Women seeking increased accountability of local elected officials arrested at Niagara Falls city council meeting

Three women, including Niagara Regional Councillor for St. Catharines, Haley Bateman, were arrested at Niagara Falls City Council on Tuesday. The group was demonstrating in response to being denied a chance to speak before local elected officials on proposed provincial legislation aimed at holding municipal council members accountable when charged with assault.

The arrests followed a tense standoff between the group and Mayor Jim Diodati who refused to start the council meeting unless the women lowered signs they were holding with the words, “The Women of Ontario Say No” on them. It is the name of an advocacy group that has been pushing for stronger accountability mechanisms to address local councillors charged with assault, harassment or abuse. The group's founder had been denied a chance to speak at the meeting where she hoped to address proposed provincial legislation, bill 9, which would strengthen accountability mechanisms. 

Officially known as the Municipal Accountability Act, bill 9 is designed to enhance accountability of municipal politicians. It aims to establish clearer rules for the suspension or removal of council members facing serious charges, such as domestic assault or intimate partner violence. If adopted, the bill would create clearer mechanisms for removing councillors found guilty of egregious misconduct, to protect the integrity of municipal governance and prevent any potential conflict from arising when council members accused of a serious act remain at the decision making table.

The proposed legislation would align municipal accountability with existing practices for other public service professionals, such as police officers, firefighters and teachers, who are typically removed from their duties pending the outcome of legal proceedings for criminal matters.

Tuesday’s council meeting had not officially begun when Mayor Diodati noticed a small group of six women seated in the public gallery, each holding a legal-letter-sized sign resting on their laps. Only the words “The Women of Ontario Say No” were written on them, in large black letters. 

Some women were removed from Tuesday’s Niagara Falls Council meeting and arrested by police. 

(Ed Smith/The Pointer)

As previously reported by The Pointer, Women of Ontario Say No (WOSN) is an advocacy group focused on shaping the final provisions of bill 9. Among their primary concerns, WOSN insists that the legislation include a mandatory leave of absence for elected officials charged with violent crimes, effective until the charges are resolved, with removal from office if there is a conviction. 

The provincial committee managing the proposed legislation is scheduled to hold public hearings on bill 9 in Niagara Falls on Friday, July 4. WOSN sought to address Niagara Falls City Council beforehand, to raise awareness and build support for the upcoming hearings. However, in deference to Councillor Mike Strange, who faces a charge of intimate partner violence stemming from an alleged assault in early May, the City denied WOSN the opportunity to speak, citing Strange’s legal proceedings as the reason. According to the arrest sheet obtained by The Pointer, Strange was charged with assault in an alleged “intimate partner violence” matter. Following the charges, Strange was quoted in other local media stating he has "never harmed a woman and wouldn’t under any circumstance."

Police said officers arrived at the scene of the alleged crime and found an adult female with injuries who had been threatened. The case is scheduled to be heard next in court the first week of July. In the meantime, Strange has refused to take a leave. His continued presence on council has already prevented members from hearing the public’s position on the proposed provincial legislation, which was tabled on May 1 before Strange was charged. An earlier version of the bill was tabled in December 2024, but died on the order paper when Premier Doug Ford called the provincial election earlier this year. Since the charge against him, council members have not addressed the proposed new law or given any direction to the province about potential rules pertaining, specifically, to their own conduct. 

Despite drawing no connection between their presence Tuesday and the alleged assault Strange has been charged with, the women were targeted for violating a policy regarding the display of signs in council chambers during a public meeting. They said the signs and their presence were intended to draw attention to the upcoming public hearing and the issue of accountability, generally, regarding the response to violence committed by local elected officials. 

The group of six made no noise and did not speak prior to the arrival of police. Diodati took issue with the signs held in their lap, even before they were eventually raised.

“Remove those signs or this meeting will not commence,” he said, directing his words at the group. Initially, none of the women responded; they remained steadfast and still, leaving their signs in place. 

Diodati persisted.  After repeated direction for them to remove the signs he advised that if they refused to comply he would adjourn the meeting and leave it to security and the police to deal with the matter. Shortly after, he declared a temporary recess and left the room.  All members of council eventually followed him from the chamber with the exception of Lori Lococo.  Councillor Lococo remained in her seat as security then police dealt with the women.

