Aurora Citizen

News & Views from the Citizens of Aurora Ontario

Season’s Greetings

Posted by auroracitizen on December 22, 2010

During the Holiday Season more than ever our thoughts turn gratefully to those who have made this last year successful.

At this time, on behalf of the Aurora Citizen we wish to extend our thanks to all readers and participants for your genuine desire to create a better future for Aurora and contribute to creating that future as a community — each in our own unique way.

This last year has been an interesting one. Our community sent a clear message to community leaders that we demand respect of ourselves and each other.

We have great expectations for our leaders.

We do not expect perfection — but we do expect courtesy and collaboration. We expect them to listen with an open mind and make decisions they feel are aligned with their principles — and be prepared to explain their reasons.

We do not expect they will always agree with each other — or with all citizens — but we do expect them to act with courtesy and respect, even when there is disagreement based on the issues.

As a way of expressing our thanks to you and in keeping with the spirit of the season, the Aurora Citizen will be making a donation to our local Food Bank.

These gifts will help ensure those less fortunate than ourselves share in the goodwill of the season and receive some of the everyday necessities that many take for granted.

Sharing our good fortune with others is a holiday tradition here in Aurora and with your continued support we hope to uphold and participate in that tradition for many years to come.

From all of us at The Aurora Citizen — Merry Christmas, Seasons Greetings and Happy Holidays — however you chose to celebrate this season.

Posted in Community Corner | 7 Comments »

Council Ends Support of Morris Lawsuit

Posted by auroracitizen on December 21, 2010

Tonight Aurora Council reconsidered the motion that started Aurora down the path that allowed a politician to sue 3 private citizens for $6 million.

Sanity prevailed and 6 of 7 Councillors voted to reject the motion that Aurora should be spending our tax dollars to support a politicians desire to silence her critics.

Voting against the original motion were Mayor Dawe, Councillors Abel, Thompson, Buck, Humfryes and Pirri. Voting in favour was Councillor Gallo. As a result, the motion was defeated and Council no longer has provided direction to pursue “any and all action” — the language that led to the lawsuit.

Noticeably absent were Councillors Gaertner and Ballard. Possibly they had more pressing engagements this evening.

In practical terms this means that Phyllis Morris, private citizen, must now decide whether she is prepared to put up her own money to fund this lawsuit. She will now be financially accountable for her decisions — rather than Aurora taxpayers.

Councillor Thompson was the original mover of the motion for reconsideration and he spoke of hearing a consistent and strong message from citizens that the community viewed this as wholly inappropriate. As he campaigned he promised to listen and bring the concerns of the community forward — and felt that this was an important issue to deal with as expeditiously as possible.

We continue to be puzzled by Councillor Gallo’s re-confirmed support of this motion — particularly given his comments in the meeting that he never imagined that his original vote would have resulted in a lawsuit — which he clearly stated he did not support. So we are perplexed by his rationale for continuing to support a broad motion that enables a politician to use public funds to pursue a personal matter. Now with the benefit of hindsight, it was surprising to see him again vote in the affirmative to direct staff to continue to fund the lawsuit.

He also stated that he did believe in the principle that there was a line that should not be crossed when making comments about politicians. We agree.

If the comments are of a personal nature then they are out of bounds. But if the comments are about the performance of their duties, we believe that criticism is fair.

The next court date is set for Jan 13, 2011. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association will be appearing together with the lawyers for the 3 defendants against the motion being brought forward by Phyllis Morris.

Posted in Legal | 24 Comments »

Discussion Topic: Winter Parking Ban Has Arrived

Posted by auroracitizen on December 21, 2010

Hi Aurora Citizens,

Isn’t it nice that now, past November 15th – with the overnight parking not allowed for the winter on municipal roads, we do not have to do the slalom between parked cars and trucks all over our neighbourhoods.

If the same people who permanently leave their cars on the road during the summer can, somehow, find parking for 6 months of the year,  they should be able to make it though the full 12 months. Think of what advantage would make if these cars wouldn’t be parked on Yonge and/or Wellington – we might be able to use 2 lanes at the same time! The buses would go faster.

