March 12, 2005
By Danielle MilleyStaff Writer
PICKERING - Pickering councillors want some answers.
Pickering council (minus Mayor Dave Ryan and Ward 3 City Councillor David Pickles, who sent their regrets) held a special council meeting Friday afternoon to discuss issues surrounding a Liberal fundraising dinner held May 14, 2004 attended by Mayor Ryan and at least one developer who owns land in the Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve.
Councillors were unaware Mayor Ryan had attended the dinner until they saw an article in a Toronto newspaper Wednesday.
Ward 2 City Councillor Doug Dickerson sent a letter to Premier Dalton McGuinty asking who attended the dinner, which was held at the home of provincial Finance Minister Greg Sorbara's brother, and what was discussed regarding lands in Pickering, among other things.
"I am concerned over the lack of content and details the Mayor has provided us with concerning that dinner," he said. "It was a dinner with the same developer that we recently reached a settlement with."
Silvio De Gasperis, who owns 2,500 acres in the preserve, went public about the dinner after the Golden Horseshoe greenbelt, which includes the preserve, became final. He believes he was misled by Mr. McGuinty about the status of the preserve in the greenbelt. Mr. De Gasperis, along with other developers who own land in the preserve, recently reached a multi-million dollar deal with the City to settle a legal dispute; the deal removes agricultural easements from their land, allowing them to fight the Province in their quest to develop the area, which the City supports through its growth management study.
Mark Guinto, Mayor Ryan's executive assistant, said the Mayor couldn't attend the special meeting as he was in Cuba on a vacation.
In an interview following the meeting, Mr. Guinto shared what he had discussed about the dinner with the Mayor.
Mayor Ryan, who had previously run for the Liberals provincially, was attending as a guest and didn't have to pay the $10,000 fee others did; he was there as an individual and not as the mayor of Pickering, Mr. Guinto said.
"He wasn't on official City business," he said. "It was just his attempt to speak to the Premier and/or the Minister (John Gerretsen, Municipal Affairs)."
He said Mayor Ryan told him he only stayed for dinner and not the reception and he, "didn't glean anything new.
"That's why he didn't report back to council," Mr. Guinto said.
With Mayor Ryan not expected back for another week, council chose not to wait for his return to get answers, but instead passed a motion requesting the Premier disclose the dinner's full guest list and any discussion that was held regarding the greenbelt, Seaton, the growth management study or the agricultural preserve.
Ward 1 City Councillor Kevin Ashe brought forward the motion and it was supported unanimously.
"This council should take a stand as a collective body and demand answers from the Premier," he said.
Ward 2 Regional Councillor Bill McLean seconded the motion.
"As a member of this council I think it is important we have all the facts," he said. "It is important the Province responds to the City of Pickering council, its residents and the residents of the province."
Although he voted in favour of the motion, Ward 3 Regional Councillor Rick Johnson didn't feel comfortable speculating about what happened at the dinner.
"Maybe there wasn't any skeletons in the closet and it was just a fundraising dinner that the Mayor was invited to," he said.
Coun. Johnson went on to suggest waiting until Mayor Ryan comes back to answer these questions before sending the letter.
Ward 1 Regional Councillor Maurice Brenner, who chaired the meeting as deputy mayor, spoke to the integrity of the City.
"The decisions that were made in each and every instance of our growth management study... have been made based on fact without any influence from the Province of Ontario, the Premier or any other level of government," he said.
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