The matter was first left in the hands of council’s lone security guard. Over the next 10 minutes, he engaged in back-and-forth dialogue with Niagara Councillor Bateman (who was there with the others calling attention to the proposed provincial legislation) but the women remained resolute and refused to comply with the direction to remove the signs. 

Eventually, Niagara Regional Police (NRP) arrived and respectfully attempted to persuade the women to lower their signs or leave the premises.

The women were presented with three options by NRP:

1. Lower their signs and remain in the meeting;
2. Take their signs outside and display them there;
3. Face arrest and removal from the premises.

“You’re going to arrest me? For holding a piece of cardstock in a council meeting? You’re going to arrest me?” Bateman asked in response.  

While the dialogue continued between the police and the women for 10 to 15 minutes, eventually the police said the women had to make a decision: comply or be arrested. 

“At a public building you are going to arrest us for trespassing?  We are sitting here and haven’t said a word, we’re simply holding a piece of paper,” Bateman responded. 

Shortly after, Bateman, Vicki-Lynn Smith (who is the sister of this reporter) and Lauren O’Connor were placed under arrest for trespassing and failing to comply with orders to leave. The three remaining women chose to stay in the council chamber and put away their signs. Officers took the women under arrest and escorted them off of municipal property.  

Although they had been placed under arrest the police chose to exercise their discretion and once they were off the municipal property all three were released with no charges laid.

Duff Conacher, Co-founder of Democracy Watch, a national non-profit, non-partisan organization recognized as one of Canada’s leading citizen groups advocating for democratic reform, government accountability and corporate responsibility, offered sharp criticism of the arrests.

"There is nothing wrong or inappropriate about holding a sign at a council meeting, as it does nothing to prevent councillors from speaking or disrupt the meeting," Conacher said. "It is an outrageous violation of democratic free speech rights that the council refused to start the meeting, called the police, and that the police arrested the demonstrators."

For Emily McIntosh, founder of Women of Ontario Say No, it’s all starting to become a familiar and predictable refrain from Niagara Falls officials. 

In statements to The Pointer she said it is a reflection of the larger political landscape and demonstrates the inherent barriers to democratic engagement for women and others.

“The inability to hold a sign in silence, shows very clearly how systems are preventing peaceful and productive democratic engagement.”

She raised concerns over the way Niagara Falls officials regard accountability. 

“Want to file an Integrity Commissioner complaint? You can't in Niagara Falls, unless you have $500 of disposable income. This price-tag means access to accountability is inaccessible to most residents...and now councillors are protected.”

Ontario’s Ombudsman has criticized Niagara Falls for the $500 fee as a barrier to public oversight and has asked officials to remove the cost. Diodati and his council allies have ignored the Ombudsman’s direction. 

“Want to speak to positive legislative changes? You can't, because someone on council happens to be charged with assaulting another member of the community.”

“Want to peacefully demonstrate you disagree with the censorship of public engagement with generic signs supporting a human rights movement? You can't, because that makes the council feel uncomfortable.”

She is adamant that the Women of Ontario Say No is not going away. Stating that the rights of women, and all people, require basic accountability of elected officials including those charged with egregious acts of violence and harassment. 

“Without these measures, we are jeopardizing the bedrock for healthy democracy,” she said in an email to The Pointer.

Jaylene Johnstone was one of the group of six women at Tuesday evening’s meeting. Contacted afterward by The Pointer she identified herself as a unionized electrician who sits on the National Values and Beliefs committee for her labour union. She stressed that her presence at the council meeting was as a concerned citizen. She had rushed directly to the meeting from work. Johnstone expressed a deepening concern about the state of local governance and “actions that erode the democratic process”, which she said can lead to “Canadians being vulnerable to losing democracy.” 

Bateman said the public should know what the intention of the council demonstration was, and expressed concern that officials are trying to misrepresent the motives. 

“This was not a protest against Mike Strange,” she said. “This was about our right to speak about legislation that is vitally important for the people of Ontario. The fact that Mike Strange might be uncomfortable with the dialogue should not prevent us from speaking. This is a matter of life and death for too many of us.”

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