Even in quiet neighbourhoods, at times it is difficult to get one’s car out of the driveway because trucks are parked all over the street.

What I suggest is to have a bylaw similar to Oakville and other Ontario municipalities,  a maximum of 3 hrs street parking any time of the year.   The roads will be clear,  there will be more revenue in the city coffers and our property taxes should be spared a little.

Posted in Discussion Topic, Traffic/Parking | 25 Comments »

Reader Suggests Councillor Gaertner Resign Based on Behaviour

Posted by auroracitizen on December 21, 2010

An Open Letter to Councillor Wendy Gaertner.

Councillor Gaertner,

After witnessing first hand your display at the Aurora Council meeting on Tuesday Dec 14 2010, I had to write. You have demonstrated to me a lack of respect to Aurorans, to Aurora Council, and to the oath you swore. You’re alone in this behaviour, and you present yourself in a less than professional manner.

At this meeting I saw that you handed a letter, prepared in advance, to a representative of The Auroran.  I can only conclude from this action that it was your pre-meditated intent to be disruptive and drive a wedge. This type of behaviour serves no good to the town, nor to the people you swore to professionally and respectfully represent. In my opinion, you weren’t being truthful to Aurorans when you campaigned on the promise of serving the people of the community.

Our new council is going to make some process and procedural mistakes as they find their way. Growing pains are understandable and are bound to occur with a new council, however these will quickly fade as council develops their political acumen and we all move forward. I’m certain every reasonable person in town can accept this. What I believe is important to most Aurorans, is that our new council is making every effort to restore good, civil, accountable government to Aurora. Why you remain stuck in the past and focused on the negative, frankly escapes me.

You are opposed to, and showed no interest in taking part in the off-site meeting. What could possibly be your objection to taking part in learning sessions and a key team-building exercise? Teamwork was something sorrowfully lacking on Aurora Council for the last 4 years. Surely you cannot believe that;

  1. You already know all there is to know about municipal politics?
  2. Teamwork adds no value to a functioning council?
  3. You have nothing to learn about your new teammates?

An off-site meeting gives all those who attend the chance to get to know each other better, share ideas, share best practices, grow a deeper understanding and appreciation of your co-councillors, and to learn what issues are important to them. Like a sports team on a road trip, getting away as a group creates a bond that just doesn’t occur when everyone stays in town, and heads for the door as soon as the structured meeting ends. It was encouraging to see that most of the other councillors saw the obvious benefit in attending.

The recent election results showed that the majority of Aurorans want true change. We’re tired of the infighting. We don’t want a fractured council anymore. Why aren’t you listening? Have you no interest in being part of something better?

In my opinion, I believe you may be getting bad advice.

Who stands to benefit by having you act this way? I can tell you that it’s not the taxpayers of Aurora, so who then, are you truly representing? I can’t imagine that anyone could maintain this level of bitterness and vindictiveness without having it create a lasting negative affect on their outlook, their judgment, or their health, for that matter.

Councillor Gaertner, I believe you have no intention of honouring your oath or commitment to the taxpayers of Aurora. And as such, I respectfully ask you to resign your post as councillor. It appears to me that you no longer have the attitude, energy, direction, and focus required to carry out your sworn duties in a positive, fair, and respectful manner.

Matt Maddocks

Aurora

Posted in Code of Ethics, Community Input, Guest Post, Integrity, Leadership, Town Council | 34 Comments »

Councellor Gaertner Admits She Didn’t Write Notes

Posted by auroracitizen on December 20, 2010

Could it get any weirder?

After attacking Mayor Dawe at last Council meeting because he provided Council with a written Notice of Motion rather than a verbal Notice of Motion, Councillor Gaertner read from prepared printed notes that most would assume she prepared in advance of the meeting.

