Lloyd Ferguson

Wednesday November 27, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday November 27, 2019

City probes who leaked secret reports to The Spec

November 26, 2019

As if leaking sewage wasn’t enough, now Hamilton council is targeting information leaks.

According to sources, councillors have directed staff to launch an investigation into who gave The Hamilton Spectator confidential city reports on the massive discharge of untreated sewage into Chedoke Creek.

City spokesperson Jasmine Graham declined to comment.

“Conversations with respect to the Chedoke Creek issue were held in closed session. With that, unfortunately we’re not able to share what if anything was discussed.”

But reliable sources say directions given in camera to staff include conducting an internal probe plus the option of consulting Hamilton police.

The secret reports obtained by The Spec revealed that the provincial government is investigating the spill of 24-billion litres of sewage over more than four years, which could lead to charges and significant fines against the city.

November 29, 2019

The media previously reported on the July 2018 spill. But council, based on strategic legal advice, withheld the two reports detailing the full extent of the disaster from the public.

When The Spec informed city officials on Wednesday that it had obtained the January and September reports, councillors discussed the issue behind closed doors.

During those discussions, senior staff was told to try to find out who breached the rules which prohibit members of council and employees from disclosing confidential information without proper authorization.

Coun. Terry Whitehead wasn’t at the meeting but he strongly supports an investigation.

“Conversations with respect to the Chedoke Creek issue were held in closed session. With that, unfortunately we’re not able to share what if anything was discussed.”

But reliable sources say directions given in camera to staff include conducting an internal probe plus the option of consulting Hamilton police.

The secret reports obtained by The Spec revealed that the provincial government is investigating the spill of 24-billion litres of sewage over more than four years, which could lead to charges and significant fines against the city.

The media previously reported on the July 2018 spill. But council, based on strategic legal advice, withheld the two reports detailing the full extent of the disaster from the public.

When The Spec informed city officials on Wednesday that it had obtained the January and September reports, councillors discussed the issue behind closed doors.

During those discussions, senior staff was told to try to find out who breached the rules which prohibit members of council and employees from disclosing confidential information without proper authorization.

Coun. Terry Whitehead wasn’t at the meeting but he strongly supports an investigation. (Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Wednesday November 27, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday November 27, 2019

City probes who leaked secret reports to The Spec

As if leaking sewage wasn’t enough, now Hamilton council is targeting information leaks.

November 26, 2019

According to sources, councillors have directed staff to launch an investigation into who gave The Hamilton Spectator confidential city reports on the massive discharge of untreated sewage into Chedoke Creek.

City spokesperson Jasmine Graham declined to comment.

“Conversations with respect to the Chedoke Creek issue were held in closed session. With that, unfortunately we’re not able to share what if anything was discussed.”

But reliable sources say directions given in camera to staff include conducting an internal probe plus the option of consulting Hamilton police.

The secret reports obtained by The Spec revealed that the provincial government is investigating the spill of 24-billion litres of sewage over more than four years, which could lead to charges and significant fines against the city.

The media previously reported on the July 2018 spill. But council, based on strategic legal advice, withheld the two reports detailing the full extent of the disaster from the public.

When The Spec informed city officials on Wednesday that it had obtained the January and September reports, councillors discussed the issue behind closed doors.

During those discussions, senior staff was told to try to find out who breached the rules which prohibit members of council and employees from disclosing confidential information without proper authorization.

Coun. Terry Whitehead wasn’t at the meeting but he strongly supports an investigation.

“Conversations with respect to the Chedoke Creek issue were held in closed session. With that, unfortunately we’re not able to share what if anything was discussed.”

But reliable sources say directions given in camera to staff include conducting an internal probe plus the option of consulting Hamilton police.

The secret reports obtained by The Spec revealed that the provincial government is investigating the spill of 24-billion litres of sewage over more than four years, which could lead to charges and significant fines against the city.

The media previously reported on the July 2018 spill. But council, based on strategic legal advice, withheld the two reports detailing the full extent of the disaster from the public.

When The Spec informed city officials on Wednesday that it had obtained the January and September reports, councillors discussed the issue behind closed doors.

During those discussions, senior staff was told to try to find out who breached the rules which prohibit members of council and employees from disclosing confidential information without proper authorization.

