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Heaton-Sherstobitoff said they had asked residents to avoid non-essential travel during the holidays in line with provincial health guidelines.
Another councillor, Florio Vassilakakis, said he was disappointed with the mayor’s decision and felt the trip was unnecessary.
“This is not on the same level as the federal politicians who have gone into places where they clearly should not have gone; however, our advisory was stick to your own region. And that is a fair point that he should be accountable to,” he said.
“I would never judge him and tell him to leave office, because nobody wants to see this happen.”
He also doesn’t believe Tassone’s letter of resignation paints an accurate picture of what happens at council.
“I don’t think vigorous debate should be confused with bullying,” he said.
Tassone was elected to office in 2014 and elected as mayor in 2018.
The issue of politicians travelling during the holidays is in the spotlight because of COVID-19 health orders and recommendations not to travel from the B.C. government.
A growing number of provincial and federal politicians, as well as government officials, in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec have faced scrutiny for vacationing abroad, including to Caribbean destinations such as St. Barts and Barbados.
Canadians, however, were advised to curb the spread of COVID-19 by limiting non-essential activities and holiday gatherings.
It was also revealed this week that a member of Vancouver’s senior leadership team and several municipal councillors from West Vancouver and the Victoria area left the country in recent weeks, in defiance of provincial recommendations against non-essential travel.
— With files from Joanne Lee-Young and Dan Fumano
ticrawford@postmedia.com
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