Throughout, members of the audience saw her continuously refer to these notes as she railed on that the written notice was not consistent with the procedural bylaw — even after the clerk assured her that written was even better than verbal, which was the minimum  as stated in the by-law.

She then proceeded to move a motion that the written Notice should not be accepted — instead, Mayor Dawe should make the Notice verbal.

“I would like to make a motion that items 15 and 16 be removed from the agenda tonight as they contravene the procedural bylaw and the mayor can give notice of motion verbally under new business as is our custom in Aurora Council.”

This motion was seconded by — wait for it — Councillor Ballard. Thankfully Council saw the absurdity of this “keystone kops” motion and voted it down 7 – 2 (guess who the 2 were :))

After her comments, she provided a copy of the notes that she read from to Brock Weir of The Auroran for his reference.

Here’s where it gets good.

It has been a common belief by many Council watchers that Councillor Gaertner gets notes provided in advance by others and then reads from them as if they are her own — but never before has she provided them for the press so that this belief could be proven. However, here’s what she said when asked to comment on the notes provided to The Auroran.

When asked who printed it off and handed it to her, she said “I guess I shouldn’t answer because this might get them in trouble.” “I don’t know whose comments these are. I have no idea. Do you think that I would hand that to you knowing that there was something like that on the back? I never wrote that, but that is somebody’s opinion. That is not my opinion.”

Thanks for clearing up the confusion.

The interesting comment she makes was “Do you think that I would hand that to you knowing that there was something like that on the back?”

Well of course, any intelligent person wouldn’t hand them over — but would any intelligent person be reading from someone else’s notes to begin with?

Some questions that immediately come to mind.

  1. Who is this mystery person or persons providing Councillor Gaertner her comments?
  2. And who did people actually elect when they put their “X” beside Councillor Gaertner’s name?

Points to ponder in the coming months and when trying to evaluate the contribution of Councillor Gaertner to this Council.

Posted in Integrity, Leadership, Town Council | 18 Comments »

Councillor Gaertner Enlists Lawyer to Quiet Critics

Posted by auroracitizen on December 20, 2010

A few days ago, someone whispered in our email inbox that another Aurora politician — Councillor Gaertner — had engaged legal counsel in her desire to quiet critics. We were told that registered letters had been sent to Aurora residents regarding letters published in The Auroran. However, without corroborating information, we did not publish this information.

However, The Auroran confirms that Ron Wallace was on the receiving end of one of these letters as was the original letter writer S Smallwood. He refers to it in his column on page 4.

It would seem that Councillor Gaertner has chosen not to learn from the experience of her mentor Phyllis Morris and has instead chosen to try a silence those who don’t agree with her through legal action.

At least she has decided to undertake this step without asking the taxpayers of Aurora to fund this battle — but given the current climate of residents towards the last lawsuit, if nothing else, this action seems to be ill-advised and lacks any long term thought.

Posted in Code of Ethics, Community Input, Legal, Town Council | 25 Comments »

Special Meeting Planned to Deal With Lawsuit Funding

Posted by auroracitizen on December 19, 2010

Aurora Council has called a special meeting for Tuesday December 21 to deal with the Town of Aurora funding Phyllis Morris for her lawsuit against 3 private citizens and this blog as well as unnamed bloggers.

The purpose will be to re-consider the original motion that allowed the then Mayor to take “any and all” action — which resulted in Phyllis launching a $6 million lawsuit funded with your tax dollars.

The meeting is at 7:00 pm if you are interested in attending.

Posted in Integrity, Leadership, Legal, Town Council | 3 Comments »

CCLA Stepping In

Posted by auroracitizen on December 19, 2010

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has confirmed they will seek leave to intervene to argue against Ms. Morris and has appointed Torys LLP and Wendy Matheson its counsel on the Norwich motion.

The information below from the Torys site reports that divisional court recently rendered a decision in a similar case.

