The Integrity Commissioner for the Town of Essex is recommending councillor Chris Vander Doelen make a public apology and attend an in-person diversity and inclusion training session.
This comes after Vander Doelen sent out a series of tweets last month calling the coronavirus the "Chinese flu" and stating COVID stood for "Chinese Origins Virus" when it, in fact, means Corona Virus Disease 2019.
Integrity Commissioner Robert Swayze launched an investigation after receiving multiple code of conduct complaints against the councillor.
In a report being presented to council Monday night, it states he received roughly 80 complaints with many coming from the Asian community.
It also states "over the past 13 years as an integrity commissioner, he has never experienced an outpouring of such emotion over the behaviour of a member of council."
Deputy Mayor Richard Meloche read the report and supports the recommendations.
"I know there is only so much the integrity commissioner can recommend and as far as council goes, there's limitations on what we can do as well and I know that there's a lot of people that suggested to us, we received hundreds of letters from the public asking for us to try and have him step down but that's not something that council has the power to do," says Meloche.
He says it's a passionate report and also includes an entire complaint from a resident.
"It wasn't necessarily that councillor Vander Doelen perhaps meant it to be insulting for the Chinese but by making the comment, you're encouraging racism and that's where I thought the whole comment was wrong and should not be there," he says.
Another recommendation from Swayze calls on Vander Doelen to remove all the tweets.
If council approves the recommendations, Swayze has put a deadline on them.
He wants them done by 4:30pm on Monday July 19, 2021.
He says if they are not done, Vander Doelen's council pay should be suspended for 60 days.
AM800 news has reached out to councillor Vander Doelen but has yet to hear back.
Photo courtesy: Town of Essex council agenda