I work for an Ontario Municipality formerly as the Clerk now…

I work for an Ontario Municipality formerly as the Clerk now as Waste/Recycling Coordinator. I attended a Council Meeting on Monday evening as a Taxpayer, as I was not invited by my CAO to attend as I had Administrative Reports on the Agenda, office practice is you need to be invited.

Proceeding through the Agenda I was called on for input on several occassions, including when my Administrative Reports were being dealt with. A member of Council had with respect to one of my Reports and I was called on to respond. When I responded from the gallery I faced all of Council, addressing Council. When the Agenda moved past my Reports I left the meeting.

The next day when I returned to work my CAO advised she had some news which she knew would be upsetting to me, but she had to tell me as she was directed by Council. She advised following a break in the Agenda (Council had an opportunity to mingle) they went into a Closed Session and the Mayor asked that an issue be added to the Agenda (matters concerning an identifiable individual). The Council Member who asked the questions of my report felt I had insinuated that she had not read her Agenda package prior to the meeting. The majority of Council then passed a Closed Session Resolution instructing me to verbally apologize to the Councillor for insinuating she had not read her Agenda package.

I am a dedicated employee and to date have nothing against my name; I am passionate about job and the Municipality I represent in holding that job so when I was given this resolution of Council I was utterly stunned and shocked. I became emotionally upset and my CAO recommended I go home to work for the afternoon. I went home however by the time I got home I was experiencing numbness in my hands, knees and thighs and walking was not easy. I called my Dr. and attended his office where he gave me medication to calm myself down and after a couple of hours I felt better and able to go home. The Dr. told me if I needed a letter to return to work he would provide same.

That evening my CAO called to find out how I was and I told her what had happened and that the Dr. told me I need to stay home the following day.

The following afternoon my CAO called me again to state I needed to take some time off to get better. She recommended I call EAP and that she had called the Municipality's solicitor with the Mayor present. Again, she advised I need to get better and my job would still be there when I returned.

I advised that I had had a good day and that my Dr. told me I could return to work the following day. She then advised she would call the Mun Solicitor again and get back to me either that evening or in the morning and not to come to work until noon.

I have great concern with the hours I have lost and where I go from here. Should I be going to work; should I have something in writing from my CAO? Any input w/b appreciated.