Was Basse Off-Base
CUPE has to be furious!
Where was the Basse press conference exonerating them from the lies about the Union being the Leakor! Someone had an agenda to discredit union workers.
Are there only Basse press conferences for management types and only if they are cleared? Are there none if management is found at fault as they were in Bassse's report?
Talk about action. Talk about BLOGMeister power.
I write on Wednesday "Why The Edgar Investigation Is So Strange: Call In The Police (Extra Part)" and before you know it, Mr. Basse comes to Windsor, interviews Edgar (aka) Eddie quickly, holds a press conference and all is exemplary in Edgar's world again.
Mr. Basse's conclusion is hardly a surprise. But how Edgar can say it was "frivolous' after a 16 month investigation including an interview of him is beyond me.
And then there was this shocking quote as well from Mr. Basse as reported by CP:
- "I'm a little upset - I believe my office was used as a means to further an agenda."
DUH...did it really take him 16 months to figure that out if it was true? What was the agenda? Where is his proof? If that was the case, why did he interview the Mayor? Why didn't he dismiss the claim right away as he has the power to do?
The Edgar/Kwame meeting is a very serious matter in my opinion. Yet it was handled so cavalierly in my opinion:
- "Francis said. "I had a meeting with him this morning. He wanted to hear my side of the story. it was a quick meeting"
Don't take my word on the importance of the event, Check out what the Star Editorial said too over a year ago. They can hardly be said to have an agenda against the Mayor:
- "Editorial: Tunnel talks — Taxpayers deserve full story
Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis told only part of the story when he was asked by Coun. Bill Marra during a recent council meeting whether closed-door negotiations with Detroit officials about the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel had ceased. A more complete story only came to light this weekend, when Francis sought to distance himself from a version of events offered in court by embattled Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
Francis and Kilpatrick, who has been indicted on 10 felony counts including four perjury charges and who faces mounting pressure to resign, spoke on the telephone Friday July 18 and circled Wednesday July 23 as an opportune time to get together to discuss Windsor's $75-million bid for control of the U.S. side of the tunnel. They subsequently met for 90 minutes behind closed doors, as planned, on the Wednesday, in the downtown offices of Windsor lawyer Cliff Sutts, the city's lead negotiator on the tunnel file...
Francis clearly didn't provide Marra, other councillors and, by extension, Windsor taxpayers, with all the information he might have. Even if the meeting wasn't confirmed until Tuesday, Francis could have divulged the fact he had spoken with Kilpatrick just days earlier and had tentative plans to meet with him in less than 48hours...
Still, the way Francis handled Marra's relevant query rankles given the fact these negotiations have been shrouded in far too much secrecy already. If there were reasons why Francis felt it best to keep certain facts from councillors and taxpayers, he should have elucidated them clearly rather than providing a vague response that omitted relevant details.
Once again, we strongly urge Francis to conduct these negotiations in as open and transparent a manner as possible. Taxpayers are footing the bill. It seems only fitting they be kept in the loop."
Did Basse discuss this in his "quick" meeting with Edgar or when he talked with Mr. Sutts?
I had written back in August, 2008:
- "A Pandora's box has now been opened up. Mayor Francis and Cliff Sutts have no choice but to make their entire files available for examination, and not just the parts they have selected. Contrary to closing this matter down and ending it, as far as I am concerned, it may only be the beginning with more possibly to come. There may well be serious credibility questions that have arisen after what Mr. Sutts has disclosed that may require further investigation...
The issue for me is not the Kwame story but is Eddie telling the truth!"
Mr. Basse said he looked into all aspects of the matter, why the meeting was held, what it was about.
Accordingly, I expect to be able to read what Mr. Basse had to say in his Reports about some of the issues I raised in my BLOGs. Surely he would have known they existed:
- August 11, 2008 "Eddie Said, Kwame Said"
http://windsorcityon.blogspot.com/2008/08/eddie-said-kwame-said.html
August 13, 2008 "Extra! Extra! New Eddie Disclosures! Read All About It!"
http://windsorcityon.blogspot.com/2008/08/extra-extra-new-eddie-disclosures-read.html
I have my doubts though that too much was asked since the meeting with the Mayor only lasted a short time. Apparently, he talked to Mr. Sutts too but he did not say when eg before or after he met with the Mayor, or for how long.
I wonder if Mr. Basse's investigation over these 16 months included going through all of the relevant files.
In order to reach a conclusion, he had to consider the issues I and the Star raised, issues that would be clear if he read all of the media reports as I did and prepared a timeline as I did.
Given the scope of what he said he had to do, his report has to be a very thick one! No wonder it would take 16 months. How he could write such a report after interviewing the Mayor, calling a press conference and holding it at 1 PM so the news could cover it in a timely fashion, has to be a minor miracle.
I have to ask though whether Mr. Basse knows what his responsibilities are. If one reads his Leakor report, he does not seem to know what authority he has. Moreover, he does not seem to know what he must do with his Report. Why did he follow one process with the Leakor report and another with the Edgar exoneration?
The Municipal Act is clear
- Report to council
223.6 Report about conduct
(2) If the Commissioner reports to the municipality or to a local board his or her opinion about whether a member of council or of the local board has contravened the applicable code of conduct, the Commissioner may disclose in the report such matters as in the Commissioner’s opinion are necessary for the purposes of the report. 2006, c. 32, Sched. A, s. 98.
Publication of reports
(3) The municipality and each local board shall ensure that reports received from the Commissioner by the municipality or by the board, as the case may be, are made available to the public. 2006, c. 32, Sched. A, s. 98.
He has to Report to the Municipality and the Municipality makes the Report public. It does not say he may hold a press conference to release his report.
Oh and is there in fact a report? And if so where is it? Did he have time to write one right after meeting with the Mayor? He has not done what the Act requires him to do no matter what the "publicity" is.
Is that really how the process is to work? If the international media picks up the story and it is about the Mayor, then Basse reacts! When would this have been concluded but for the media stories?
It stinks doesn't it if that is the case!
Here is another leak. There is another investigation into the Mayor's conduct. This time it has to do with the canal proposal and the Mayor's action submitting it to the Federal Government and all of the fuss it created.
Oh I am not breaking any confidentiality. You can read about it here http://chrisschnurr.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/finalapplication.pdf
Nothing has been done since May! Wait. I know how to get the report done quickly
Perhaps if I can figure out an angle involving Kwame so the international media pick it up....
PS:
Don't you just love the Star:
- "'Mayor's conduct is ... exemplary': Basse"
Where was their headline
- "CUPE's conduct is ... exemplary. City offical leaked: Basse"
I am waiting for this one too:
- Lewenza's facts were ... exemplary. We should have covered his meeting: Beneteau"
posted by JoeBlog at 11:00 a.m.
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