Ottawa city councillor Clive Doucet won't face sanctions for suggesting arbitration should be used to put an end to a transit strike in the capital.
Although Orleans Coun. Bob Monettte asked the city's top lawyer to investigate whether Doucet breached in-camera and confidential information when he spoke out about the labour dispute, council did not move the issue forward.
In a memo obtained by CTV Ottawa, city solicitor Rick O'Conner said if city council agreed to vote on the matter, the penalty for Doucet could range from an apology, removal from committees, or slashing his office budget.
The investigation request came after Doucet told CTV Ottawa on Tuesday it was necessary for the city and transit union to return to the bargaining table. If no deal is reached, he said the next step would be to take the dispute to an arbitrator.
"We're in recession, we're in pre-Christmas and we're going down the tubes and neither side seems to be conscious of how grave that is for our city," he said.
Doucet says he will not apologize for his statements. He says his comments were general in nature, did not reveal confidential information and were raised because he was concerned about the hardship the transit strike is causing the community.
