Ottawa councillor’s profane outburst with daycare staff ‘bullying and intimidation’

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Ottawa’s integrity commissioner is recommending an official reprimand for West Carleton-March Coun. Clarke Kelly over a heated exchange he had last summer with staff at a daycare next to his rural Ottawa office.

In her report on the July 3 incident, commissioner Karen E. Shepherd found Kelly’s “aggressive” behaviour toward the owner and staff of the West Carleton Kids Korner Daycare “did not meet the standards expected of elected officials.”

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“I find that Councillor Kelly’s actions on July 3, 2024 were aggressive and amounted to bullying and intimidation of the staff of the Daycare, including the owner,” Shepherd wrote in her report, released Nov. 20.

Kelly was participating in a meeting of the Planning and Housing Committee that day via Zoom from his office in the West Carleton Community Complex on Carp Road near Kinburn Side Road. The daycare shares space in the complex and Shepherd found that Kelly had had previous run-ins with the owner because of the noise and behaviour of some of the children who attend.

That morning, kids were playing outside his office window and banging on the glass during the meeting. Eventually, Kelly left his desk and went to an outside door to complain to daycare staff “in an aggressive manner” about the noise.

Later, daycare staff said they heard Kelly shouting and dropping “F bombs” about the encounter through the walls of his office, although it’s not clear if the profanity was directed at anyone in particular. One daycare employee said children she was with probably heard it too, but couldn’t say if they would have recognized it as cursing.

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Shortly after that, there was a third encounter when Kelly went to the daycare door and argued with the owner, an encounter that was captured by a security camera with video, but no sound.

The “kerfuffle in Kinburn” was previously reported by the Ottawa Citizen and in other local media outlets.

“There is no question Councillor Kelly’s conduct was inappropriate,” Shepherd wrote. “Under the circumstances, it is understandable that Councillor Kelly was frustrated and felt the need to address the situation. That said, the manner in which Councillor Kelly spoke to the daycare owner, particularly the use of profanities, was aggressive and intimidating.

“To be clear, at no time did Councillor Kelly enter Chambers to shout at or use vulgarities directed at daycare workers or children,” she added.

Shepherd said she received four separate complaints in the days following the incident, although her report does not say who they were from. The daycare owner also contacted Ottawa police about the encounter.

Investigators with the integrity commissioner’s office interviewed 11 people for the report, including Kelly and members of his staff who were in the office that day.

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In her findings, Shepherd acknowledged that Kelly’s concerns about the noise and the cleanliness of building’s public washrooms during the daycare’s summer sessions had been well documented.

“I believe Councillor Kelly has a reasonable expectation of a professional work environment. Before the start of the 2024 summer camp program, Councillor Kelly and his staff made efforts to address their concerns through the appropriate channels. Though not an excuse for Councillor Kelly’s conduct that day, it does not appear that any action was taken in response to complaints from the Councillor’s Office about the noise and bathroom issues associated with the summer camp in 2023,” she wrote.

Nevertheless, that didn’t excuse Kelly’s actions, she wrote.

“Councillor Kelly’s actions that day fall within the realm of bullying and intimidation, but they do not meet the threshold for discrimination or harassment. While not acceptable conduct, Councillor Kelly’s interaction with daycare staff and the daycare owner were brief incidents in which he was responding to stressful conditions in his workplace.”

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Kelly admitted to investigators that his swearing was “inexcusable” and said he has since taken anger management training through the city’s employee assistance program. He promised “to learn from his mistakes.”

In an email to the Citizen, Kelly said he appreciated the thoroughness of the commissioner’s investigation and that his handling of the incident had been a mistake.

“I take responsibility for my reaction and use of strong language during an exchange on July 3rd. Everyone deserves to have a safe and positive work environment, and I am committed to ensuring that I will do my part to contribute to this,” Kelly said.

“At the same time, I am grateful that the report concludes that I did not direct profanities at children or staff of the daycare, and that the commissioner carefully considered the context in which this situation occurred.”

A call to the daycare for comment was not immediately returned.

A reprimand is the lowest level of punishment that can be levelled under Ontario’s Municipal Act. For more serious infractions, councillors can be suspended without pay for up to 90 days.

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Council is to receive Shepherd’s report and vote on the reprimand recommendation at its next meeting on Nov. 27.

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