TORONTO — Former Toronto mayor John Tory broke the city council’s code of conduct with his relationship with a staffer, the city’s integrity commissioner found in a report released Thursday.
Tory resigned as mayor on Feb. 10 after admitting he had an affair with someone who worked in his office.
Integrity Commissioner Jonathan Batty wrote in a report that the code of conduct doesn’t prohibit personal relationships, but certain human resources policies have to be followed – especially when one person is in a position of authority – and Tory did not do that.
"He did not disclose the relationship to my office when it began in order to get advice ... (or) contemporaneously document the measures being adopted to address the issue in the workplace," the commissioner wrote.
"Ms. A was not provided a ’safe work environment’ as required by the Ethical Framework for Members’ Staff. Mr. Tory put his private interests first. He also did not follow the guidance in the Preamble to arrange his private affairs in a manner that promotes public confidence and bears close public scrutiny."
The woman, who the commissioner does not name, worked in the mayor’s office from January 2018 to March 2021 and she and Tory began a consensual personal relationship in the summer of 2020, the report said.
"In the summer of 2020, Mr. Tory first expressed his romantic affection for Ms. A and initiated physical contact with her, albeit of a limited nature," the commissioner wrote.
"Ms. A was clear she did not feel pressured by the affection Mr. Tory first showed in summer 2020 and reciprocated it ... They had a consensual relationship, cared for each other, and offered each other emotional support."
Batty said Tory also violated the code of conduct when he voted on matters that had affected Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, where the woman went to work after leaving city hall.
Tory, in a response included in the report, said he is sorry for his mistake and the impact it had on the people in his life and on the citizens of Toronto and he should have sought the commissioner’s advice on how to appropriately handle it.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 5, 2023.
Allison Jones, The Canadian Press