Ontario councillor taking part in anti-mandate protests attends meeting virtually from Ottawa
CBC
When West Lincoln councillor Harold Jonker attended a committee meeting online Monday evening, he wasn't in the Niagara-area township in Ontario that elected him. He was more than 500 kilometres away, in Ottawa.
Jonker has been taking part in the occupation of some streets around Parliament Hill since it began on Jan. 28.
He's still there and said he's resolved to stay, even as Ottawa police served notice to protesters who remained there Wednesday afternoon that they "will face severe penalties" if they do not "cease further unlawful activity" and remove their vehicles.
While politicians at various levels are "winking and nudging" to show their support of the protests, a professor whose research focused on local government said he wasn't aware of any other elected officials actively taking part to this extent and that Jonker's participation could have political consequences.
However, the councillor said his role in the protest, which has now stretched on for three weeks and resulted in all three levels of governments declaring a state of emergency, has not affected his ability to fulfil his council duties.
"I'm really busy with the convoy during the day, but I have time at night to attend meetings," he said.
Jonker, who is an owner of Jonker Trucking Inc. and claims he and his wife were in the first truck to arrive in Ottawa, told CBC late Wednesday afternoon he plans to remain in the city.
"Mr. Trudeau you can freeze my accounts. You're not harming me, you're harming my 13 children, my dog Dash, my cat Comet and my 15 chickens," Jonker said, referring to directive the federal government has given financial institutions as part of the powers granted under the Emergencies Act.
Jonker has missed some meetings related to his role on council since joining the convoy.
The clerk for the township confirmed in an email to CBC that Jonker has missed two committee meetings, a special council meeting and a council meeting before attending the meeting virtually on Monday.
At least one of his council colleagues has taken issue with his absence.
In a series of tweets on Feb. 11, Ward 3 councillor William Reilly said Jonker had missed several meetings and said he should consider resigning.
"I call on [Jonker] to either resign his seat if he's going to con't to neglect his municipal responsibilities or to resume representing the residents of ward 2 at Council," he wrote.
Ontario's Municipal Act dictates that a councillor's seat can become vacant if they miss meetings for three months in a row, without permission from council.
New government regulations can be hard to get excited about — but not if you're a drone pilot like Ian Wills.
Alberta RCMP have ramped up the use of body-worn cameras for front-line officers as a push is underway to have 90 per cent of the national police force use the cameras within the coming year.
This weekend, one of the season's first strong winter storms is coming for Newfoundland and Labrador.
Periods of snow are forecast to start overnight in western Cape Breton before a winter wallop moves into the rest of the island and part of mainland Nova Scotia on Sunday.
Four new cases of measles in Quebec have been confirmed as of Jan.3 in connection with an outbreak that began in December, public health authorities say.
A vacant three-storey apartment block is set to be demolished, after Winnipeg firefighters were called Friday night to the third fire at the Mountain Avenue building since August 2023.
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team is investigating the death of a woman whose body was found in the waters of a Port Moody, B.C., marina on New Year's Day.
Parts of Prince Edward Edward Island could receive up to 15 centimetres of snow Sunday and into Monday.
A Liberal MP from London, Ont., is joining several of his caucus colleagues in publicly calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to resign as leader of the party — and he says the number of Liberals who want Trudeau to step down will likely get even bigger.
U.S. President Joe Biden bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the U.S., to Canadian actor Michael J. Fox and others on Saturday.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre gave a lengthy interview to psychologist and media personality Jordan Peterson, touching on his vision for Canada and how he plans to implement it.