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Opening comments: More at the end.
To the main Judicial Inquiry page - to the Hazel McCallion page.
Mississauga News - Aug. 11, 2010 - By Joe Chin - jchin@mississauga.net
O’Brien engineered buyout
David O'Brien. Former City manager David O'Brien,
seen here testifying in the first stage of the inquiry coordinated talks between OMERS and WCD
at the request of Mayor Hazel McCallion. File photo
O’Brien told the Mississauga judicial inquiry today that he became involved in the matter under scrutiny following a chance meeting with the McCallions at a golf tournament dinner in July 2009. The City of Mississauga was in the process of buying the City Centre lands for a Sheridan College campus after a failed bid by WCD to acquire the property.
O’Brien, who’s both a trustee of the McCallion family’s trust and sits on the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) board, co-owner of the land, said the mayor had requested that he ensure that the transaction didn’t go off the rails because of the dispute.
OMERS withdrew its conditional offer to sell the land in early 2009 after the development company failed to deliver a four-star hotel. WCD refused to accept that decision and threatened litigation.
“(The mayor) indicated they were having trouble with (OMERS) in getting the (Sheridan) deal done, or there were some issues with the land. I think she was concerned primarily at that point with the contamination that was found,” said O’Brien.
Subsequently, O’Brien met with the mayor's son, Peter McCallion, and another WCD partner, Tony DeCicco, at a local eatery around July 9, 2009. He denied, however, that his mission was to arrange a settlement that would ultimately benefit the mayor’s son financially.
“All Mayor McCallion asked me to do was to make sure I understood all the issues ... so that I can pass that on to the appropriate officials at OMERS,” he said.
O’Brien said at the time he wasn’t aware that Mayor McCallion had declared a conflict of interest in the matter at City Council. Nor did he know all the ins and outs of the issue. He also minimized his role in the McCallion family’s financial affairs, noting the trust contains only $20.
Authorized by Michael Nobrega, president and chief operating officer of OMERS, O’Brien met again with Peter McCallion and DeCicco at the Delta Meadowvale Hotel on Sept. 10, 2009 and hammered out the $4-million buyout. At the meeting, O’Brien said McCallion sat on the sidelines and “didn’t say a word.”
O’Brien, who left the City’s employ in 2004, said that when in August 2009 he learned that McCallion had filed a court affidavit in which he described himself as a principal in WCD – and not just an agent for it – he told City solicitor Mary Ellen Bench that he felt the mayor was in a position of conflict.
This phase of the inquiry is probing conflict-of-interest allegations against the mayor and the role her son played in the $14.4-million failed bid by WCD to purchase a 3.5-hectare parcel of land owned by OMERS to build a hotel/convention centre in City Centre.?
The inquiry reconvenes next Monday.
Comments by others - 9 - to this web-page at time of posting;
The Mississauga Muse
Aug 12, 2010 10:12 AM
WHO TRIED TO SEAL THE SETTLEMENT DOCUMENTS AND HIDE THE INFO FROM THE PUBLIC?
["A" Coleman] Q: Let's scroll down. So the number we've heard in other evidence is $4 million. And then if you look at the third paragraph there: "The parties will consent to an order to remove all the application and counter-application materials from the court file or to seal the court file." Was the genesis of that notion of sealing the file WCD? A: I -- I don't know. Q: You don't know. Then let's look at Exhibit 383. So Mr. Charles reporting to you, John, and Gawain -- Mr. Filipetti and Mr. Smart, I take it? A: Yes. Q: "They have been instructed to accept the settlement offer from WCD at the cost of 4.0 million. They indicated that due to a larger OMERS relationship with the City of Mississauga, they are willing to accept the settlement." This, I gather, didn't sit well with -- with your clients, AIMCo?
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The Mississauga Muse
Aug 12, 2010 10:07 AM
OMERS "engineering"... (Coleman): From our perspective at this point in time, we believed it was a done -- it was effectively a done deal. ... It's been done.
"A" = Coleman: ...Our understanding is it's been done at a higher level. And quite frankly, Oxford's there to get it papered and get it done. Q: Did you speak to Mr. Smart about the settlement personally? A: Yes. Q: Tell us about that discussion. A: Well, again, we weren't happy. We were trying to understand why. We were con -- we were concerned about -- we were concerned in that we -- we don't know why this settlement happened; we don't know the details of the settlement; we don't know what the impetus to the settlement was; and I relayed all that Gawain, and quite frankly, was concerned that -- we were concerned with our position. Q: Did you appreciate that -- that he had been out of the loop in the settlement discussions as well? A: It seemed to maybe catch him a bit off guard as well.
