Ottawa Coun. Rick Chiarelli personally responded for the first time Thursday to allegations over the past month of inappropriate behaviour toward former staffers and job applicants.

He said that he has "never treated a member of my staff (including job candidates) in a sexually harassing, discriminatory, or inappropriate 'gender-based' fashion."

His denial of the allegations was expected — the College ward councillor had done so through a lawyer last week, and earlier called the accusations "spurious" — but some of his statements warrant further examination.

ICYMI | Coun. Rick Chiarelli has issued a statement denying allegations from multiple women that he engaged in sexually inappropriate behaviour. <br><br>More here: <a href="https://t.co/fJWLPkGXng">https://t.co/fJWLPkGXng</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ottnews?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ottnews</a> <a href="https://t.co/aIPZIFmHjN">pic.twitter.com/aIPZIFmHjN</a> —@CBCOttawa

Rights tribunal proper forum, Chiarelli claims

Among the various pronouncements Chiarelli made in his statement, he argued the allegations against him "related to workplace gender discrimination or workplace sexual harassment are not matters that are properly placed before the city's integrity commissioner."

He said his own lawyer advised him that most of the complaints against him should be made to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, which would allow him to know the identity of his accuser and the particulars of the allegations, and allow his lawyer to cross-examine the complainants.

CBC spoke with a dozen women who alleged that Chiarelli made inappropriate comments at work and in job interviews, and reported seven of their stories. Three of the women were named, including Victoria Laaber, who worked for Chiarelli for four years. She alleged that, among other things, Chiarelli sent her to a strip club to spy on another councillor, and suggested she not wear a bra at work events.

Councillors Allan Hubley and Scott Moffatt are taking over some of the duties for Rick Chiarelli's College ward residents. (Kate Porter/CBC)

Experts dispute Chiarelli claim

Paul Champ, an Ottawa human rights lawyer who regularly represents employees with workplace sexual harassment complaints, said Chiarelli's views on the integrity commissioner are "without foundation."

I think that he is misinformed about the nature of the integrity commissioner's powers and responsibilities. - Paul Champ, lawyer

"I think that he is misinformed about the nature of the integrity commissioner's powers and responsibilities," Champ said.

Champ said under the Municipal Act, the commissioner has the power to summon witnesses and have them provide evidence under oath.

Ottawa's code of conduct for councillors clearly states that members of council must treat members of the public and staff with respect and "without abuse, bullying or intimidation, and to ensure that their work environment is free from discrimination and harassment."

It's clear from the code, said Champ, that "this is within the integrity commissioner's jurisdiction, and he has all the powers to conduct an investigation."

When there is a complaint about harassment in the workplace, "there's no requirement to refer that immediately or directly to the human rights tribunal. Every employer has the duty to conduct that investigation at first instance on its own and with the city council, that responsibility lies with integrity commissioner, he said.

Stéphane Émard-Chabot is a municipal law expert at the University of Ottawa. (CBC)

Stéphane Émard-Chabot agrees.

The municipal law professor and former Ottawa city councillor said while there's nothing to stop complainants from also going to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, "the two processes are not exclusive. It really is up to the complainant to decide what they want to do."

The two bodies have different roles and, if the allegations are proven, their decisions come with different consequences, Émard-Chabot said.

"I don't see anything either in the code of conduct or in the Ontario Human Rights Code that would prevent the integrity commissioner from going ahead with an inquiry."

Anonymous complaints

Émard-Chabot said Chiarelli may have a point about the fact that the complainants remain anonymous, adding the councillor "raises a good point on the aspect of being able to defend himself."

Before each story was published, CBC sent Chiarelli and his lawyer emails fully explaining all allegations in the stories, including the names of the three women on the record. For the job applicants who complained that the councillor made inappropriate comments during their interviews, CBC gave the councillor identifying details about when and where job interviews took place, and what was allegedly said.

The integrity commissioner is expected to provide a similar level of detail to Chiarelli, although he will not reveal the complainants' names.

Emilie Coyle, who ran against Chiarelli and placed second in last fall's municipal election, sent a text during the summer to a friend that she knew worked with a former employee of Chiarelli after she said she heard through the grapevine about a woman who had an inappropriate interview with Chiarelli. (Matthew Kupfer/CBC)

Former political rival did send text

Chiarelli also wrote in his denial that he was "made aware of one of my political adversaries attempting to persuade a number of women to join an organized group to speak negatively about me."

CBC has learned that Emilie Coyle, who ran against Chiarelli and placed second in last fall's municipal election, texted a friend this summer who she knew had worked with a former employee of Chiarelli.

Coyle told CBC she had heard through the grapevine about a woman who had an inappropriate interview with Chiarelli. In the text, Coyle wondered if her friend's friend — the former Chiarelli employee — was interested in speaking with the media.

"There are a few other women who experienced the same thing from him," Coyle wrote in the text from late June. "And we are looking for a critical mass."

Former College ward candidate Emillie Coyle sent this text in the summer to a friend who worked with a former staffer of Rick Chiarelli. (Provided.)

Asked what she meant by the phrase "looking for a critical mass," Coyle told CBC in an interview that in "stories where women have come forward, that when one woman comes forward it's often not enough it's not believed, and we need to support each other as women."

She said her motivation for sending the text was to help women be heard, "that they're taken seriously and their stories, when they come out, are investigated. And that's it."

To claim that this is politically orchestrated by a seasoned political adversary is a ridiculous allegation, a purely protective assertion and untrue on various levels - Victoria Laaber, former Chiarelli employee

She said she's no longer a political opponent of Chiarelli, and should his seat become vacant, she has no intention of running in a byelection.

Coyle said she sent the text to just one person, and never reached any former Chiarelli employees or job applicants. CBC asked each of the seven women whose stories were reported last month if they had ever met or spoken with Emilie Coyle, or knowingly ever spoke with anyone on her campaign team from last fall. They all said no.

In fact, the text was passed on to the former Chiarelli employee by Coyle's friend. That former staffer passed the text on to Laaber — herself a former staffer — who actually sent it to Chiarelli back in July.

Former staffer Victoria Laaber says she sent Coyle's text to Chiarelli in July. (Victoria Laaber)

"I genuinely had no clue how badly I had been manipulated," said Laaber, explaining why she sent Chiarelli the text.

She said since then, through therapy, she has "come to more of a realization of how badly my situation actually was."

Last week, Laaber told her story to CBC on the record, and said she is pursuing a formal complaint through the integrity commissioner.

"To claim that this is politically orchestrated by a seasoned political adversary is a ridiculous allegation, a purely protective assertion and untrue on various levels," Laaber said Thursday of Chiarelli's statement.

Chiarelli says he's being 'targeted'

The councillor also wrote that he retained formal legal counsel in July — the same month Laaber sent Chiarelli the text about a possible media story looking at his behaviour — because he said he "learned" he "was being targeted" over his attempts to bring greater transparency to the LRT procurement process.

For the last year or so, Chiarelli has been fighting to know more about the city's expropriation agreements for the LRT project, going so far as to file an access for information request against the city for which he is a councillor. He also voted against the LRT Stage 2 contract .

It's unclear whether it's these actions that Chiarelli is referring to when he writes about his attempts to bring transparency to the LRT procurement process.

His office refused CBC's request for an interview to discuss his statement, so it also remains unclear what the councillor means when he says he's being targeted, or by whom.