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Thompson, 65, who has pleaded not guilty, is expected to take the stand as early as this month and, according to his lawyer, “has and will continue to vigorously profess his innocence in the courtroom.”

It is extremely rare for a sitting council member to face criminal charges. Behind closed doors, his council colleagues acknowledge they are following coverage of the case, but none have publicly ����ǰ�����about it in detail as specifics of the allegations have emerged. It’s a marked difference from the early days of the #MeToo movement eight years ago, when powerful men accused of sexual misconduct, ranging from harassment to assault, often faced immediate and intense public condemnation, whether or not they had been convicted or even charged.

The decision by current councillors to remain silent until the trial is over, insiders say, is informed by multiple considerations, some principled and some pragmatic.

The Star spoke with male and female councillors about the Thompson case, three of whom agreed to be quoted on the condition they not be named.

“Obviously we’re reading the stories,” said one councillor. But they stressed they felt an obligation to wait until the legal process played out before talking about it publicly. “Everyone is allowed due process, even politicians.”

They said that “no one” at city hall “is comfortable” with the allegations against Thompson that have come out in court, but “we are still waiting to hear his side.”

The trial, which is scheduled to resume later this month, has heard from Thompson’s alleged victims.

One woman described how she said Thompson had touched her under her bathing suit while applying sunscreen to her body.

A second woman told the court Thompson had woken her up after she had passed out drunk and aggressively tried to have sex with her, despite her repeatedly telling him no. Eventually, she said he rubbed his penis on her face and ejaculated.

A lesson in discretion

More than one councillor who spoke to the Star cited lessons learned from the case of Umar Zameer as reason for not publicly addressing the allegations against their colleague.

Zameer was charged in 2021 with murdering a police officer. Premier Doug Ford and then-mayor John Tory publicly slammed a judge’s decision to grant Zameer bail, comments that critics saw as prematurely condemning the accused. Zameer was ultimately found not guilty.

“I have learned not to comment on things, like when Tory did (about Zameer),” said a second councillor.

The first councillor said a significant consideration was the fact Thompson’s constituents have already had a chance to register their feelings about the accusations against him. In October 2022, a month after he was charged, Thompson was re-elected in his Scarborough Centre ward with 55 per cent of the vote.

“It came out during the election and his voters overwhelmingly re-elected him,” said the councillor.

Both councillors also pointed to a culture at city hall that dissuades council members from attacking colleagues over issues outside of municipal business.

“Society always talks about the ‘blue wall,’” said the second councillor, a reference to the supposed code of silence around police officers. “There’s a wall in every profession.”

“There’s an unwritten rule that you generally don’t criticize other councillors,” agreed the first councillor. They described the informal truce as necessary to enable elected officials to go about their jobs.

“You still have to work with (each other) … you serve on committees together,” they said. “Everyone just tries to keep it professional.”

A changed dynamic

Although Thompson’s case is not a matter of public debate at city hall, some councillors say that it has changed the dynamic behind the scenes.

“Everyone has a different relationship with (Thompson) now than three years ago, to my knowledge,” said a third councillor. They said none of their colleagues had maintained “collegial” relations with him, and that aside from attending monthly council meetings Thompson doesn’t spend much time at city hall.

They also said that they found the allegations against Thompson “really upsetting,” and the process of waiting for the outcome of the case “agonizingly long.”

“We are all just waiting for a verdict. We just want this to be over,” the third councillor said.

In a statement, Thompson’s lawyer Leora Shemesh said that since being charged, the councillor “has made various adjustments to his life in politics … to ensure that those around him are not uncomfortable.”

“He has done this with grace and class, and with the foresight that those around him may not want these allegations to cloud the very important work that is necessary for the city at large.”

Shemesh stressed that many facts, including the defence case, have yet to come out. “It is vital to keep an open mind and permit Mr. Thompson to have a fair opportunity to clear his name,” she said.

The mayor’s reaction

Mayor Olivia Chow took office in July 2023, nine months after Thompson was charged. While she opted not to appoint the conservative councillor to a prominent role in her new progressive administration, she has made multiple public appearances with him, , , and .

Asked after the factory tour about her decision to appear with Thompson while he’s facing charges, Chow said that “until the courts make a decision or the voters in this area make the decision regarding his status, he remains the city councillor for this ward.”

In March 2024, the mayor tapped Thompson for a leadership role on her new FIFA World Cup 2026 steering committee. In October, as details of the allegations against him came out in court, Chow told reporters she wasn’t considering removing him from the committee.

She said Thompson, the former chair of the city’s economic and community development committee, had an “extensive Rolodex” that could help the city host the tournament, a comment that privately bothered some councillors.

Thompson stepped down from the FIFA committee of his own accord last fall, but his office stressed that Chow didn’t ask for his resignation.

By contrast, Chow’s predecessor made a public point of distancing himself from Thompson.

