Thoughts and Opinions On Today's Important Issues

Friday, September 28, 2007

Four WUC Questions Of The Apocalypse


I cannot imagine what must be in the minds of certain people at City Hall, in the WUC boardroom and in the campaign offices of certain Windsor MPPs.

What's the big deal? Why won't four simple W.ACT questions be answered? Each question can be answered simply by a YES or NO. Instead of answers, we get distractions, diversions and smears.

Poor Chris Schnurr and his group. He is attacked by a City Councillor and a Cabinet Minister. It's not because he is not asking good questions. Nope, it is all because he lost out in a campaign for a Council seat and now he's accused raising an issue to help him in a municipal election that will take place over three years from now. His fellow members are attacked as, oh my goodness if I can even type the word, Conservatives. And finally, W.ACT is being chastised for not meeting the "condition precedent" to Junior's demand to come to the Windsor Utilities Boardroom. Never mind that it appears that Junior didn't want to be there all. I guess that does not count.

I am most amused that Doug McArthur of the Star is being blocked as well. He wrote in his Star BLOG:
  • "The Windsor Utilities Commission is refusing to release minutes from audit and finance committee meetings held this year and last.

    "I was told that the privacy protection act precludes us from releasing information if our audit and finance committee meetings are of a contractual nature," Syliva de Vries, manager of corporate communications for WUC and EnWin Utilities, said Thursday. "If we speak about ratepayers or contracts or anything to do with legal matters they are not to be released."
He is making a Municipal Freedom of Information Act request for the information that he is seeking. Trust me, that may not come quickly. With appeals, it should take about a year to get an anwer. Sheesh, if he cannot get information how can poor lowly Taxpayers get it?

Let's cut through all the BS. Here are the four questions:
  • "Of our city council we demanded that they:

    1. Withdraw the motion calling for a provincial-municipal audit;

    2. Apologize properly to the citizens of Windsor for their shameful behaviour and actions respecting the WUC/Enwin matter; and

    3. To clarify the issue of potential conflicts of interest, they must immediately bring an application under Section 7 of the Municipal Conflicts of Interest Act to ask a Judge for direction on notice to citizens so that any who wish, may intervene to assist the Court.

    4. Properly introduce a new motion, with full public participation calling upon the Auditor General to conduct a broad-based inquiry and audit."

That is what the meeting was all about. That is what Chair/Councillor Lewenza would be asked to answer. Each question can be answered by one word, yes or no.

If all of the answers are "yes," then the controversy is over isn't?

If Junior does not want to meet, a simple written response is all that is required.

As the political saying goes, W.ACT must remain "on message." They must not change its course because of the silly tactics that are being used to divert people's attention away from the real issues. And they won't!