In an emotional interview with West Island News, Pointe-Claire Councillor, Tara Stainforth hopes for an apology not only to the elected officials but to the staff and residents of Pointe-Claire after Mayor Tim Thomas used an anti-Semitic slur during a caucus meeting.
In this month's caucus meeting Mayor Tim Thomas used the term "jewish lightening" for which he chose not to reiterate in an interview with The Suburban Newspaper yesterday.
The mayor chose not to repeat the term he had used in caucus. “I won’t have learned my lesson if I do.” And he pledged never to use the slur again.
As far as Stainforth is concerned, that is not enough. She would like the Mayor to take pen to paper and reflect as he composes an apology.
"I will not be returning to caucus until an apology is made to residents, staff and officials. We can do better and we should use this as a learning moment," explained Stainforth. "I would like to see us exercise respect in our meetings."
This is not the first incident where a public official in the West Island has used derogatory language with regards to residents.
Mayor George Bourelle of Beaconsfield had to apologize for fat shaming the president of the Beaconsfield Citizens Association last year after posting a picture of the person on his Facebook page.
Kirkland Mayor Gibson found himself writing a formal letter of apology to now sitting Councillor Karen Cliffe. Cliffe’s long-standing contention with sitting Mayor, Michel Gibson, came to a head just before the 2021 elections when Gibson resorted to name-calling and insults during the public council meeting in September. The actions resulted in Gibson writing a formal letter of apology that he read before residents at the last public meeting of the mandate.
"We as elected officials are in a position of power, we need to remember that," stated Stainforth. "When is an apology not enough?"
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