As he sees it, the City of Stratford has taken things too far in Robert Roth’s mind. When they made the decision to ban two citizens for speaking out against their local government, a line was crossed that shouldn’t have been.
And Roth is taking his turn trying to do something about it.
On June 18, Roth will appear before the city’s Finance and Labour Relations subcommittee with a request that the city examine their use of the Respectful Workplace Policy. While he wouldn’t go into details about his planned presentation, Roth said he couldn’t stand idly by any longer.
“I had originally wanted to go before council but I was told by the clerk’s office I couldn’t do that if I wanted to talk about the policy and the banning of two citizens,” he said. “I was explicitly told you can’t question the city’s administrative decisions. I’ve taken the position that there is no such thing as an administrative decision - this is a de facto political decision. When I appear before the subcommittee I will have to be careful that I don’t talk about their decision, but as far as I’m concerned policy and actions are flip sides of the same coin.”
Roth, a longtime journalist and former editor of both the Stratford Gazette and Inside Stratford-Perth, questions the city’s claims in this case. In lack of any supporting evidence made available to the public to back up their statement of threats having been made, Roth believes it's the city that has been disrespectful with their actions.
“The council chamber demands unfettered free speech and public access - the chambers are not a workplace, it’s a public forum,” he said. “I can’t keep silent and watch as democratic freedoms are being eroded this way. If there has been a threat made, call the police and have someone arrested for a criminal act. I don’t think it's fair to level unsubstantiated accusations of your own like this.”
The Finance and Labour Relations subcommittee meeting is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. in council chambers.