Canadian Civil Liberties Association welcomes Divisional Court decision protecting Internet anonymity

Torys represented the Canadian Civil Liberties Association with a team that included Wendy Matheson and Natalie Biderman. Torys successfully intervened on behalf of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association in a Divisional Court appeal in Warman v. Wilkins-Fournier. The case sets a significant precedent in the area of Internet law by establishing that the identity of an anonymous Internet user will not automatically be disclosed to a plaintiff in a civil proceeding absent proof of a prima facie case and a consideration of the Internet user’s Charter rights, even though the information is in the possession of a named defendant.

The Divisional Court overturned an order requiring the named defendants, who run an Internet message board, to produce all documents in their possession relating to the identities of several John Doe defendants who posted allegedly defamatory comments on the message board. The Divisional Court found that the case engaged both freedom of expression and privacy interests under the Charter, and that these interests should be balanced against the public interest in disclosure for the administration of justice. It held that courts should adopt a process that provides for a balancing of the interests at stake before identity information is disclosed by a party. Otherwise, a plaintiff with no legitimate claim could misuse the court rules by, for example, commencing a frivolous action against an Internet service provider for the sole purpose of unmasking an anonymous Internet commentator.

Further information is found on the CCLA’s website.

The defendants are pleased by this development and feel that it reflects the significant legal issues in this case and look forward to the involvement of the CCLA in this matter.

Posted in Legal | 6 Comments »

12/14 Council Meeting Highlights

Posted by auroracitizen on December 15, 2010

So what did we learn about our new Council last night.

First, we thought Mayor Dawe did a good job on his first night. He was not completely comfortable with everything he had to do, but got better as the night progressed. He will need to remember that a motion must always be on the floor (duly moved and seconded) before any debate is allowed, Plus, debate/comments must be entertained before calling the question — and both for and against must be called before calling the vote carried. We expect that it will soon be second nature.

Highlights & Lowlights

  1. First, he needed to remind Councillor Geartner that when she addressed him, that it should be to the title of Mayor versus Mr Dawe. This is not ego, but it is protocol for all members of Council. Also, all questions/comments are to be addressed to the “Chair” versus individual members as a matter of course. The intent is to avoid personalities from entering the debate and maintaining a civil, respectful attitude. Possibly Councillor Gaertner simply forget this important protocol after the layoff for the election and no intentional insult was intended.
  2. Both a member of the public and Councillor Ballard were cautioned because their comments towards staff could be viewed in a negative manner. This was often seen last term and it was nice to see Mayor Dawe stepping in. Staff has no ability to defend themselves or their reputation, so it is totally inappropriate for anyone, Council or public, to make assertions about their competence or behaviour in a public forum. If there is a need for that type of discussion it should be handled in private. Hopefully, he will be called upon less to address this disrespectful attitude as Council progresses. Council refused to deal with Councillor Ballards motion as worded and would only support it once he agreed (with his seconder Councillor Gaertner) to remove the comments thought to be offensive.
  3. Councillors Ballard and Gaertner did not support the motion for an off-site. It will be interesting to see whether they follow the agreed direction of Council or boycott. Councillor Humfryes hit the nail on the head when she commented that a big part of the objective was to team build — something lacking last term that is trying to be remedied this term.
  4. Councillor Gaertner tried to derail the discussion about 2 critical issues that were presented as Notice of Motions by Mayor Dawe; the removal of the information about Councillor Buck from the town website and Termination of the contract for the Integrity Commissioner. Her argument was that a Notice of Motion is not to be provided in writing, but should be presented verbally — according to her interpretation of the procedural bylaw. However, the Clerk explained the procedural bylaw outlined the minimum standard and that presenting them in written format would seem to surpass this test and was therefore acceptable although not covered specifically in the bylaw. The balance of Council agreed and Councillor Gaertner was over-ruled on the point of order. She then clucked and squawked that this Council was not following the procedural bylaw. Of interest, there was no corresponding comment whatsoever about Councillor Ballards motion (point 2 above) which had no notice and was supported by 3 delegations.
  5. Of a more humorous nature, a couple of staff referred to Mayor Dawe as Madame Mayor.
  6. Another funny moment was when Mayor Dawe on one occasion asked Councillor Buck to focus her comments on the question for debate. Councillor Buck, with a twinkle in her eye, asked if he was asking her to stop talking. When he replied to the affirmative, she laughed and agreed — which brought a laugh from most of the folks in the Council chamber. It also suggested that the banter back and forth will be more positive and of better humour this term that last.
  7. A motion to reconsider the motion that led to 3 private citizens and this blog being sued by former Mayor Phyllis Morris was approved after almost a 2 hour in camera session. Hopefully there will be a public debate on this issue soon.

