Melancthon councillor David Thwaites calls it quits after his fellow councillor accused him of ‘hate’.
In May, Thwaites penned a letter on behalf of the Police Services Board that was to be first brought to council as a draft and if approved, would eventually be presented to Ontario solicitor general, Sylvia Jones.
Mayor Darren White says the letter was drafted with input from other police services board members as well as members of other police services boards in Dufferin County.
White says there were a few amendments but eventually the draft went ahead and was submitted to the province.
In October, councillor Wayne Hannon brought up Thwaites’ letter that urged the province not to make appointments to police services boards solely based on diversity mandates was “rooted in hate”.
White says he sifted through the memorandum with a critical eye and asked for input from Dufferin municipal staff and politicians, as well as members of marginalized groups, and says no one had issues with the letter.
At the following meeting, Thwaites asked Hannon for an apology, to which he refused and called for an investigation into the letter stating he didn’t think there was an issue with finding qualified people who belong to marginalized groups, particularly if police services boards were Dufferin County-wide.
Thwaites’ resignation letter can be found below.