Facing criminal intimate partner assault charge, Councillor Mike Strange asks charity group to drown out women’s rights advocates at council meeting

A day before a Niagara Falls council meeting that is already expected to be filled with tension, Councillor Mike Strange, Mayor Jim Diodati and a local charity group have embroiled themselves in an apparent scheme to silence a women’s rights group.

The Women of Ontario Say No have been trying for three weeks to address the lack of accountability over municipal officials accused of assault, which is the focus of proposed provincial legislation that aims to provide the public with better oversight of local politicians. In May, a criminal charge for alleged domestic partner violence was laid against Strange after Niagara police responded to a call and found an injured woman at the scene. The councillor denies the evidence against him.

The Pointer obtained an email message written by Chris Garner, a member of the Falls View Hose Brigade—a charity group and volunteer service club—to the organization’s membership sent on Sunday, July 6. In the email, Garner calls on members to respond to a request from Councillor Strange ahead of this Tuesday's council meeting, with the written communication from Strange pasted into the email. 

“...I want my supporters to come out and fill the chambers so there is no space for the women’s group to sit,” Strange instructs the Hose Brigade’s members.

He then informs them that he intends to declare his “innocence” during the Tuesday, July 8 council meeting. “After I talk, we can all get all our group to stand and clap and Jim (Mayor) will tell you not to clap but he knows exactly whats going on and then we will go to Boston Pizza right after for drinks on me.” 

Councillor Strange did not respond to requests for comment about the authenticity of the message and why he sent it. The Pointer verified that the email was sent to Hose Brigade members, and contacted the group in a text to the number listed on its website. Someone responded Monday and asked which journalism outlet was inquiring, but did not reply after it was made clear that The Pointer had questions about the email from Strange requesting the group’s support.

Mayor Jim Diodati, who according to Strange’s message to the Hose Brigade was aware of the plan to drown out the The Women of Ontario Say No, also did not respond to questions about his apparent involvement in the plan to marginalize the women’s rights group.

Niagara Falls Councillor Mike Strange (top) and Mayor Jim Diodati did not respond to requests for comment on the message sent to the Falls View Hose Brigade.

(Joel Wittnebel/The Pointer files)

Emily McIntosh, the founder of WOSN, has been trying to speak at City Council since June 17, but has been consistently denied by Diodati and City officials. As reported by The Pointer, the City has refused to allow the advocacy group to address the proposed provincial legislation, bill 9, citing Strange’s ongoing legal proceedings as the reason for blocking McIntosh and others seeking to engage council members and other members of the public about the proposed new provincial legislation, which was the focus of two public consultation meetings in Niagara last week.

She told The Pointer Strange’s attempt to hijack tomorrow’s meeting and silence women is an illustration of the intimidation women deal with in politics. “It has now reached a new level, with the rallying of people to shut out the presence of women entirely.” She described the plan by Strange and Diodati as a perfect example of the “overarching barriers women face.”

McIntosh has repeatedly stressed to City officials that her request to Council was never to discuss the criminal charge against Strange, but to advocate for legislative reform—specifically bill 9, the Municipal Accountability Act, ahead of the two public meetings in Niagara last week organized by a provincial committee as part of broader engagement effort across the province. 

The proposed bill addresses possible changes to existing legislation that would allow the removal of council members charged with assault, first on temporary leave and then for at least the remainder of the term if found guilty, through a process involving a provincial integrity commissioner.

Tensions have escalated and WOSN retained a lawyer while the Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) has come forward, alleging the City and the Niagara Regional Police violated the common law and constitutional rights of members of WOSN.

Three members of the group were arrested, following a council meeting on June 17th. They held small signs in their lap with the name of the group, “Women of Ontario Say No” written on them. When Diodati demanded the signs be put away, citing a controversial council policy that bans the display of such material during public council meetings, the advocates refused, leading to their removal from the council chamber and arrest by Niagara Regional Police officers.

In his written communication to the Hose Brigade, a group started decades ago by area firefighters that evolved into a charity organization and local club, Strange states: “I dont even think there is one woman from Niagara Falls who pays taxes in that whole group…”.

Strange was arrested on May 3rd and charged with intimate partner violence (assault) after police responded to a call and arrived at his house around 3:00 a.m.  

McIntosh stresses that WOSN has only been asking to address the legislative changes currently being considered by the province and has made it clear to Niagara Falls council the group will not address the criminal charge faced by Strange. The goal is to address gaps in legislation the group calls “glaring.”

She says it is a sad commentary that “what began as a request to engage productively in democracy has turned into censorship of women”.

Had the City let her speak on June 17, when she made her original request, McIntosh says the situation would have never escalated.

She also points out the irony that WOSN was denied speaking because of “ongoing legal proceedings”, and yet clearly Diodati was going to go along with a plan to allow Councillor Strange to address the matter in Council tomorrow.

WOSN has called on supporters to be at Niagara Falls City Hall on Tuesday, July 8, for 4:00 p.m. in order to show support for women across Ontario.

The email to Hose Brigade members from Garner calling on the group to support Strange, encourages them to show up at City Hall by 3:30 and “fill the chambers in support of our brother”.

The Falls View Hose Brigade was contacted for comment. No response was received ahead of publication.

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