Not sure if we caught everything, but hope that you get a sense of what the meeting was like. Full Minutes will be on the town website — but without the commentary. Also, Rogers should start taping the meetings in the new year so you will be able to tune in yourself.

If you share some of our concerns or are pleased by some of the changes — please take the time to show your support or displeasure by writing a letter to the editor. As a community, we get the politicians we deserve — so let’s continue to let them know what we expect – every day, not just once every 4 years.

Posted in Community Input, Leadership, Town Council | 21 Comments »

Responsibility of Councillors with a Consent Agenda

Posted by auroracitizen on December 15, 2010

Last night was the first “working” meeting of the new Council. It was an interesting litmus test for what we can expect in the future.

For the background of readers who may be unfamiliar with the consent agenda format, allow me to explain (if you already know, please feel free to skip this paragraph). The intent of a consent agenda is for Councillors to ask question of clarification in advance so that if they support a motion, it can be approved without debate — hence saving time to focus on the more difficult issues and not wasting time or taxpayers dollars with needless politicking. Items should only be pulled that require debate because someone either; 1) disagrees or 2) would like to change the motion. In both cases, the Councillor would want to have the opportunity to engage fellow members of Council to see their point of view — the very essence of democracy. Items should never be pulled simply to ask questions that should have been asked in advance.

However, last term it became common practice for members of Council to pull items seemingly only to grill staff with endless questions and then approve the item as originally presented. Nothing is accomplished other than demonstrating to each other (and their supporters) how powerful they are. Oh yeah, plus taxpayers are on the hook for the cost of staff being there until all hours of the night (through lieu time), plus the poor morale we heard about during the election (which leads to people leaving and qualified candidates declining to apply for  the open position).

In keeping with the 7 years, Councillor Gaertner  arrived ill-prepared and asked more questions of staff than the entire balance of Council. On one item alone, 2010 Surplus/Deficit Control, she asked 11 question “for understanding”, while the balance of Council had no questions. Every question she asked was prefaced with something like, “could you explain” or I don’t understand”. The motion was subsequently approved unanimously without change.

After 7 years on Council, citizens might rightly ask why is she still struggling so hard to understand, and/or why doesn’t she ask these questions of staff in advance.  When Councillor Gaertner doesn’t do her research, then it wastes the time of the other 8 members of Council who did spend the time in advance to get their questions asked and answered. Each hour staff spends at a Council meeting responding to these questions is costing us lost productivity in others areas of their job.

So what is the solution?

  1. Councillor Gaertner needs to follow the lead of other Councillors and call staff on Monday/Tuesday, after having reviewed her agenda over the weekend and get the required answers from staff. Staff has always made themselves available to answer question in advance.
  2. If after having a clear understanding of the issue, she has a point of disagreement with the recommendation, she should certainly pull the item and share her thoughts with Council based on facts. If she is able to convince the others to her position the motion should be changed and then Council will vote accordingly.
  3. Mayor Dawe, supported by Council,  needs to insist that Councillors not waste the time of Council because they haven’t done their own homework. If  Councillors arrive unprepared, they have no right to waste the time of fellow Councillors and the public while they catch up so they are prepared to do the job we elected them and are paying them to do. Duties each Councillor swore an oath to execute.
  4. Lastly, members of the public need to write letters to the editor insisting that Councillors come to meetings prepared to do their job.

Just our thoughts.

Posted in Leadership, Town Council | 24 Comments »

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »