Former Brampton integrity commissioner challenges council vote on termination

Brampton’s former integrity commissioner is looking to overturn the city council vote which saw her taken off the job last month.

Muneeza Sheikh was ousted as Brampton’s integrity commissioner (IC) during a closed-door meeting on March 11.

Sheikh threatened legal action if she was fired after some councillors questioned her billing practices, learning she had billed more than $500,000 to the city in less than three years.

Now, Sheikh has reportedly launched a judicial review to overturn council’s decision to terminate her contract.

According to a report in the Brampton Guardian, Sheikh has filed an application for a judicial review with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in which she alleges council violated the Municipal Act when terminating her contract.

The application reportedly alleges council didn’t have the authority to terminate Sheikh contract with a simple majority vote, but council had just updated its bylaws allowing the integrity commissioner to be removed with a simple majority vote rather than a two-thirds majority vote.

Sheikh reportedly believes the termination was politically motivated by a bloc of six councillors who in February boycotted two meetings in protest of what they called the city’s “authoritarian dictatorship.”

Those Councillors are Martin Medeiros, Jeff Bowman, Charmaine Williams, Pat Fortini, Doug Whillans and Gurpreet Dhillon – some of whom have recently been at odds with Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown.

In March, the motion to terminate Sheikh passed 5-3. Brown was not present at the meeting, while Bowman and Coun. Rowena Santos abstained from the vote and declared conflicts due to open integrity commissioner matters under review.

Earlier this month, council unanimously approved Principles Integrity to take over duties as Brampton’s Integrity Commissioner.

Principles Integrity also serves as the Region of Peel’s IC, as well as more than 40 municipalities and other public sector organisations across Ontario.

The agreement between Brampton and Principles Integrity will run until at least July 2023, which was when Sheikh’s original contract was set to expire.