The fact that this now has been somewhat public in terms of the lobbying that’s occurred and some of the things that have gone on, there’s been a suggestion of a backroom deal and I want to speak directly to that because I take exception to that thought and I think we all should is the process here has been a little clumsy. I’m not blaming staff individually or collectively. It’s just the context is lost and then unfortunately it grows legs.
I want to make it very clear that as Councillor Henderson noted she brought it to me at a Planning Advisory Committee meeting in casual conversation of whether I knew anything about it and I didn’t. And it was shortly after that we approached the CAO who said no we have no idea. So, I was in the dark until this matter actually came forward in in the form of the bylaw.
Since then, though, I can tell you that the interested party who is interested in the city land emailed all of us on Friday. Indicating that there’s been public discussion and I think it all just got captured in the media. They were talking about reworking the grading and what have you.
My response back to that individual and I acknowledge everyone’s email when they come in – that I acknowledge receipt of it and the attached correspondence.
They also made mention of the fact that there was previous correspondence that was circulated to us on October 22nd, 2025 and I indicated that I had no record of receiving that. Then I received a second email with that October 22nd letter that was to be circulated to council and I don’t think it did and that’s fair because I think staff were trying to avoid the lobbying that was going on back then.
It made it very clear in there that our primary goal is to facilitate a cut and fill process to meet the flood plain requirements.
I’m reading this – it’s my email, so anybody can access my email if they so choose. I just want to point that out to say that this thing developed and grown legs over the last few days in particular and I want to just make the record clear that the conversations or the email record of the correspondence that I’ve had with the interested party is very clear, very pointed and I was in the dark until this bylaw came forward. I just wanted to clear the air on that matter alone.
