130 turn out to town hall rally
COLLINGWOOD – Approximately 130 people rallied in front of Town Hall, Monday, in response to news of an OPP investigation into municipal decision-making.
At 4:30 p.m. a crowd gathered , carrying “Enough is enough”, We deserve better”, and “Resign” signs, chanting their slogans before the weekly town council meeting.
The protest was planned by Steve Berman, a community blogger, who said the CBC’s report on the Ontario Provincial Police’s anti-racket squad’s investigation into allegations of conflicts of interest presented a good opportunity for the public to comment on these and other complaints towards council.
Berman says he is seeking a more open and transparent council.
“It’s the same broken record over and over again,” he said. “People were upset about the recreation facility and the lack of transparency, and people are upset about the casino and the lack of transparency, and we learn from the CBC that people were upset about the Collus sale and the lack of transparency, and it is the same message over and over again.”
Berman spearheaded two ‘Friend’s of Central Park’ rallies in September to protest the decision council made to buy two Sprung fabric membrane structures — one to cover the existing Centennial Pool, and the other over a new ice rink at Central Park.
“I think (council) needs to work a lot harder with keeping the public informed and not springing things on us, or ‘sprunging’ things, if I may,” said Berman.
He said he believes people are unhappy council recently overturned its initial vote against an Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation gaming facility and is now seeking to hold a referendum to consider an integrated resort destination.
The CBC reported one of the allegations to the OPP is about a conflict of interest between Mayor Sandra Cooper and her brother Paul Bonwick, a former Member of Parliament for Simcoe-Grey and now a lobbyist, and Bonwick’s ties to Georgian Manor Resort, which intended to put in a bid to OLG if council approved the Zone C7 gaming site.
Georgian Manor Resort CEO Peter Levoy, in an interview with QMI Agency on Friday morning, confirmed Bonwick had been paid a $20,000 retainer, and had been offered a two-year contract.
However, said Levoy, the contract was never put into place, and Bonwick was out of the picture long before resort representatives presented their idea for a gaming and entertainment facility to Collingwood Town Council in mid-October of last year.
According to the CBC, another complaint to the OPP stems from Bonwick’s business relationships with PowerStream — which purchased half of Collingwood Public Utilities’ electricity distribution business Collus last spring.
OPP spokesperson, Sgt. Pierre Chamberland, told the E-B on Friday he could not confirm whether an investigation was taking place.
Berman said he recently made his own complaint to the OPP regarding an anonymous posting of a satirical video in which he is portrayed as being shot by Nazis; he considered it a death threat.
He said the OPP contacted him Monday to inform him the video was removed from the Internet.
Berman said he is satisfied with this result and does not need the investigation to go any further.
George Irwin, one of the protesters at Monday’s rally, made his own sign, which read ‘corrupt’..
“(Council) lost its integrity as far as I’m concerned,” he said. “When there is a police investigation, there is definitely something wrong.”
Irwin said he is most concerned about the increasing cost of pool and the allegations made against Bonwick.
In February, council voted to pour another $400,000 into Centennial Pool at the request of the local swim club, the Collingwood Clippers, to ensure it meets Swim Canada and FINA regulations.
“We would like to see a process that involves the public more in the decision making and not involving the public after the decisions have been made,” said Krista Lovrice, another protester. She said she was also unhappy about the recreation decisions and their increased costs.
While some protestesters left around 5 p.m., many headed into the council meeting.
The E-B’s Ian Adams reported the ralliers showed respect during the council meeting and only held up their signs.
Leave a Reply