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The Mississauga Muse
Aug 12, 2010 9:34 AM
["A" is Coleman] Q: Okay. Now, keep going down. There's a statement there about OMERS relationship and then a reference to Enersource.
Do you remember what that was about? A: Well, even back in December when --when the Mayor was trying to bridge the gap between the parties, she made references to setting up meetings with Michael Nobrega, et cetera. So there's obviously a -- from our perspective, a tight relationship between the City and OMERS. So, you know, OM -- we -- we knew that there was a relationship there with respect to Enersource. [TRANSCRIPT ENDS] You understand all this right? If it weren't for the good folks out West, we'd have never known to *this* supreme extent the MYTHissauga *nudge* *nudge* *wink* *stink* that must surely have been going on for 30 years! And what I love is all this proof of WHY anyone dealing/conducting business with the City of MYTHissauga (OMERS) must have at least an audio-recorder going!
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The Mississauga Muse
Aug 12, 2010 9:20 AM
Looks like it was AIMCo who blew the whistle on MYTHissauga Sleaze. YAAAAAAAAYYYY AIMCo!
COURT TRANSCRIPT "A" is Craig Colmen (AIMCO rep) Q: "They have been instructed to accept the settlement offer from WCD at the cost of 4.0 million. They indicated that due to a larger OMERS relationship with the City of Mississauga, they are willing to accept the settlement." This, I gather, didn't sit well with -- with your clients, AIMCo? A: We weren't consulted -- Q: Right.
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Uatu
Aug 11, 2010 9:14 PM
@Muse: I know! I know! Pick me pick me!
Obviously it's David O'Brien because HE'S the one with the vested interest so he would be careful to be extra clear on everything. Wait wait, make that two vested interests. Or is it three?
The Mississauga Muse
Aug 11, 2010 8:59 PM
When it's one person's word against another. Okay kiddies, let's call it! Who to believe? Mary Ellen Bench or David O'Brien?
[court transcripts "A" is David O'Brien] Q: Yes. So if we then go to portions of the notes with which you seem to take some issue, at least as far as attributing the statements to you, could we go to September 5, the same page. We have to scroll down a bit. First of all: "All along clear that Hazel has a conflict." Now I should tell you that we've heard from Ms. Bench and she attributes that statement to you. A: M-hm. Q: Do -- do you disagree with that? A: I -- I think that -- my recollection is that she made that statement to me.
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The Mississauga Muse
Aug 11, 2010 8:53 PM
David O'Brien's "recollections" vs Mary Ellen Bench's detailed notes. Ready?
["A" is former city manager, David O'Brien] Q: So what you are suggesting then for the Commission's consideration is that it was Ms. Bench who was aware that the Mayor had been actively involved? A: I believe so, yes. Q: And then this: "Will sit..." A couple of bullet points further down: "Will sit down with DeCicco and see if can go away." Ms. Bench attributes that to you as well, Mr. O'Brien. What do you say about that? A: I -- I probably said it, but perhaps not in that Q: You took no notes yourself -- A: No. Q: -- of these discussions? A: No. Q: You have no other record? A: No, I do not.
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The Mississauga Muse
Aug 11, 2010 8:48 PM
Repeat! Those Mississauga Judicial Inquiry folks are AMAZING! Today's TRANSCRIPT already u!
http://mail.tscript.com/trans/mississauga/aug_11_10/index.htm
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The Mississauga Muse
Aug 11, 2010 7:13 PM
You can't make this up either! Video Transcript: Hazel McCallion to the People of Mississauga
[After Enersource public meeting] "I think the purpose of the public meeting was to give as much information as possible to the citizens because very little information has been given to them." I went up to that podium and asked "Where is David O'Brien?" She said he never asked to attend the meeting "nor was he invited". We now know why. And we now know Hazel McCallion's first utterance to the citizens of Mississauga during that Rogers telecast, "I think the purpose of the public meeting was to give as much information as possible to the citizens because very little information has been given to them." was a LIE! A LIE! I mean what else would you call it? And I also have video of Hazel McCallion pontificating on the City's Respectful Workplace Policy and the importance of "honesty with the citizens"! Ya can't make that up either. But these loathesome behaviours are there! IN VIDEO.
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Uatu
Aug 11, 2010 5:49 PM
You can't make this stuff up
He's a former City manager. He's on the board of OMERS and he is a trustee for the McCallion family trust. The Mayor asked him to step in, which raises the fascinating question: who the hell was he representing? In a million years you couldn't find anyone with more conflicts of interest. It's just not possible. If I put this in a novel it would be rejected as ridiculously unbelievable.
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