Councillor Bill Dennis has been barred from City Hall, except in limited circumstances, and can only attend Council meetings virtually.
After several months, the independent investigation into Councillor Bill Dennis’s conduct in response to a workplace violence and harassment complaint, filed with the city in the spring of last year, has concluded. At a special meeting, January 27, Sarnia City Council held a closed session to review and respond to the findings.
The investigation concluded that, on a balance of probabilities, Dennis had breached the workplace harassment and discrimination provisions of the City of Sarnia’s Workplace Harassment and Violence Policy and Program and applicable laws with respect to his conduct toward City staff.
Bill Dennis provided The Journal with a copy of a private and confidential letter from the City, dated December 17, 2024. This letter informed him, ahead of Council’s deliberations, of the conclusions of the investigation by Williams HR Law LLC into his conduct toward the city’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), Chris Carter.
The letter informed Councillor Dennis that under the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act, employers in Ontario are required to take every reasonable measure to protect their employees from workplace violence and harassment. Accordingly, they were implementing the following measures based on the conclusions of the report:
- Councillor Bill Dennis is not to contact or engage with the CAO in person (or virtually) without the attendance of another councillor;
- Email communication from Dennis to staff members is prohibited and will be blocked. Any of his written or email correspondence must be directed to the following designated individuals: Tammy Broer, Manager, Human Resources, in relation to any City business; or Amy Burkhart, City Clerk, in relation to any procedural requirement under the City’s Procedural By-Law or election matter.
Dennis had previously been instructed, after the complaint had initially been lodged, that all of his communications with city staff go through CAO Carter.
The letter stipulated that any reprisal against the CAO, and/or anyone that Dennis knows or believes to have been involved in the investigation will form the basis of a further investigation.
The letter also noted that Council may implement additional measures. After their closed session, Council implemented further protocols to “ensure the safety of City Staff”:
- Dennis will not be permitted to attend at City Hall without the express consent of Council, except in limited circumstances; and
- Dennis will not be permitted to attend any meetings of Council in person, when Council returns to in-person meetings, although he can attend Council meetings virtually.
Bill Dennis was in Miami when reached for comment by The Sarnia Journal. He described Council’s decision as going above and beyond the recommendations of city staff, and that it is part of a “witch hunt” or “political vendetta.”
Mayor Mike Bradley says that he is not aware of what communications Councillor Dennis has shared with the media, but says any claims that Council went above and beyond the recommendations of the neutral third-party investigators is “simply not true.”
“Council adopted the recommendations that were put before us,” he said.
“They’ve ruled that I can’t go into City Hall,” Dennis said, “unless I’m picking up mail, or paying my bills, or paying my taxes. They made it worse than it had to be, and quite frankly, because of that, they’re going to be sued over it for years.”
Dennis already filed a $200k lawsuit against CAO Carter and the City of Sarnia in October, claiming that he has deliberately been undermined in his role as an elected official.
Council has held its meetings in virtual format during the workplace violence and harassment investigation. Dennis was ejected from a virtual meeting in November because of an angry outburst and personal attacks against other council members.
Invoices related to the matter of the investigation, received to date, total $71,493
Council is looking at safety protocols and plans for returning to in-person meetings.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include new information received from the City of Sarnia regarding the cost of the investigation.