The Ben Mulroney Show - The Whitby Councillor that could be suspended for being... right???

Episode Date: April 15, 2026

GUEST:  Councillor Chris Leahy — Whitby If you enjoyed the podcast, tell a friend! For more of the Ben Mulroney Show, subscribe to the podcast! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://link.chtbl.com/bms���⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Also, on youtube -- ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BenMulroneyShow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Ben on Twitter/X at https://x.com/BenMulroney Insta: ⁠⁠⁠@benmulroneyshow⁠⁠⁠ Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠@benmulroneyshow⁠⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠@benmulroneyshow⁠⁠⁠ Executive Producer:  Mike Drolet Reach out to Mike with story ideas or tips at [e-mail] Enjoy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Conditions apply. I think everybody knows that municipal government is the level of government that affects us most on a day-to-day basis. It's the things that we rely on directly, a garbage pickup, safety in our streets, You know, our schools. That's how important it is. And if you have a good city counselor, that person appreciates that responsibility. And so when you hear that Whitby's integrity commissioner ruled that Chris Leahy twice violated the council's code of conduct,

you got to be a holy terror. What an awful, what an awful human being. Twice, twice with such an esteemed position. trusted position, an important position in the community. And not only did they rule that, but the punishment is pretty severe. They recommended a 30-day pay suspension for his interactions with town staff. So look, a clutch of pearls, Canada, because I've got Attila the Hun here. So please welcome to the show, Chris Leahy. Chris, welcome the show.

Yeah, absolute pleasure to be here, Ben. Thanks. Okay, so yes, I just want to go on record. I'm feeling unsafe. So just keep your hands where I can see him. Okay, so tell me, tell me in your words, what did you violate and do you think it deserved this 30-day pay suspension? Well, in line with your introduction there, I think I'm going to be the first politician in Canadian history that will receive a financial punishment for liking the law and order, theme music, and Bruce Springsteen. But seriously, Ben, when we look at this, it's two children got hit by cars around the corner from my house, and that's the genesis of the story. Yeah, so we have that conversation here in the city of Toronto.

You know, the speed cameras, right, that the Ford government got rid of. One of the reasons a person like myself, I've been caught by speed cameras, one of the reasons I didn't come out with a full-throated attack on these cameras was because they are around schools, right? Because everybody knows we want our kids to feel safe, In two places they should absolutely feel safe at home and in their schools. 100%.

And so this happened right around from where you live. Yeah, just in my neighborhood right by St. Matthews, where all my kids went to elementary school. So it was early October 2025. And this was a second time a child was hit at the intersection of Dryden, Boulevard, and Civic Center Drive. The child's father approached all members of council. I replied to him, I listened, and I took action. were you the only one or the first one? Well, he reached out to all members of council.

I only can speak to what I did. So I actually replied. I listened and I took action. And by action, what do you mean? Well, that's where I put forward a motion to hire. So this child got hit. Okay. Right there.

It's a weird intersection. So one way is stop signs. The other one is a signalized pedestrian signal. Okay. So it's... And what's the speed limit? Well, this is the problem. Okay.

So we'll get into that. But so far, all you've told me is, you know, you're checking boxes in terms of your roles and your responsibility. So, so where does the violation of the Council Code of Conduct come in and talk to me about your interactions with the town staff that have apparently heinous? Sure. So here's the action I took. So I put forward a motion to hire and station crossing guards at that intersection.

Yeah. But it didn't pass. It didn't pass because unfortunately, the staff reported. that the posted speed limit at that street was 60 kilometers an hour. Therefore, it's not possible to put a crossing guard at that location. It's not safe for the crossing guard at 60 kilometers down. Okay, now, time out. And listen, and I love the crossing guards in my neighborhood.

I give them, if I can, I give them a Tim Horton's card. Like, they're doing the work that we want them to do. Not safe enough for a crossing guard, but safe enough for our kids to cross the same street that the crossing guard would cross. Correct. Okay. Okay. Well, I'm sure it'll make sense at some point, but go on. So, and just like you said, that's what says. So now here's what happened next. Some local parents alerted to me that the speed limit on the street is posted at 50 kilometers an hour. It's not far from my house. So sometimes we walk the dog there with my wife. So we go out. I look at the posted signs. It's actually 50. So they contacted me. They were super angry. They were spitting mad. And I explained that the staff had made an honest mistake. Yeah, human beings. We're all human.

Human beings are, make a mistake. Okay, so continue. Okay, so I emailed, and then I basically emailed the staff matter explaining the situation. I explained to the residents. Again, I thought it was an honest mistake. And just so you can see how I was interacting with staff, I want to read you the quick email that I sent to staff. So this was, you know, hi, just a quick note to let you know, I got an earful from residents about the crossing guard request. for Dryden Boulevard. After hearing their concern, I confirmed that Dryden is signed for 50

kilometers an hour, not 60 kilometers an hour, as per your comments at the committee meeting on Monday. I assured them it was an honest mistake. But the interesting part is that if you read the Integrity Commissioner report, like I provided this as evidence to show my interaction with staff and that I have a relationship with them, but it's not any evidence in the report and I was submitted evidence and I'm not quite sure why. Not quite sure. Okay. So, So is that the end of, because apparently there's two things, right? There is. Okay, so there's that.

Now continue. Okay. Because I'm invested in this story. So I appreciate it. And again, it's serious because they're talking about kids. Yeah. It's for sure. But again, to reach as many people as possible, what I often do is I produce videos.

That's how we can explain things to people. So I did a short video explaining that I would fix the problem or correct the incorrect information. Fast forward two weeks. And counsel agreed to reduce this. speed limit and to install crossing guards. Okay. Unfortunately, the Integrity Commission determined that my videos were disrespectful to

staff members. Okay. So I, right now, I encourage people to visit Chris Leahy.com, which I have all the videos there, watch the videos, and judge for themselves if they think I'm being disrespectful to staff. Now, did you name somebody? Was that a problem? No. We

took the feed from the town. We covered up the name, and we took away their position. We just used the words that were stated at the council meeting to be as accurate as possible. Okay, well, hold on. So you took a feed, a public feed. A public feed. So this is, it's for accountability and it's for visibility. And so this person knew that they were sitting there and there was a camera on them. Every word I've spoken since I've been elected for 16 years is recorded some. Sure. But because the argument could be, look, city staff have an important job to do,

but they're not doing it in the public eye. They don't, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they play an important role behind the scenes. Correct. And so I could see that, but I didn't know that this person presented themselves before a committee that they knew that was being broadcast or live streamed. So that changes that dynamic for me. And so that's all you did.

That's all you did. It's, well, there's a little more. Okay. So we can keep going. So like when we're talking about, when you go back to it, really like you're doing videos, but we're politicians, like we're allowed to decide how we can use the words to speak. So that's why I'm hoping people will look at the video and just decide, am I there to protect the children of the community who need to cross safely back home and school,

or am I critical a staff? So within the different videos, I have, you know, there's some sound. I picked some lyrics. So part of it was, one of them was the Law and Order theme song. Sure, okay. The other one was Bruce Springsteen. What's which song? Dancing in the Dark. You can't light a fire without a spark.

Okay. I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I don't see how you can get there from here. Well, again, if we, because, because the mayor took the, okay, so yeah, let's, let's look at this. There was a public confrontation with the staff at the BIA Christmas market. That, yeah, and that's the second interaction that they're in tapping up. Okay. The first interaction, the good news about that is the complaints are all around the videos. Yeah. which you can't dispute. I have the video. They've been public. They've been up there for months.

Yes, I have some Law and Order music. Sam, I'm going to investigate, which is partly what they do on the Law and Order show, which I watched for the years. Yes, of course. And the other one is just at the end of the other video, just saying, you know, you can't certify it without a lot of spark. So I'm asking members of the public to come to the meeting so we can advocate and get crossing guards past because it didn't pass the previous meeting. I was trying to get it passed. I want residents to come out. And people are. have the power. I want their voice to be expressed at council. Okay, well, listen, we're going to take a break because that was a heck of a story. I want to hear the reaction, and then we're going to

talk about it on the other side of this break. So don't go anywhere. I'm here with embattled, Attila the Hun, Chris Leahy of Whitby. We'll talk more about this story next. We are continuing our conversation with, I think we'd say controversial and embattled city councilor

from Whitby, Chris Leahy. Thank you so much for being here. So you laid out the case against you. When the judgment came down from the, was it, the integrity commissioner? Correct. They said that, you know, the intent behind it was to over-dramatize the situation, the music, the editing. It was all done in an attempt to, with intent to, what would they?

Over-dramatize it, right? Okay. So one could argue when kids are put in danger in their own neighborhood, that's dramatic and not like you're you were meeting the moment. Completely. And they and they said you use the law and order music and the Bruce Springsteen with that deliberate attempt to be hostile or something to the city staff. The people who wrote the music don't care. No. Right. Okay. So that feels to me like they were looking for something to pin on you. And if that's, if that's all they got, because they said

that everything in it was factually accurate. Okay. Okay. So then we move on, Chris, to the mayor and what she said. And I don't know the mayor. I'm sure she's a lovely woman. But where is it here? It says, I got to get to. I'm sorry. So she said, the mayor Elizabeth Roy said that your behavior undermined trust in municipal operations. And emphasizing the elected officials must uphold professionals. But I agree with that part. I think the. undermining in the trust happens when our kids are hit by cars. Like, call me crazy. That's where the undermining happens. That's when I start saying, maybe something's not working at City Hall if this is the result of my tax dollars at work. And that's the thing. Like, you know, hypothetically, a cynic would say that I'm being punished because I'm a threat to the mayor in the upcoming election. I was going to ask that because I'd heard that you, have you announced your candidacy to see to run? My focus right now is on lowering taxes and keeping community safe, not seeking higher office, but May 1st is around the corner.

May 1st is around. Okay, fair enough. Listen, we'll do the dance. Fine. We'll do the dance. I'll play your game. But, okay, so that to me is smacks of political opportunism. I don't know that she can, with a straight face, say that her position here wasn't influenced by politics. I mean, I would be a big. Babe in the woods. I'd be a naive babe in the woods to just take that at face value. And then let's talk about the relationship between the staff and the politicians because I've always believed that the staff are there to further the political agendas of the elected officials. Correct. That they're supposed to be working in support. I don't want to diminish it and say they're support, like they're just support staff. But if you come to a city staffer and say, I got a problem with a speed limit posting,

then they're supposed to work with you. Yeah, absolutely. Like staff provide all the insight, direction, and execution, council makes a decision, just like in any other council across Canada. Okay, so for them to then say, you got everything right. And isn't there another thing about there was actually a,

you said so. You were very charitable and you said, oh, it was a honest mistake, but an honest mistake with a 10-kilometer speed limit difference for about three years. Could cost lives. So honest maybe, but someone should be held to account. So now tell me what happened to that staffer that made that honest mistake

and what's happened to you? What's your punishment? Because didn't this person get a raise? Well, they would have got the standard cost of living a raise like any other employee in the town. Okay, that's fine. And what about you? What's happening to your paycheck?

So yeah, so this is coming up on Monday for the decision, but the recommendation is a one-month pay cut. A one-month, one-month. Okay, so we, intrepid over here, did a deep dive into similar situations and the punishments that other city councilors got. Josh Matlow here in the city of Toronto got a week's pay for calling staffers liars. Chris Moyes, sorry, counselor Chris Moyes,

accused one of his constituents for a call him a, called him a racist and a white supremacist because he called him out on what he felt were problematic issues with Chris Moyes' leadership. And the integrity guy said, oh yeah, well, listen, that's his right, his right as citizen to do that. But he was antagonizing. And therefore, nothing happened to him. Nothing having to Chris Moyes for calling one of his constituents a racist with no proof. Hold on a second, though. I think we're having some technical difficulties. And thank you, Chris Moyes, for a good idea.

You son of a gun, I want you to lose that clip. That was a moment in time. And thank you, Chris Moyes, for a good idea. God damn. Should never have said it. We never said it. Four weeks pay, that's 8% of your salary is a, regional counselor?

Correct. So what are you going to do here? Well, we have the meeting coming up on money where the decision comes up, but I think the people are the ones that are going to make the decision. I think they need to decide if that I really am a threat because I'm a fan of Law & Order theme music and Bruce Springsteen or if I want to keep the community safe for our children. But I'm an optimist.

I believe that the residents will see the video. They're going to judge me appropriately. I want them to go to Chris Leahy dot say judge for them. themselves. I'm convinced they're going to side with me because I am just there to keep the community safe. I don't want kids being hit by cars. This should be what it's focused about. It should be about kids' safety. Not how I used a dramatic presentation in a video using my cell phone. Is there anything you would have done differently over the course of this entire series of events? Well, I guess if I had known the music was going to be that much of an issue,

maybe I could have pulled the music back, but I don't really want to. Can I be honest? It's not about the music. It was never about the music. Somebody over there said, we got to nail them on something. And so, hey, who's got any ideas? And this terrible, weak argument is the best one they could come up with. Well, the good news, a bunch of the other integrity commissioner complaints that have been given to me in the past. I was able to fight and get them defeated. So, but this one made it through. This one made it through. Well, just, I mean, listen, this is, this, this is, this is, these are the slings and arrows, right? You didn't get into politics because you wanted people to treat you well. In 16 years, my skin gets thicker and thicker every year. Yeah, wow.

So when is this coming to council? Monday night, the 20th. Monday night. And 530. Where do you line up politically on council? Like in Toronto, we have a big progressive wing, and they are, it's like the Borg. They have a hive mind, and they all follow the queen. But what's your city council like?

It's, we have a group mix. Like the mayor was a former liberal candidate, so she leans a little bit to the left. And we have another counselor that was a former NDP council. And we have a council that was a conservative candidate. So there's, we have a bit of a mix. Do you have a reputation of working well with your fellow counselors? I believe I do, because my whole focus is you can't find me attacking any other counselor anywhere on any social media post because social media lives forever.

But I do attack the issues and I continue to do that. But not everybody is comfortable with that approach. The last thing I want to talk about. Let's just close the door on this. What's the million-dollar door? Oh, that is another example of how much was spent on the door at Durham Regional headquarters. There was eight, nine years ago. There was a really cold day.

The doors opened and a pipe burst. So it got put in the capital plan that we got to replace the door one day. And then with all the increased prices in COVID, the price kept going higher and higher higher. So it was a part of, it's a $400 million capital budget each year. So this is one of many items. But what really stuck out is one day I'm going to a finance meeting and that we have this brand new door and there's all this caution tape over it and ask why is there caution tape on it. Oh, well, the new door is injuring staff. And then I asked, well, well, how much did we spend on this door? And then it's, oh, a million dollars. Just like casually. It was and the reason why,

now we got reports and we did get the thing. And I approved it to be fully transparent. I, it was one of the $400 million budget, replaced the door. It wasn't a million dollars in the line item. But it's, yeah, exactly. You approved the capital budget. Yes. And how would you have known if you were going through that budget that there was a million dollar door in there? It's hundreds of pages.

And there is, there was one line item in there and it was set aside. And we did get some money. They reused some money. But it's, yeah, it was million dollars, which is way too much. We should not be spending a million dollars on. Glass and metal. And you explained it, you know, that, oh, things move up. They change it.

The budgets evolve. But the door is still a door. Correct. Like at the end of the day, what you wanted to buy on day one is still what you ended up buying. And somehow a million dollars got spent. It went into people's pockets. Like somebody, there's a group out there that got hundreds of thousands of dollars. And what the taxpayer got was a door.

Yeah. You could buy a house or you could buy a door. No, but that's insane. If you look at it that way, there were consultants, and they got hundreds of thousands of dollars. Oh, by the way, the BMS, our show, we do renaos. Okay. And so if you become mayor, perhaps I could come, I could survey, you know, whatever you need. I'm there, yeah.

Part of the campaign is also going to be no more million-dollar doors. No, no, no. That doesn't work for us because we're looking for these extra side gigs, a million-dollar door. Yeah. You know what? We can do a million dollar window. Yeah, 500 grand. But the great thing that came out of that. Not that much of a discount.

And it took me seven months of pushing is that, and I got resistance from all the mayors, everyone across the board was to put in an auditor general following the Toronto model, because they actually saved money in Toronto with the auditor general. So finally at Durham Region, we did approve it last month. After months of pushing since September,

we will have an auditor general to review things like this, so we have no more million dollars. I would love to see how we're saving money in the city of Toronto. Well, the auditor general, General Report says they are. Chris Leahy, thank you very much. Please come back on... We'll call you on May 1st.

Perfect. All right. Thanks, Ben. Pleasure to be here. Seems like yesterday when we arrived here. Hi. The story we know. You of all people know what secrets have done at this family.

Is just the beginning. We've been to the 90s. The 70s? Even the 1800s. I think it was our last goodbye. So where will the pond take us next? What? You need to let me go.

The hit home. Mark original series. The Way Home Final Season. Sundays only on W. Stream on Stack TV.