Thirty-five people came to City Hall at 2 p.m. Wednesday for a highly-anticipated special meeting of council, but they were soon left alone for two-and-a-half hours as municipal politicians met in closed session.
Those who persevered through the long, quiet afternoon in the council chamber left none the wiser.
That's because the only item on the agenda was to get information from an external lawyer regarding strong mayor powers and the duties of the head of council (mayor) — a discussion that was held behind closed doors.
The public heard 10 minutes of procedural chatter before the mayor and council left the chamber for a nearby boardroom.
The external lawyer was not present in the council chambers but was presumably answering questions in the boardroom. When council came back at 4:45 p.m., Kristine Preston, the city's deputy clerk, read a motion that identified the law firm as WeirFoulds LLP, a Toronto law firm. The name of lawyer was not identified.
Orillia CAO Amanpreet Singh Sidhu was not present at today's meeting. Mayor Don McIsaac's first use of his strong mayor powers — granted by the province amid a declared state of emergency to help the city deal with the aftermath of the ice storm — was to fire newly hired CAO Trevor Lee from Guelph and appoint Sidhu to the position on April 7. Sidhu had been the city's deputy CAO/solicitor before his appointment to the top civic job in the municipality.
When asked by OrilliaMatters after the meeting about Sidhu's absence, McIsaac said the CAO does not have to attend council meetings or special meetings of council.
The meeting was live-streamed, but there was no public forum and it was not held in the evening as earlier requested by members of council.
Six members of council petitioned for a special council meeting that was held last Tuesday about special mayor powers and McIsaac's use of them. Essentially, council wanted an explanation as to why McIsaac rescinded the council-approved hiring of Lee and wanted an opportunity to ask questions of an independent legal counsel. That meeting was cut short as external legal counsel was not present.
"The six councillors neglected to find out if the attorney was present," said McIsaac. "The attorney had a trial and couldn't make it until Wednesday. I told two councillors on Monday that the attorney could not be present and they wanted to go ahead. It was a frustrating time for everybody. People showed up and they wanted to speak but they couldn't because it was out of order."
Today's meeting was called by McIsaac. He said he got "good" information from the lawyer and he is working to get more information released to the public.
"I think the citizens of Orillia deserve to know. I've asked for permission to release information. I'll be meeting with the clerk and the deputy clerk. I have 25 to 30 things I think should be released. There is some stuff that I know won't be released and that's unfortunate," he said.
There is a regular council meeting on Monday.
Councillors are also petitioning for another special meeting on the subject of strong mayor powers and the mayor's use of them that will be held in May when all councillors are present. Coun. David Campbell was not present at today's meeting.
Councillors are requesting the May meeting be live-streamed, held in open session, include a public forum and be held at 7 p.m. so more people can attend.
Brian Greer of Orillia attended today's meeting.
"I was aware that they would immediately go to closed session and it was unlikely that any part would be discussed in open. Nonetheless, I thought it was important to observe the nuance and the interactions of the councillors at the beginning and the end," Greer said.
"I don't believe the questions raised at this meeting are going to go away in the near future. They are however, going to play a role in the next mayoral election," said Greer.
Ellen Wolper also attended Wednesday's meeting and was sitting outside the council chamber. Earlier this month, she launched a petition calling for Orillia to re-instate Trevor Lee. She gathered 410 signatures on the petition.
People started leaving the meeting as the closed session extended to one hour and then two hours. After two hours, 10 spectators remained. Council came back to the chamber at 4:45 p.m.
Charles Craig of Orillia came to the meeting early and waited until the end to hear the result. But he said it was a waste of his time.
"I know nothing more than when I came in," he said.
"The reading of the speech (Preston's reading of the motion to accept the report from the closed session) was so rapid, it wasn't understandable and you can't read what's on the screen. It's too small. There is no effort to communicate with the public that I could see," he said.
Coun. Jay Fallis said the meeting was "productive" but "frustrating" because the public couldn't hear it.
"The attitude among councillors is frustration. We want the public to talk about this and voice their frustration," said Fallis.
"It seems like we are not having an opportunity to address the big issue — the mayor's strong mayors powers and how he's using them. Are we getting an opportunity to address that and is the public?" Fallis asked.
Fallis said he is still "confused" about the logic behind the change of the CAO and he wants that clarified.
Coun. Jeff Czetwerzuk said he is looking forward to "having a meeting at the appropriate time that will have the public forum. I think the public opinion is important. That's what up next."
Coun. Luke Leatherdale said he is also looking forward to a subsequent meeting that will include an open public forum.
"I believe the more people who voice their opinion, the more clear it is to council where the public stands," he said.
