Urgent call to Action from the Women of Ontario Say No

On June 18th, 2025, six members of Women of Ontario Say No attended a City of Niagara Falls Council meeting to represent the voices of women across Ontario who are demanding accountability of municipally-elected officials with respect to violations of the codes of conduct.

The request from The Women of Ontario Say No to speak before Council on necessary legislative change in this regard was denied, citing the rationale that it may relate to "ongoing court proceedings." No by-law or municipal policy has been provided to justify this decision, despite multiple requests.

Currently, there is a councillor charged with domestic assault.

Suppression of Peaceful Protest

While in the Council chamber, small signs were held with the message: #WomenOfOntarioSayNo—a peaceful and silent show of solidarity for the women who were denied the opportunity to speak to this critical issue. At the direction of Mayor, women were ordered to remove the signs or leave. Three of the six women silently and respectfully declined. The Mayor then instructed the Sergeant-at-Arms physically remove a sign from one of the women, resulting in tearing it apart. Following this exchange, the Niagara Regional Police were called and three women were arrested and forcibly removed for “trespass” in this public space.

The video of the arrests can be viewed on our instagram channel: @womenofontariosayno

The conduct was so inappropriate, that the Canadian Constitutional Foundation reached out to our group and has written a letter requesting Council rescind its policy or face legal action. In addition, the group has secured pro bono legal counsel as the law was violated in these arrests.

The Women of Ontario Say No will pursue all avenues for legal action against the City of Niagara Falls, but we need your help. We are seeking donations to support the court filing fees and related paperwork to be able to move forward as soon as possible. Any amount you have to give is going to help us achieve justice for all women who have been silenced.

Who we are:

The Women of Ontario Say No is a non-partisan group advocating for government legislation to hold municipally-elected politicians accountable for violence and harassment. Ontario municipalities have learned the hard way that there is a lack of tools in the Municipal Act for holding councillors accountable for workplace harassment.

Right now in Ontario, the most severe penalty that can be imposed on a municipal councillor is the suspension of pay for 90 days. There is no current process for removing councillors from office, even when egregious acts are committed and substantiated.

We need government legislation to change that.

And we need it now.

Learn more: thewomenofontariosayno.com

#WomenofOntarioSayNo #accountabilitynow