Coun. Terry Whitehead wasn’t at the meeting but he strongly supports an investigation. (Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Wednesday May 10, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday May 10, 2017

The Spectator’s view: A mayoral veto is just musing, but …

March 24, 2017

You had to know that when Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger used the word veto, hackles would be raised. Not all hackles equally, mind you. Reaction on social media was more mixed, with some actually seeing merit in the mayor’s observation. But in the minds of many — see today’s letters — Eisenberger may as well have suggested doing away with council entirely and running the show himself.

http://www.mackaycartoons.net/yahoo_files/2012/huh2012-01-12.html

January 12, 2012

Let’s be clear: the mayor was musing, no more. The province would have to change the municipal act to enable something like a veto, and there is no appetite for that. Eisenberger knows that and said as much.

He was trying to make a point, and it’s one worth discussing. Hamilton city council, like many others, is a dichotomy in many ways. You have 15 councillors who are elected by citizens of the ward they represent. Then you have the mayor, who is elected by the community at large. In that respect, the mayor has a mandate from the entire city, while councillors have a mandate from their ward constituents only.

March 10, 2011

Ward councillors justifiably feel great responsibility to respect the will of the people who elected them. They zealously guard the interests of their ward. That’s parochial politics, and it’s not always a bad thing. But what happens when what’s best for the city overall butts up against the interests of ward councillors?

LRT is an example. Councillors for the wards most heavily impacted by LRT construction and disruption are solidly behind the project because they see its overall benefit to their wards and eventually the city overall. Citizens in other wards don’t agree. They don’t see any direct benefit so don’t support the project. (Though it’s hard to fathom how some don’t see assessment growth and new commercial tax revenue as overall benefits.)

May 11, 2009

Another example: ward boundaries. Looking at the big picture, it’s hard to argue against redrawing boundaries so all citizens have roughly equitable representation. But such changes are trouble for ward-heeling councillors whose wards might have to change for the greater good. And so, we spent thousands on consultants, ignored their work and ended up kicking the can down the road.

Eisenberger’s point was that there must be a better way. Councillors elected at large instead of by ward? A mix of both? A board of control, or “executive committee” as its called in Toronto? A mayoral veto with appropriate checks and balances to prevent abuse?

October 14, 2003

As noted earlier, the discussion is academic. But maybe it shouldn’t be. The current system certainly has its share of drawbacks, although it generally works. But would it be so bad to study, perhaps even pilot, an experiment in doing local government differently? And why not in Hamilton, a city where challenges are overshadowed by ever-growing potential? (Source: Hamilton Spectator Editorial)

 

Saturday February 6, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator - Saturday February 6, 2016 Ferguson unrepentant and ÔoffendedÕ by accusations (By Andrew Dreschel) An official with the Colombian consulate says it's not up to him to say whether Coun. Lloyd Ferguson should apologize for controversial comments about his country being backwards. "I leave that to the City of Hamilton," Toronto-based trade commissioner Alvaro Concha said Thursday. But far from entertaining apologies, an unrepentant Ferguson is on the attack. He's "offended" that his reference to Colombia as a "backwards" place where the only wealthy are "drug lords" and chickens ride buses has been branded as stereotyping by politicians and members of the public. "I wasn't making that crap up; it's what I visibly saw," said Ferguson, who visited Colombia 12 years ago for a weeklong business conference. "I don't like being accused of stereotyping because I wasn't stereotyping. I witnessed it first hand." Ferguson made his controversial comments during a budget meeting this week. He was responding to the city's transit director using a quote from the Mayor of Bogota, Colombia's capital city, stating a developed country is not where the poor have cars, but where the rich use public transit. Calling the ensuing kerfuffle a "tempest in a teapot," the Ancaster councillor and police board chair says he was objecting to benchmarking Hamilton against Bogota, a city of eight million. Coun. Mathew Green immediately took Ferguson to task for stereotyping. When the story went mainstream, it lit up social media and online commentary. Many demanded Ferguson apologize. The pitchfork-and-torch mob called him a racist and xenophobe. One twit on Twitter accused Mayor Fred Eisenberger of agreeing with Ferguson because he was silent on the issue. Eisenberger pushed back, calling that and other comments as "outrageous" as Ferguson's own. (Continued: Hamilton Spectator) http://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/6264566-dresche

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday February 6, 2016

Ferguson unrepentant and ‘offended’ by accusations

(By Andrew Dreschel) An official with the Colombian consulate says it’s not up to him to say whether Coun. Lloyd Ferguson should apologize for controversial comments about his country being backwards.

Tuesday November 10, 2015“I leave that to the City of Hamilton,” Toronto-based trade commissioner Alvaro Concha said Thursday.

But far from entertaining apologies, an unrepentant Ferguson is on the attack.

He’s “offended” that his reference to Colombia as a “backwards” place where the only wealthy are “drug lords” and chickens ride buses has been branded as stereotyping by politicians and members of the public.