Immediately after the charges were laid in 2022, Tory asked him to resign from his ceremonial post as deputy mayor, saying it would “not be appropriate” for Thompson, a longtime ally, to continue in that role or as chair of a council standing committee.

Chow’s approach to the Thompson case marks a departure from comments she made about another politician accused of sexual assault. In September 2021 she publicly denounced Kevin Vuong, federal candidate for Spadina—Fort York whom the Liberal party dropped after a sexual assault charge against him came to light. (The charge had been withdrawn.)

Chow, a former NDP MP who was not in public office at the time, about Vuong’s case using the hashtag ”#IBelieveHer.” She also then-prime minister Justin Trudeau of not taking the charge against Vuong “seriously.”

Asked to comment on her handling of the Thompson allegations, the mayor’s spokesperson Zeus Eden said Chow “has been a lifelong advocate” combating violence against women. She taught a course at George Brown College that encouraged victims of sexual violence to speak out, and in one of her first acts as mayor led council in declaring gender-based violence an epidemic in Toronto.

Eden also noted that the mayor is a survivor of sexual assault herself. , she talked about being physically and sexually assaulted by a professor 20 years her senior while she was in university.

The spokesperson said that Chow is “deeply concerned” about any allegations of sexual assault, including those against Thompson, but “it would be inappropriate for the mayor or (any) elected official to weigh in on a specific legal case before the courts, due to the risk of prejudicing the fair administration of our independent justice system.”

As for appearing at events with Thompson, Eden said that “local councillors are always notified by staff about the mayor’s attendance at events in their ward.”

A question of public trust

Perhaps the most pointed comments by a public official about the Thompson case have come from one of his former colleagues. In October, NDP MPP and called the details that had been alleged in court “alarming.”

“I’m thinking of the young women who’ve bravely reported the harm and crime they experienced … I hope the survivors are getting the care and support they need and deserve,” wrote Wong-Tam, who served on council with Thompson for 12 years before being elected to Queen’s Park in 2022.

Wong-Tam, who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, recently told the Star that they wrote the post because they “felt it was important to acknowledge the courage of those who came forward and emphasize the seriousness of the allegations.”

They said they recognized the importance of letting the legal system run its course, and understand why sitting councillors are wary about talking about the case. But “silence in the face of serious allegations — especially involving a colleague — can send the wrong message,” said Wong-Tam.

“Public office is a position of trust. We owe it to the public and those who come forward to respond with care, clarity and integrity.”

A shift after #MeToo?

Some people at city hall believe the allegations against Thompson would have provoked a more outspoken reaction at the height of #MeToo. “There’s been a backlash” since then, said the third councillor who spoke to the Star. “There’s been a chill since 2017.”

Eight years ago, the #MeToo movement was propelled into the mainstream after dozens of women accused movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault and abuse. As Weinstein’s retrial approaches this month, Karen Campbell, vice-president of community initiatives for the Canadian Women’s Foundation, said it’s clear attitudes have shifted.

At that time “calls for accountability” were really loud, but now “we’re seeing a bit of a shift to more hesitancy to speak out,” she said, speaking generally.

Part of that is because other crises, such as the pandemic, climate change or global conflicts, have pushed #MeToo out of the spotlight, Campbell said. But the movement also provoked pushback. While proponents said it gave survivors a powerful platform outside of a legal system that had failed them, critics argued #MeToo went too far, and that calls for accountability sometimes crossed the line into cancel culture and “witch hunts” that cost people their jobs, reputations and relationships.

“I think that makes institutions cautious, a bit defensive and hesitant (now) to take strong action in the absence of a big public accountability push,” Campbell said.

In Thompson’s case, that public push is almost non-existent. Online, at city hall and among the electorate, there has been no tidal wave of outrage about the allegations.

Judith Taylor, associate professor of sociology at the University of pc28����who researches feminist activism, said the #MeToo movement, of which she considers herself a part, was never about determining “pre-emptive guilt,” and the fact the complainants in Thompson’s case felt able to speak out is proof #MeToo has been effective in empowering women.

According to Taylor, Chow and others are right to be careful about weighing in on the allegations against Thompson, particularly in light of the bias the legal system and general public have historically shown against Black men accused of sex-related crimes. Taylor also noted that when Chow wasn’t in office she was free to criticize politicians such as Vuong charged with assault, but she has a responsibility to be more restrained when discussing members of a council she oversees.

There has been no “chill” since #MeToo, said Taylor. She added that “public ridicule and scrutiny” faced by people accused of sexual harassment “is stronger than ever.”

Shemesh, Thompson’s lawyer, didn’t directly respond to a question about whether her client believes race has played a role in his case or the perceptions of it.

But she also asserted that there’s been no rollback of #MeToo. She argued that the public now better understands the stigma that attaches to allegations of sexual assault “and they appreciate that it is critical to ensure that we reserve judgment,” she said.