McCallion, Parrish clash over OMERS deal
Councillor accuses others of stalling talks
Cassandra Jowett, National Post
Published: Thursday, April 09, 2009
Mississauga Mayor Hazel Mc-Callion and her allies clashed bitterly yesterday with Councillor Carolyn Parrish over the controversial Enersource deal.
“This is a sad day for council. … It is embarrassing to me as Mayor,” Ms. McCallion said near the end of a heated 45-minute-long council debate.
“I’ve never seen a council, in my 30 years, perform this way,” she said. “Councillor Parrish, you can take the credit for it.”
Ms. Parrish and a handful of other councillors have been furious with the Mayor since discovering last year that Ms. McCallion signed a deal in 2000 that gave the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) veto power on board decisions for a 10% stake in the city-owned hydro utility.
The Mayor admitted last week to the National Post she didn’t know the contents of the deal when she signed it, and blamed the city’s staff and advisors.
Mississauga is now trying to change the deal, and Ms. Parrish criticized Ms. McCallion for giving a city legal report on the deal to Michael Nobrega, chief executive of OMERS, in December, without asking or informing council and after she had insisted it remain confidential.
“The Mayor can do as she pleases to speed this thing along,” Ms. Parrish said yesterday.
Mr. Nobrega is to present a strategic plan to council on April 15, and Ms. Parrish accused those involved, without naming names, of stalling progress on negotiations. “This thing has been delayed for a year and a half, so if we all get really tired … the other side will finally win. I, for one, will never faint.”
Councillor Katie Mahoney said she also wants negotiations as soon as possible, but accused Ms. Parrish of fabricating a “nefarious plot” for her own political gain.
“I’m sick and tired of your political manoeuvring … to make you [and your supporters] out to be heroes. It’s all our collective faults, but you’re part of that collective,” Ms. Mahoney said.
Council voted in favour of a motion by Ms. Parrish to meet with the city’s legal counsel to determine the city’s position prior to the April 15 meeting with Mr. Nobrega.