“I wasn’t making that crap up; it’s what I visibly saw,” said Ferguson, who visited Colombia 12 years ago for a weeklong business conference.

“I don’t like being accused of stereotyping because I wasn’t stereotyping. I witnessed it first hand.”

Ferguson made his controversial comments during a budget meeting this week. He was responding to the city’s transit director using a quote from the Mayor of Bogota, Colombia’s capital city, stating a developed country is not where the poor have cars, but where the rich use public transit.

Thursday March 12, 2015Calling the ensuing kerfuffle a “tempest in a teapot,” the Ancaster councillor and police board chair says he was objecting to benchmarking Hamilton against Bogota, a city of eight million.

Coun. Mathew Green immediately took Ferguson to task for stereotyping. When the story went mainstream, it lit up social media and online commentary. Many demanded Ferguson apologize. The pitchfork-and-torch mob called him a racist and xenophobe.

One twit on Twitter accused Mayor Fred Eisenberger of agreeing with Ferguson because he was silent on the issue. Eisenberger pushed back, calling that and other comments as “outrageous” as Ferguson’s own. (Continued: Hamilton Spectator)

 

Tuesday November 10, 2015

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Tuesday November 10, 2015 New film raises bothersome questions about city hall culture A new documentary film raises troubling questions about corporate culture at Hamilton City Hall. "The Push" analyzes a controversial 2014 incident in which Coun. Lloyd Ferguson pushed independent journalist Joey Coleman during a heated exchange in the lobby outside council chambers. The film was publicly screened for the first time at The Zoetic Theatre on Concession Street Sunday as part of the Hamilton Film Festival. Coleman alleged actions against him by city staff following the incident were nothing more than an attempt to silence him. "This is an effort to end independent journalism at city hall," he said. In the incident, Coleman said he was standing in the foyer outside council chambers holding his video camera and waiting for the start of a news conference. Ferguson, Coun. Brad Clark and city staffer Mike Kirkopoulos were standing nearby in a huddle. Ferguson, thinking Coleman was eavesdropping on their conversation, physically moved him away. "He took a very tight grip on my arm; we were going to the floor," Coleman said. "Everyone else was frozen with shock and I thought he was going to punch me in the face." Bystanders separated the two and the next day Ferguson apologized to Coleman personally and to city council, backing his words with a self-imposed $1,000 donation to an Ancaster charity. Coleman accepted the apology and said he considered the matter closed. It was revived, however, by complaints to the city's integrity commissioner. The incident was also investigated by provincial police and the Ontario Civilian Police Commission. (Ferguson was, and remains, chair of the Hamilton Police Services Board.) The city commissioner found Ferguson did violate Hamilton's anti-violence policy but no sanctions were recommended. The other investigations also concluded there were no grounds for other c

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday November 10, 2015

New film raises bothersome questions about city hall culture

For SaleA new documentary film raises troubling questions about corporate culture at Hamilton City Hall.

“The Push” analyzes a controversial 2014 incident in which Coun. Lloyd Ferguson pushed independent journalist Joey Coleman during a heated exchange in the lobby outside council chambers.

The film was publicly screened for the first time at The Zoetic Theatre on Concession Street Sunday as part of the Hamilton Film Festival.

Coleman alleged actions against him by city staff following the incident were nothing more than an attempt to silence him.

“This is an effort to end independent journalism at city hall,” he said.

Tuesday March 3, 2015In the incident, Coleman said he was standing in the foyer outside council chambers holding his video camera and waiting for the start of a news conference.

Ferguson, Coun. Brad Clark and city staffer Mike Kirkopoulos were standing nearby in a huddle.

Ferguson, thinking Coleman was eavesdropping on their conversation, physically moved him away.

“He took a very tight grip on my arm; we were going to the floor,” Coleman said. “Everyone else was frozen with shock and I thought he was going to punch me in the face.”

Bystanders separated the two and the next day Ferguson apologized to Coleman personally and to city council, backing his words with a self-imposed $1,000 donation to an Ancaster charity.

Coleman accepted the apology and said he considered the matter closed. It was revived, however, by complaints to the city’s integrity commissioner. The incident was also investigated by provincial police and the Ontario Civilian Police Commission. (Ferguson was, and remains, chair of the Hamilton Police Services Board.)

The city commissioner found Ferguson did violate Hamilton’s anti-violence policy but no sanctions were recommended. The other investigations also concluded there were no grounds for other charges or actions.

In the two-hour film Coleman and others argue the incident and its aftermath illustrate a culture of fear at city hall in which employees are held to a policy dictating “zero tolerance” for violence while a veteran councillor can manhandle a citizen with impunity. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)