Toronto Sun
Oct.22/01
by Jennifer Caldwell, Toronto Sun
Pickering Public Library Board chairman Jill Foster tendered her resignation yesterday amid a controversial decision to ban the sale of Rememberence Day poppies on library property.
"I have tendered my resignation. I do this with great regret," Foster said. "I'm in an impossible situation."
Foster, who voted against the motion to ban Royal Canadian Legion fund-raising at the library, said she cannot defend the decision.
"I told them it was a crazy decision and it offends my sense of values as a Canadian," she said.
Foster said she advised city council to clear the board of all nine members and start anew.
"I think it's a way to clear the air," she said.
Council has called an emergency meeting today to demand that the board reverse its decision. It's the first emergency meeting in 15 years.
"This is humiliating for the city of Pickering," said regional Councillor Maurice Brenner, the acting mayor. "Whatever possessed them to make that mistake, they should reverse it before more damage is done."
Brenner said the Oct.18 decision is a slap in the face to Canada's war vets and his phone hasn't stopped ringing with complaints.
"Poppies are a way of remembering and paying respect. People can't believe something that is a tradition has been outlawed by a library board," Brenner said.
Councillor Bill McLean, citing the recent deployment of Canadian troops in the mideast, vowed to fight the decision by selling poppies on library property.
"Here we are, sending people to the Middle East to defend us in freedom and we're saying to the Legion we're not going to allow you to promote your cause on our property," he said.
Charles "Chic" Presley, a war veteran, is among those baffled by the ruling.
"I think it's a very silly thing that the board decided," he said. "It's as silly as hell,"
Councillor David Ryan, a member of the library board who voted to ban the sale of poppies at the library, said he is very angry.
"To spin this the way that it is being spun is unworthy," he said. "This is just a political game."
Ryan said that the library previously allowed only the Legion to raise money on library property and the majority of board members felt it was unfair to other charities.
Ryan said council has no authority to dictate to the library board. |
