DIFFERING OPINIONS REGARDING THE DIRECTOR'S ORDER LAID ON MR. RON STROH

Yesterday I suggested that any failure to distribute the July 26/17 Director's Order to TAG was likely the result of human error. To date at least one knowledgeable CPAC member has a different opinion. Their strong opinion is that the Director's Order was given to Woolwich Township with strict orders not to distribute it to TAG members. Considering that TAG members are all appointed by Woolwich Council you can understand the very serious implications if that opinion is correct. Essentially it would be a glaring example of non-transparency and non-confidence in TAG by Woolwich Council or their mayor. It could also be viewed as an example of tokenism when it comes to public consultation by Woolwich Township. TAG have some wonderful members but if they are only being spoon fed partial and selected information, the results of public consultation can at best be limited. So are the options honest, human error by a staffer or did say the mayor specifically advise that staffer not to distribute the Director's Order? Have other similar orders been passed along regarding what TAG can and can't see?

I have somewhat put the cart before the horse here. To be clear I have communicated with some TAG members and to date they have all stated that they have never seen the Director's Order and either had no knowledge of it at all or like myself heard it mentioned verbally at a meeting but then assumed that Mr. Stroh had complied voluntarily.

This whole scenario is very strange. Mr. Stroh and his lawyer and his consultants (Stantec) have been involved in both the Wellesley and Woolwich alleged "rationalization" boundary plans for many years. Mr. Stroh has had Township staff and councils on board for a very long time. Why would he jeopardize the highly favourable to him Woolwich industrial/commercial development plans for his property? Is there any chance that he was simply going through the motions in order to throw close observers off the scent? He did not appeal the Director's Order although he certainly had the opportunity as well as the means to do so. If he had appealed the Director's Order that he apparently was so adamantly against then that appeal would have been public along with the possibility of other stakeholders (TAG for example?) asking permission to become either a party or a participant. That scenario might very well have been a non-starter for either Lanxess Canada or the Ontario Ministry of the Environment... There is a very strong odour of backroom deals in all of this. Backroom deals to eliminate public input, public participation and public consultation. After all the very public Canagagigue Creek runs through these two properties (Stroh & Martin) and it is highly contaminated (dioxin/furan, DDT, mercury, PCBs, PAHs & more). It is a public issue and the private parties involved are doing their best to keep it out of the public venue.