Harassment charges dropped in case involving councillor elected MP

Charges against a London man accused of harassing Arielle Kayabaga when the just-elected Liberal MP was serving on city council were withdrawn on Tuesday.

Joshua Girges was charged in November with criminal harassment by repeated communication and harassing telecommunication.

The Crown said Girges's two charges were to be withdrawn “due to lack of reasonable prospect of conviction in the circumstances.”

That came mere hours after Kayabaga's fast-rising political career saw her elected MP for London West, just three years after entering politics.

London police said they launched an investigation in September 2020 after a councillor reported “a number of harassing phone calls” from a person they didn't know, starting four months prior.

Kayabaga, 30, was a first-term councillor who represented the downtown core until her win in Monday night's federal election.

Politically, her win creates a challenge for city council, which can appoint someone to represent Ward 13 until next fall's municipal election.

She hasn't resigned her seat or been sworn in as an MP yet, but city politicians will meet at a special committee meeting on Monday to recommend declaring Ward 13 vacant. Once that's approved by city council, there's a 60-day deadline to fill the vacancy or call a byelection. The next general municipal election is in October 2022.

This scenario last arose in 2013 when Ward 5 Coun. Joni Baechler was named mayor following Joe Fontana's resignation after a criminal conviction. Council at that time tapped a former councillor, Russ Monteith, to represent Baechler's ward until a municipal election was held the next year.