.
Council will meet on Tuesday night, Brockville Mayor Matt Wren and his staff will discuss how to deal with an uptick in animosity towards local politicians.
"We've noticed other municipalities adopting policies to make a statement about that," explained Wren. "We felt it was time that our city do the same."
In 2021, former Mayor of Brockville Jason Baker resigned over a housing issue, but said he would not have re-run due to abuse on social media.
And just last week, Gatineau Mayor France Bélisle abruptly stepped down, citing a hostile climate in municipal politics.
"There's nothing wrong with respectful dialog," Wren continued. "But when people are making direct, personal attacks on staff and others that are involved with the city of Brockville, we have a responsibility to provide a safe workplace free of harassment for our 200 plus employees."
Social media is a useful tool for the Brockville community. On Facebook, the group "What's going on in Brockville and area" has over 30,000 members, yet the population of the city sits at just over 22,000.
The town of Russell, Ont. has similar concerns, but is taking it a step further.
The municipality is holding a meeting on Monday night, where it will consider abolishing public questions during council meetings, in part, because of the abusive climate on social media.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6977053.1721909931!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
'Sick to my stomach': People grieve Jasper National Park by sharing favourite photos
As an out-of-control wildfire roared through Alberta’s famed Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday, many are fearing the worst as officials warned of 'significant loss' within the area.
Jasper wildfire burns buildings, while poor air quality forces some fire crews out
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on social media that Ottawa has approved Alberta's request for federal assistance after a fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday.
Canadian women's soccer team staffer given suspended prison sentence over drone incident, prosecutor says
A Canada women's soccer team staffer has been given an eight-month suspended prison sentence after flying a drone to film the closed-door training session of the New Zealand team on Monday, the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
Sale of envoy's NYC condo 'expected to exceed' $9M: government
The current official residence for Canada's representative in New York City is 'being readied for sale,' according to a spokesperson from Global Affairs Canada.
'I'm so broke': Two Toronto women speak out after losing $76,000 in romance scam
Two women from the Toronto area are speaking out after losing thousands of dollars to a romance scam, including a single mother who lost $62,000.
Barrie-Innisfil MPP 'blacked-out' and crashed car into window of child care centre
Staff at a Barrie child care centre say they are frustrated by what they call a local MPP's inadequate response after a car crashed through a window in one of the toddler rooms.
Loblaw to settle class action over bread price-fixing for $500 million
Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its parent company George Weston Ltd. say they have agreed to pay $500 million to settle a pair of class-action lawsuits regarding their involvement in an alleged bread price-fixing scheme.
EXCLUSIVE One address, 76 foreign currency dealers: Inside Canada's money service business 'clusters'
An IJF and CTV News investigation has found dozens of cases across Canada where multiple money services businesses (MSBs) are incorporated at the same address, sometimes without the knowledge or consent of the location's actual occupant. One money laundering expert calls it an 'abuse of the system.'
An unwelcome attendee has joined the Paris Olympic Games: COVID-19
After a handful of Australian water polo players tested positive for COVID-19 this week, questions have emerged around how the spread of the disease will be mitigated at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris.