North Stormont Councillor Adrian Bugelli has received a 30-day salary suspension after council voted Tuesday to accept the township’s integrity commissioner’s finding that he breached its code of conduct by being intoxicated and becoming involved in fights at the official opening of the Moose Creek recreational hall September 30, 2023.
Integrity commissioner Tony Fleming agreed with a complaint that was filed in October that Bugelli was “extremely intoxicated” and got into altercations with residents during the event. The Code of Conduct prohibits members from being impaired while performing municipal duties. During the investigation, Bugelli had insisted he was not there as a councillor but as a resident and member of the Moose Creek community.
Fleming acknowledged that in one physical altercation with a resident Bugelli “may have been upset or aggravated by being shoved by a resident but note he is still governed by the Code of Conduct and expected to respond appropriately rather than engage in the same conduct and attempt to escalate or continue the altercation.”
“After being shoved to the ground, we find that the Member attempted to continue the physical altercation. The Member is shown in the video grabbing and approaching the individual after the individual is some distance away from him and separated from him by another attendee,” the commissioner’s report reads.
In the second incident, Bugelli maintains “he was accosted by the resident who made several comments about him and that the incident left him with a broken ankle.”
But, “We do not find that the Member breached Section 4 of the Code of Conduct during the second altercation that took place at the Event. This altercation differs from the first as the Member appears to participate in the altercation only to the extent of defending himself. We note that the Member did punch another individual, but that doing so was during the Member being pulled to standing by his shirt by the individual. While we do not condone engaging in any altercation with members of the public, we cannot find that there was a breach of the Code of Conduct by the Member for engaging in what appeared to be an attempt to protect himself.”
A 30-day suspension of Bugelli’s remuneration would “reflect that behaviour of this nature will not be tolerated” and “deter any future incidents of this nature,” Fleming wrote.
Before members voted on the motion by Councillor Charles Shane and Deputy Mayor Steve Denshaw, Bugelli issued an apology.
“I’d like to begin by expressing my apologies and regret for my role in the unfortunate events that took place last year at the opening of the Moose Creek Recreational Hall. I should have done better and removed myself from the situation, which I failed to do,” he said.
“My actions that evening were not acceptable. I specifically want to apologize to Moose Creek Rec volunteers for putting myself in a situation that distracted from the evening’s celebrations of their hard work. I’ve learned from this mistake. For those who know me best, my family, friends, my colleagues, this was a mistake on my part but it was an isolated event and I will make sure this is not repeated in the future.”
He said he accepted the commissioner’s recommendation.
While police concluded he did not start the fights, he observed, “I accept my failure in not de-escalating. I should have never put myself in that situation. I hope my colleagues in the community will accept my apologies from last September’s events and can see the work that I’ve done and will continue to do to regain your trust and respect. It starts now, by accepting responsibility, accepting the consequences, and doing better.”
After the unanimous vote in favour of the sanction, Mayor François Landry apologized to the community, saying the incident distracted attention from what was to have been a celebration of the new hall and a recognition of volunteers. “We can all learn from this experience.”
