Harassment at London City Hall undermines housing department’s efficiency and morale: report

A former employee of the City of London is breaking the silence that followed a recent human rights investigation into harassment and discrimination by Craig Cooper, director of Housing Stability Services.

Weeks after receiving a summary of the investigation’s findings, Kate Green was fired without cause by city hall.

“Absolutely, I think it was retribution,” Green tells CTV News. “I think it was reprisal for speaking up about the harassment that not just me, but many women were experiencing, and I suspect continue to experience.”

Green worked for almost seven years as a manager in the Housing Stability Services (HSS) department of city hall, overseeing contracts that direct government funding to frontline homelessness agencies.

In 2024, she filed a human rights complaint alleging “disrespectful behaviour, workplace harassment, and discrimination.”

The matter was referred to an external investigator, Bernardi Human Resource Law LLP.

On June 25, 2025, the human rights manager sent a summary of the investigation’s findings to Green substantiating several claims:

• “witnesses corroborated that (Cooper) can be loud and at times rude while interrupting others and barking orders. The investigator found that this behaviour impacted employees and community representatives.”
• “behaves aggressively, and has a loud, abrupt and demanding communication style, especially under pressure, which had a negative impact on you, and that you interpreted his behaviour as disruptive and rude.”
• “sent you messages outside your working hours, which you experienced as boundary-crossing.”
• “dismissive in his communication and body language during interactions and made negative comments about your colleagues.”
• “consistently micromanaged you, and that this pattern of behaviour negatively impacted your team’s efficiency and morale.”

It concluded that Cooper, “engaged in workplace harassment against you by engaging in disrespectful and unprofessional behaviour that contributed to creating a negative work environment. The investigator found, therefore, that the Respondent’s conduct violated the (Respectful Workplace Anti-Harassment/Anti-Discrimination) Policy.”

Three of Green’s allegations were not substantiated by the investigation, and it was also stated that Cooper behaves the same way towards both female and male colleagues.

Green says she was among a number of employees in HSS with concerns about Cooper’s behaviour.

She believes it was responsible for staff turnover within the department responsible for addressing the homelessness crisis.

“The people who reported harassment are all gone now, (and) that was not a full year ago,” she says. “And all of the women who reported harassment have been pushed out in one way or another. They’ve either left because of the environment, they’ve been fired without cause, transferred, or are on leave.”

Green was fired without cause in September, only weeks after receiving the summary of the investigation’s findings.

“What I was told by human resources was that we are incompatible. That’s the word, incompatible,” she recalls.

An initial agreement terminating her employment offered six months salary continuation, $2,500 for legal fees and career transitioning, and “a lump sum payment in the amount of $5,000 as general damages.”

The $5,000 payment would be contingent on Green confirming that she had withdrawn a claim to the pay equity commissioner.

“This payment shall be made by the Corporation within 14 days of receipt of the correspondence from the Pay Equity Commission confirming that the Application has been updated to remove the Manager, Housing Stability Services as a position in dispute,” it reads.

However, she refused to sign both the initial document as well as a second offer from the city because they contained non-disparagement clauses that she believes would have prevented her from telling her story.

“When women are pushed out and sign these agreements, they are isolated. They’re isolated from each other. There’s no peer support because you can’t talk to anybody about it. You sign an agreement saying, I will never tell anyone what happened to me here,” she explains.

“It also protects bad actors. So it means the pattern isn’t seen and the people that should be held accountable are not held accountable. You’re bound to silence.”

Responding to an interview request from CTV News, civic administration sent an email, “We are not in a position to comment on any individual personnel matter. The City of London is committed to maintaining a workplace that is inclusive, respectful, and free from discrimination, and we follow established processes to address any concerns that are raised.”

The human rights investigation summary sent to Green commits to implementing corrective and disciplinary action, that an external consultant will be brought in to restore workplace norms and culture, and that Cooper would be assigned a role outside the department until restoration efforts are complete.

Earlier this month, Cooper’s title appeared in a council report as director of Housing Stability Services, the same role he held when the harassment occurred.

By telling her story, Green hopes city council will request a copy of the original report from the independent investigator — a document she has never seen.

She also wants current and past employees of the HSS department to be offered support services, and for the individuals responsible to face consequences.

“I would say nothing was done and certainly nothing to support staff. It seems from my perspective that the city went out of its way to protect senior leadership and completely neglected to provide any kind of support for the people who had been harassed,” she adds.

Craig Cooper has not replied to CTV News about an interview request, but city hall provided a follow-up statement that “individual staff members won’t be able to respond to your request either”.

Strategies to address workplace harassment were recommended to civic administration just six years ago.

In 2018, Toronto law firm Rubin Thomlinson LLP was hired as an independent third party to investigate harassment, bullying and discrimination reported by employees of the city at the time.

Of the 779 current and former city employees who completed a survey for Rubin Thomlinson’s investigation, almost half (383) said that they had experienced harassment, discrimination, bullying, intimidation, and/or reprisal in the workplace.

In 2019, civic administration committed to act upon the report’s recommendations, which included strategies to improve transparency, policies, and training.