City council won’t rule on Chris Moise’s legal fees until May

The city’s integrity commissioner found the downtown councillor “crossed the line” when he told a constituent he had a “white supremacy view.”

Published Apr 23, 2026  •  Last updated 13 minutes ago  •  3 minute read

Councillor Chris Moise speaks to constituent Daniel Tate in this image taken from a cellphone video. In the video, Moise tells Tate he has a “white supremacy view” and accuses him of harassment. Photo by Video courtesy of Daniel Tate

Chris Moise’s legal fees will remain in limbo until May.

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While Toronto city council had been asked to reimburse Moise for $20,807.61 for a legal battle related to an integrity investigation, councillors on Thursday instead chose to delay the decision until their next meeting.

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That came after a contentious round of questioning of two senior bureaucrats, Mike Pacholok and Wendy Walberg, not about Moise’s behaviour but about city policies related to reimbursement of legal fees.

The delay had been suggested by Moise’s political ally Paula Fletcher, who last month brought forward changes that led to council essentially ignoring a report by integrity commissioner Paul Muldoon.

Muldoon found Moise “crossed the line” during a 2025 incident, reported by the Toronto Sun, in which Moise told constituent Daniel Tate he had a “white supremacy view.”

While council effectively made no decision Thursday evening, it took a group effort to get to that point. A huddle of Alejandra Bravo, Nick Mantas, Josh Matlow, Gord Perks and Anthony Perruzza broke itself up at one point when it was time for Stephen Holyday, seated nearby, to rise to speak.

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Fletcher, while pressing Pacholok, the deputy city clerk, on policy specifics, waved to her right during one of his answers and was caught on a hot mic telling someone else on the council floor: “Help me.”

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Pacholok and Walberg, the city solicitor, were asked repeatedly by councillors for theoretical details about reimbursement for legal fees, such as the maximum amounts that can be claimed in specific circumstances.

It’s unclear if Speaker Frances Nunziata thought Fletcher pushed too hard or heard muttering from elsewhere on the floor, but she admonished council after Fletcher’s questioning of the bureaucrats.

“Please show respect to the staff!” Nunziata snapped.

Moise was required to step out from the council chamber for Thursday’s debate.

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While his idea was sidelined by the delay, Holyday had suggested council do what it had already done and not take a position on Moise’s legal dilemma.

He said there was wisdom in Fletcher’s idea from a month before, as “there is ongoing back-and-forth with the resident and the councillor.”

“Council did not put itself in the middle of that. I’m suggesting we do the same thing here,” Holyday said.

Instead, council put off the decision on Moise’s fees, plus everything else left on the agenda. Well after 8 p.m., Perks suggested council delay the remainder of its work until May, saying “people are fraying around the edges a little bit.”

Activist Daniel Tate speaks at a news conference on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto. At left is former mayoral candidate Anthony Furey. Photo by Justin Holmes /Toronto Sun

Not a ‘kick me’ sign?

Muldoon had recommended city council not reprimand Moise, but “adopt the findings” that he violated Article 14 of Toronto’s code of conduct for members of council, which says elected officials must not “engage with others … in a manner that is abusive, bullying, intimidating or derogatory.”

The Toronto Centre councillor, in a statement sent to the Sun last week, said that amounted to a vindication.

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“Toronto city council unanimously rejected the integrity commissioner’s report the only way it could: It voted to ‘receive it for information’ without endorsing or acting on any part of it,” Moise said.

“I have been vindicated by Toronto city council, and I refuse to believe that our council’s code of conduct is a ‘kick me’ sign taped to our backs.”

Fletcher, in brief remarks during April’s meeting, seemed to imply that councillors have been victims of the actions of the public when she said Muldoon should clarify “what members of council need to do to respond to aggressive, harassing, hateful and actually threatening behaviour.”

In his report, Muldoon said Moise asked him to consider the 2025 squabble with Tate “against the backdrop of a prolonged and highly publicized dispute surrounding the renaming of Yonge-Dundas Square to Sankofa Square and disputes about other city equity initiatives (Moise) has championed.”

That prolonged dispute between a councillor and a constituent was in the news yet again last month, when the Sunreported Moise’s office had pressed city bureaucrats to crack down on Tate, who sells T-shirts featuring the old Yonge-Dundas Square logo on his integrityto.ca website.

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