Scanned, recopied or Internet copy, if there are errors, please e-mail me with corrections: Opening comments: More at the end. Mississauga News - Sept 25, 2009 - Letter by Larry Taylor, Former Ward 4 Councillor. Letter of the week Dear Editor:As a member of City Council during the 1980s, I was at the centre of a conflict of interest scandal involving Mayor Hazel McCallion. In the 1980s, developers wanted to ensure that nothing stood in the way of unconstrained growth. Mississauga was grappling with the rate and cost of growth as Canada’s fastest growing city. Planners at the City of Mississauga recommended growth be phased so that the provision of services could be more cost effective. That would mean some developers would have to wait while others would be permitted to proceed. In the end, taxpayers would get better services at better cost. Under extreme political pressure, the planners at the City revised their recommendations to suit their political masters, but not until dozens of secret and closed door meetings were held with Mayor McCallion. These meetings were the basis for a court action by residents claiming McCallion had breached conflict of interest guidelines. Her own land holdings, which were originally in the area not supported for release, would now be released. The court found McCallion guilty. Her defense was that she didn’t understand the rules and the judge allowed her to continue as mayor. In an act of brazen arrogance, only minutes later on the steps of the courthouse, McCallion declared she was vindicated! Now, 20-some years later, she is once again involved with closed door meetings involving development that was going to financially benefit her son. She claims she didn’t understand that she couldn’t be there. She still does not understand her fiduciary duties to the taxpayers of Mississauga? No wonder she wants to remove the scrutiny of the public from her council meetings. Comments by others, 3, to this web-page; DeValera Sep 28, 2009 9:36 AM we must be very happy - If ignorance is bliss ..... Good quote in the Globe today from Victor Cousins:"If ignorance is bliss - there should be more happy people." Mississaugans must be near ecstatic given the lack of traction stories like this have. It is no longer enough to not run again, Madam Mayor should stand down immediately. * Agree 6 Think About It Sep 27, 2009 8:19 PM Before the troll comes back to push the offensive tabs The main issues that developed are “the minutes were doctored” in contrast to the film footage. The city sits on two councils, city and regional, with two separate clerks with separate minute takers when the housing issue arouse about the 20 year waiting list for “Affordable Housing”. It’s like a physiatrist trying to analyze a split personality disorder when a CEO for Mississauga chairs the AMO board and over sees the way land development can be used as an alternative for personal family stocking stuffers before Christmas * Agree 3 Uatu Sep 27, 2009 6:25 PM Classic political situation Mayor McCallion either understood that she was in a conflict of interest, in which case she is lying and attempting to benefit from her position, thus is unfit for her office, or she did not understand, in which case she is incompetent and her judgment is unreliable, thus she is unfit for her office. I do not see other possibilities. She should therefore either resign or be removed from office. Sadly, this is the classic political state of affairs, wherein the you would think that the person holding office must admit being either dishonest or unqualified. Invariably, however, the perpetrator claims ignorance and suffers no lasting consequences. Does anyone think that there will be any other course of events this time? * Agree 3 Home Page - Main Table of Contents - Back up a page - Back to Top [COMMENTS BY DON B. - ] |
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