Law Times

Law TiMes • March 12, 2012 NEWS PAGE 3 BY KENDYL SEBESTA Law Times JP guilty of harassing Oshawa court staff A justice of the peace ac- cused of making inap- propriate or sexually harassing comments to six court staff has been found guilty of misconduct. Errol Massiah showed no emo- tion March 1 as Ontario Court Justice Charles Vaillancourt read the hearing panel's decision in a converted meeting room at 390 Bay St. in Toronto. Six female court staff at the On- tario Court of Justice in Oshawa, Ont., said they felt "uncomfort- able" aſt er Massiah commented on their appearance, made sexu- ally suggestive remarks or eyed them inappropriately between 2008 and 2010. One female staff member also claimed Massiah had tapped her on the buttocks, an allegation the panel didn't ac- cept. Two others claimed he had made inappropriate remarks about their pregnancies. Massiah, a 55-year-old jus- tice of the peace fi rst appointed in 2007, denied touching the six court staff and told the Justices of the Peace Review Council they had misinterpreted his "jovial and outgoing nature." He added he was trying to build a team atmo- sphere at the courthouse where he viewed everyone as equals. But a three-member hearing panel made up of Vaillancourt, Justice of the Peace Louise Rozon, and community member Michael Phillips found Massiah's "compli- mentary, jocular, team-building view of the world" couldn't stand against common sense. Th e panel also emphasized its distress over Massiah's lack of acknowledgment that a power imbalance existed between him and the staff . "Th e panel was somewhat distressed to hear the witnesses describing themselves as sub- servient. Th is certainly contrasts with Justice of the Peace Mas- siah's view of the courthouse set- ting as a place of equality. Th e panel recognizes that the reality Reach one of the legal and business markets in Canada! of the situation is that there is an actual power imbalance between a justice of the peace and a court clerk," Vaillancourt wrote in the panel's decision. Vaillancourt added that Mas- siah "had extensive experience in the realm of human rights. Cer- tainly, he would have been aware that the kind of comments he was making were contrary to today's acceptance of appropriateness. "Th e panel accepts that Jus- tice of the Peace Massiah has a friendly and outgoing manner, but at the same time, the panel fi nds that the constant referenc- es to his clerks' appearances are completely inappropriate." Prior to becoming a justice of the peace, Massiah worked as a hearing administrator with the Ministry of Transportation, a hearing offi cer and investigator with the Police Complaints Com- mission, and an investigator with the Ontario Human Rights Com- mission. He also worked as a se- nior consultant at an undisclosed fi rm specializing in diversity and labour relations training. Massiah told the panel dur- ing a hearing last year that his training as a justice of the peace encouraged him to recognize the important role clerks play in the court's operations. He said he felt he needed to develop "a good wouldn't believe them, according to the hearing panel's decision. Of the 13 allegations against Massiah, the hearing panel ac- cepted eight of them. Th ey in- cluded an incident where Mas- siah called a clerk's eyes "beauti- ful" and asked if they "changed colour with the weather." In ad- The panel accepts that Justice of the Peace Massiah has a friendly and outgoing manner, but at the same time, the panel fi nds that the constant references to his clerks' appearances are completely inappropriate. rapport" with his staff in order to build a good relationship with them. To do so, Massiah said he oſt en complimented the clerks by commenting on their physical ap- pearance and form of dress. But the staff members who launched the complaints against Massiah had a diff erent view. Th ey said they were afraid to speak about his actions because he was their superior. Th ey also felt people dition, there was an incident with the same clerk, referred to in the hearing panel's decision as A.A., to whom Massiah stated: "I take it you don't like compliments. You just like abuse." Th e panel also accepted the allegation that Massiah told A.A. she could see him without his shirt just by "letting him know." Th e fi ndings also included an incident in which Massiah nudged a pregnant clerk, referred to as C.C., and said he knew what she was doing 13 weeks earlier. Furthermore, the panel ac- cepted claims related to an in- cident in which Massiah, as he was in the process of robing, told clerk D.D.: "It's not that you haven't seen anything like it be- fore. Mine is just brown." Finally, the panel found Mas- siah asked clerk E.E.: "Damn girl, where did that fi gure come from? "Oh, look at you, pregnant and you still look good," he said to the same clerk. Th e panel didn't accept the al- legation that Massiah had touched the buttocks of a clerk identifi ed as C.C. Instead, it accepted the pos- sibility of accidental contact due to the narrowness of the hallway where the alleged incident took place and the brisk, military pace of Massiah's walk. Massiah denied each of the allegations. Th e panel will reconvene on April 12 to hear submissions from counsel. LT Online Print and in With 250,000 page views a month, canadianlawlist.com captures your market The all-new canadianlawlist.com features: — A fresh new look, designed for improved user experience — Effective new ways to reach the legal market — Gold and silver advertising packages For more information contact: Colleen Austin at 416-649-9327 or toll free at 1-800-387-5351 colleen.austin@thomsonreuters.com www.lawtimesnews.com CLL Web promo - CLL Dir..indd 1 12/8/11 10:58 AM largest more than

• Cover