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        An article that shows great insight into the politicians at Mississauga City hall and how cut-throat they are.  Likely one of the last written by John Stewart that was so revealing.   Hazel hates for the public to see open disagreement in her City hall and she will put an end to it any way she can.  Also, from what I heard about the last time Councillor Culham stood up to the Mayor, Hazel McCallion, in public or private.

    Couple of best quotes about how decision making is done at Mississauga City Hall, then, as now are by David Culham "Sometimes in politics, games become the be-all and end-all.", involving the "suspended intelligent judgement," that "We're masking certain things here." as "personality issues have become involved".

     The claws are out in the fight to try to preserve the Burnhamthorpe Cat Shelter on me City-owned Bird property on east bank of the Credit River.  In a series of developments this week:

     *    Mayor Hazel McCallion criticized Ward 6 councillor David Culham
           for accepting an invitation to speak at the "Save the cats" rally
            scheduled today;

     *    McCallion and Bryan Denham, executive director of the Ontario
           Humane Society (OHS), announced the City will help the OHS find a
            site for an animal shelter in the city by the end of the year.

     *    A press release from the OHS stated that "Mayor McCallion has
            agreed to the society's request to ask council to consider a
            postponement of the closure of the privately run Burnhamthorpe Cat
            Shelter. The OHS has asked that the closure be postponed until the
            end of 1989."

     *    Culham welcomed the proposal for deferral as a "180-degree turn" in
            McCallion's position and said "the mayor and council should come
            clean and admit they made a mistake."

     *    McCallion said the press release was ambiguous and she had only
            agreed that the OHS could ask council for a postponement of the
            departure of Lois and Brian Stevens.  She said she had not indicated
            that she would support any postponement.

     *    The OHS decided not to send a speaker to today's rally and Lois
            Stevens accused Denham of abandoning her cause when "they (the
            OHS) got what they want" — help from the City to find a shelter site.

 See CAT page 9

Cat shelter fight not over

Cont. from page 1

     *     Denham said there was now no need for the OHS to speak because
            "we're proceeding as quickly as we can to erect a shelter." He denied
            "taking advantage of anything."

     *    Stevens said the new shelter will not help most of the cats she deals
            with, which are often wild or unadoptable because of injuries or age.

 Council voted 8-2 in June to give the Stevenses 120 days to vacate the Bird property so that the house, which has been leased to them for a decade, can be demolished to make way for the eventual development of a public gardens and conservatory.  Council was concerned about the violation of the animal control bylaw on City lands and the liability that could result if councillors ignored property standards violations that would cost some $9,000 to fix.

 Since then, animal rights activists have rallied to the support of the Stevenses, who run the "no-kill" shelter at their own expense and adopt cats to responsible owners after careful screening.

 McCallion says she is "disappointed" that Culham plans to speak at the rally.  She said the rally is a "blatant disregard for City regulations" by the Stevenses who are in violation of their lease and the City's animal control bylaw. If Culham participates, he will also be guilty of "blatant disregard for the City's laws," the mayor added.

 Culham replied that the cat shelter issue "is one of the few opportunities I've had to be disappointed in the mayor's action.  She's been a great mayor but I wish she'd live up to her conduct in the past."  Culham said he still supports a two-year stay of execution for the shelter and called the arguments about structural problems and liability at the Bird property a "smokescreen.”

 "It's unfair for the Stevenses to be played as the pawns in a backroom game," he remarked of the "games" he said are being played by some people at city hall.

 Lois Stevens charged that now that the OHS has a commitment to help find a shelter site "the rats are leaving the ship."  She said many of the cats she handles could not be put in cages and would not be adoptable.  "My animals are not the type" suitable for the OHS shelter, she claimed.  She also said, unlike in her no-kill operation, animals will be euthanized at the OHS shelter, as they are at the City shelter, if they cannot be adopted.

 The North Peel and South Peel shelters have both been fundraising for many years to establish a shelter.  The OHS always intended to establish its own shelter after the City took over the pound a decade ago, but has not been successful to date.  It runs a veterinary clinic at its Mavis Rd. premises.

 Christine Mason, OHS public relations director, said the cat shelter issue on the Bird property has been "the catalyst" to revive the shelter dream.

 McCallion says she's delighted that an OHS shelter, to serve an animals and not just cats, is being considered again.  "I'm disappointed it was not set up a long time ago," she says.

 Denham says if land can be purchased or leased with the City's help, a temporary shelter consisting probably of school portables can be in operation by Dec. 31.

 Culham says the supposed infraction of the animal control bylaw is "an excuse to kick out" the Stevenses, who are providing a valuable community service.  "We seem to have suspended intelligent judgement," Culham said.  "We're masking certain things here."  He said personality issues have become involved in the cat shelter dispute, adding, "Sometimes in politics, games become the be-all and end-all."

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