BACK TO THE OMBUDSMAN

The devil made me do it? Or better the devils, plural, made me do it. I'm not referring to Lucifer or Satan, I'm referring to a group of Councillors who just don't care about either rules or laws. They break their own rules with breathless abandon but that's not good enough for them. Then there is the Municipal Act as well as the Municipal Elections Act (MEA). Half of this Council have admitted to numerous contraventions of the MEA, only of course after being caught redhanded. Last summer this Council were on the carpet for breaking the Municipal Act. The Ontario Ombudsman investigated after my complaint about improper, closed (in camera) meetings. My complaints were confirmed and Woolwich Township were again advised that their practices were illegal. This matter has been discussed both in a Council meeting and in our local newspapers.

Has Woolwich Council learned? Apparently not. They continue to bend, manipulte and break both rules and laws with apparent impunity. Witness their behaviour in Council a week ago Tuesday. To date three media outlets of which I am aware have commented negatively upon Council's actions. Firstly they are interrupting and hassling registered Delegates to Council. They are forcing Delegates into spurious debates in order to exercise their rights common to all Woolwich citizens, namely addressing Council. Woolwich Council are firmly in bed with Chemtura and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and this is their method of discouraging criticism. First they lie about CPAC in order to disband them and now they are attempting to muzzle them. These Councillors (less one) do not care about democracy or decency.

Hence this Council by their law breaking have once again forced me into filing a complaint against them with the Ontario Ombudsman. Lord knows I wouldn't waste my time with any regional Ombudsman dreamed up by Regional Council, with or without input from the municipalities. MECAC (Municipal Elections Compliance Audit Committee) are a creature of that lineage and we've all seen their actions. Everything is excusable and nothing goes on to the courts including a Forensic Audit which did everything but use the F word (fraud) in describing Councillor Hahn's late in the day, magically appearing receipts and invoices.

Council have Codes of Conduct which they routinely break with citizens. They have a Procedural By-Law mandated by the Ontario Municipal Act which apparently they can and do amend at will in order to serve their own purposes. It covers Delegations in detail and at the moment does not have grounds for denying Delegations solely based upon their subject matter. This has not deterred Council from harassing honest citizens whom they simply do not like. Hence Council are now in a heavy handed manoever banning all citizens from speaking about anything Chemtura related unless they've already spoken to the RAC or TAG committees. Of course the minute citizens follow these about to be new rules, Council will again block Delegations with yet another trumped up excuse followed by yet another new rule.

Democracy and Freedom of Speech are much bigger than these petty individuals. The Chemtura environmental disaster continues despite a pipeline bringing water into Elmira. Dioxins and DDT downstream in the Canagagigue Creek as well as off the Chemtura site on the east side are the responsibility to clean up of both Chemtura and the M.O.E.. So sorry Council that informed and educated citizens are not willing to join you in burying our heads in the sand.