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September 30, 2004
RED HILL LAWSUIT NEVER APPROVED BY COUNCIL
CATCH News
The controversial $75 million city lawsuit against the federal government has never received formal approval by Hamilton City Council.
Outside lawyers hired by the city filed the suit in Kitchener in April, accusing four former federal cabinet members and more than 60 government employees of "deliberately and unlawfully us[ing] their public office to harm the city" by pursuing an environmental assessment of the Red Hill Creek Expressway.
At last night's city council meeting, Ward 1 councillor Brian McHattie asked "has this action been authorized by council . because if it's in the courts, and hasn't been authorized by council, I've got a real serious problem with that." Mayor Larry Di Ianni ignored the question but McHattie persisted and eventually got an answer from City Clerk Kevin Christenson.
"City council has not dealt directly with the issue of proceeding with the court case," Christenson stated, but said City solicitor Peter Barkwell had received "some direction in camera". Barkwell, however, refused to discuss the sequence of events in open session of council.
McHattie went on to "express my concern publicly that we've done this, we've gone this far, and used some very, very strong and provocative language in this lawsuit, that maligns individuals and former federal people."
Similar objections were raised earlier in the meeting by Ward 4 councillor Sam Merulla. He took issue with a statement in the lawsuit that says "the defendants abused their public office by engaging in targetted malice toward the City's completion of the Expressway for the purpose of appeasing a minority of public opinion in Minister Copp's riding opposed to the expressway and to allegedly protect migratory birds."
Merulla said if it was a crime to represent a minority of public opinion in his ward, then he is guilty of it every day. Di Ianni said the matter was going before the courts so council should only discuss it behind closed doors.
Waterdown councillor Margaret McCarthy also questioned the lawsuit, noting that the city is also asking the federal government for money for city infrastructure. "I just don't think it's smart to blacken the eye of somebody that you're asking for help from," she declared.
Mayor Di Ianni replied that "We're not asking for help in this case, we're asking for justice," but McHattie backed up McCarthy, pointing out that the city is also seeking federal help for cleanup of Hamilton Harbour.
"A number of the people who are named in this suit are people that we work with on a daily basis," he noted. "They are people who live in this community and we're asking them to work with us on one hand, on the other hand we're actually naming them in a lawsuit."
Further council discussion on the lawsuit was held 'in camera'.
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