Should Councillor MacMullin and Councillor MacDonald recuse themselves from the vote on whether to ask the RCMP to investigate former Mayor Amanda MacDougall-Merrill?

Why am I asking this question? 

I do not know Earlene, Gordon,  or Amanda. 

If I were Amanda, however, I would be leery of whether she will get a fair shake tomorrow morning from these two councillors.

Let me explain.

1. The 2022 Canada Day is cancelled drama.

Remember when Canada Day celebrations in CBRM were cancelled in 2022?

Me either.

A group of councillors did believe, for a little while, that this was the case. The story is too convoluted to be told here in detail. 

Basically, a CBRM Recreation representative, during an interview on Mainstreet on CBC radio, explained that our evening Canada Day celebration would be called "A Night of Lights",  hoping to be respectful of our "indigenous friends and neighbours." 

Confusion ensued and some CBRM councillors sent out emails to each other and some CBRM staff after hearing the interview or being questioned about it by constituents. 

Long story short, then Fire Chief Michael Seth charged four councillors with harassment: Earlene MacMullin, Gordon MacDonald, Darren Bruckschwaiger, and Ken Tracey. 

A lawyer with Stewart McKelvey in Halifax found all four councillors guilty of breaching the CBRM harassment policy. All four councillors vehemently disagreed with this result. 

The relevant point to make here is that the four councillors blamed then Mayor Amanda McDougall-Merrill for somehow coercing Chief Seth into making the harassment complaint. 

For his part, Chief Seth was very clear about why he made the complaint: 

In the interview, Seth provided details of a complaint he made last year that led to an independent report that found some councillors had breached CBRM's harassment policy. Seth, who is Tuscarora Mohawk from Ontario, said he struggled with the decision to complain about harassment from councillors, but did so as a survivor of the Indian day school system and the descendant of family members who spent years in residential schools. CBC

Chief also made it plain that he did not believe the four councillors to be racist: 

"Councillors simply didn't understand how their words could be hurtful and showed no interest in learning," he said.

"I truly, honestly don't believe that the four councillors have a racist intent," Seth said. "However, there is an underlying unconscious bias that exists." CBC

Germaine to my point here, is that it was unreasonable for Councillor Earlene MacMullin and Councillor Gordon MacDonald to attach any blame to then Mayor Amanda McDougall-Merrill for Chief Seth bringing a successful harassment complaint against them. 

If MacMullin and MacDonald conjured up a case against McDougall-Merrill in this case, how are we to believe that they are to be capable of being fair to her in a vote on whether to have the RCMP investigate her CBRM credit card purchases (which have been independently investigated)? 

The following video clip shows Councillor MacMullin representing all four accused councillors, suggesting that a fellow respondent, then Mayor MacDougall-Merrill was the person that pushed the complaint forward.

2.  Deputy Mayor MacMullin charged then Mayor Amanda McDougall-Merrell with breaking the CBRM code of conduct in February of 2023. The following video clearly illustrates that MacMullin does not trust Amanda McDougall Merrill. 

I believe it is self-evident that Councillor MacMillan should recuse herself from the vote on whether to report former Mayor Amanda McDougall-Merrill to the RCMP that will take place tomorrow, on February 17, 2025. 

3. Councillor Gordon MacDonald, in an interview on CBC Mainstreet on February 11, 2025, spoke out against Robert Sampson's statement in his report that the CBRM policy on credit cards was "not enough," stating that the policy was clear. Councillor Gillespie was part of the interview as well, and he stated that the old credit card policy was not clear. 

It is disconcerting that MacDonald simply rejects Sampson's conclusion about the credit card policy without giving specific reasons for his conclusion. 

Added to MacDonald's belief that former Mayor Amanda McDougall-Merrill pushed former Chief Michael Seth to bring a harassment charge against him and three other councillors, I submit that MacDonald should recuse himself from this policy. 

I think that as constituents we deserve a fair hearing of the CBRM Credit Card issue as it connects to the RCMP, as does Amanda McDougall-Merrill. I do not believe that Councillor MacMillan and Councillor MacDonald can be considered as impartial on this particular issue. 

I will email Council with my thoughts, in the hope that they will be considered.