Sol Shuster, Vice-Chair of the Greenspace Alliance, on December 18, posted the following to the Alliance email list:
In an unprecedented move, the City of Ottawa recently asked a judicial review panel to require that its legal costs be paid by the Greenspace Alliance of Canada’s Capital (GA). These costs arose in relation to an unsuccessful legal challenge before the Ontario Divisional Court. The challenge was part of the Alliance’s efforts, over the past decade, to protect the provincially significant Leitrim Wetland. The City was demanding $5,120. On December 10, the Court agreed with the City’s demand and also decided that the developers of Findlay Creek Village – companies associated with Tartan, Tamarack and Taggart – should be paid $25,000.
By pursuing the Greenspace Alliance for costs, the City is sending a very clear and chilling message – if you challenge our decisions in court we may go after your group for costs. The City knows that the GA has very limited resources and therefore is very unlikely to recover this cost. But this has not at all deterred it from what appears to be an undemocratic course of action.
Councillors Rick Chiarelli and Councillor Alex Cullen are sponsoring [a] motion to be introduced at the January 6th meeting of the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee (CSEDC). [See also] their media release.
Quite apart from the impact on the GA, is the precedent-setting and intimidating effect this will have on other community-based groups in Ottawa and even beyond. The perception by individuals that their participation at any level in public interest organizations could see them facing cost award suits will make it difficult to encourage more people to participate in public interest organizations. This, in the face of the City’s Public Participation Policy which states that “The City of Ottawa is committed to informing and actively involving citizens, community organizations and Advisory Committees on issues that affect them, to the greatest extent possible.” The Policy also states as one of its key principles: “Building and maintaining strong, positive and cooperative relationships between the City and the community to increase the potential for engagement and result in improved decision-making.”
Paying lip service to an enlightened policy, while its staff is pursing actions that are completely antithetical would be a shining example of political hypocrisy.
A Call to Action
We call upon community groups, their members and the general public to mobilize and lobby City Council to approve the proposed policy. It would therefore be appreciated if you would forward this e-mail to members of your organization or committee as well as your networks encouraging them to e-mail and/or call their ward councillor as well as all the other members of Ottawa Council urging them to support the Chiarelli-Cullen motion. In addition, please consider asking your organization to pass a resolution in support of the motion, as well as appearing before the CSEDC on the 6th.
The [Mayor’s] and [City Councillors’] contact information.
To contact all members of Council with one message, simply copy and paste the following in the To: box of your email:
Larry.Obrien@ottawa.ca; Bob.Monette@ottawa.ca; Rainer.Bloess@ottawa.ca; Jan.Harder@ottawa.ca; Marianne.Wilkinson@ottawa.ca; Eli.El-Chantiry@ottawa.ca; Shad.Qadri@ottawa.ca; Alex.Cullen@ottawa.ca; Rick.Chiarelli@ottawa.ca; Gord.Hunter@ottawa.ca; Diane.Deans@ottawa.ca; Michel.Bellemare@ottawa.ca; Georges.Bedard@ottawa.ca; Jacques.Legendre@ottawa.ca; Diane.Holmes@ottawa.ca; Kitchissippi@ottawa.ca; maria.mcrae@ottawa.ca; Clive.Doucet@ottawa.ca; Peter.Hume@ottawa.ca; Rob.Jellett@ottawa.ca; Doug.Thompson@ottawa.ca; Glenn.Brooks@ottawa.ca; Steve.Desroches@ottawa.ca; Peggy.Feltmate@ottawa.ca
Background
A report to Committee and Council on the City’s 2003 public consultation policy.