Adam Cooper, the Ward 6 councillor in Cambridge, might get a formal warning and could be suspended without pay for 10 days after sharing a meme on his Facebook that some people called transphobic.
Cambridge council will look over the Integrity Commissioner’s advice at their meeting on Tuesday to decide what to do next.
The post went up on Cooper’s personal Facebook page on January 22. It showed someone with colored hair and said: “He took my pronouns! I have to live in reality now!”
Cooper deleted the post the next day but not before he had a back-and-forth in the comments with Eric Bolton, who founded Grand River Pride. Bolton accused Cooper of “publicly bullying a minority,” and Cooper replied, “I’ll proudly represent reality and those that support it.”
Even though Cooper says he’s got “little interest in U. S. politics,” according to the Integrity Commissioner’s report, they noted his post came shortly after President Donald Trump signed an order called “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” That order said the U. S. would only officially recognize two sexes – male and female.
(Screenshot via Facebook)
Cooper argued that he never meant to encourage or support unfair treatment against anyone, which goes against Ontario’s Human Rights Code. He also said his post wasn’t related to his role as an elected official. Plus, he pointed out that humor and exaggeration are common ways people try to make a point in casual debates.
The meme and how people reacted made Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett speak out.
“Generally, I do not speak out when a member of council past or present makes public comments on the radio, print media nor social media, but a recent social media post has been brought to my attention while I am out of the country,” stated Liggett. “The implications within the meme have brought distress and pain to families and members of our community; therefore, in this instance, and as Mayor, spokesperson, and leader of our community, I feel that this warrants a response. It does not represent council nor the corporation’s thoughts on gender fluidity.”
After considering everything-and more-the Integrity Commissioner suggested reprimanding Cooper along with suspending him without pay for 10 days. The council can decide whether to accept these suggestions fully, reject them completely, or modify them somehow.
On The Mike Farwell Show Tuesday night, Cooper didn’t want to talk about what the Integrity Commissioner recommended yet. He said he’d only share his thoughts once council made their decision.
“It’s going to be a very interesting night,” Cooper said.
