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Letters from the public regarding the Feb. 10/04 OMB Hearing
 

 These quotes from Ratepayers who came to give testimony at the Feb. 10/04 OMB Hearing are
representative of their overall sentiment, their feelings and tone of their letters, as well as the opinions expressed by those who attended the meeting but did not write about it.  Most letters were written a month or so after the fact but events had made such an impression in people's minds that they were able to clearly recall it.  That and the fact that the OMB Chair took no interest this matter after it was repeatedly brought to her attention.

*   Quotes from the letter (Doc.# 62, 1 page) of a person who was at the Feb. 10/04 OMB Hearing.

"Mr. Culham expressed impatience with some area resident's that "gave evidence".  Yet he seemed to have great patience for the developer's legal counsil, ... who conducted herself in an extremely abrasive & intimidating manner towards each witness, with the exception of Mr. Surrell, former Mayor of Mississauga."

"Mr. Surrell was allowed to speak without giving evidence. ... I don't believe Mr. Surrell should have been allowed to speak as he offered nothing pertinent, ... irrelevant to the hearing's purpose & cut into the evening's proceedings."

"I was totally appauled & disgusted, as well all in the audience, at Mr. Culham's treatment of an area resident when she asked to speak her concerns. ... It was most unpleasant to sit & observe him "belittle" her for her lack of knowledge."

"With conduct from both the Chair & the developer's legal counsil as mentioned above, I would hope an inquest be conducted & new proceedings with a different Chair be ordered."
 

*   Quotes from the letter (Doc.# 63, 3 pages) of a person who was at the Feb. 10/04 OMB Hearing.

"People like to get involved in things - But I think that if you sign in then a Person should Be allowed to have their say.  Each one at a time.  It was unfair to most of the people at that hearing.  And People thought it was a waste of time."
 

*   Quotes from the letter (Doc.# 64, 1 page) of the persons who were at the Feb. 10/04 OMB Hearing.

"I left the meeting with a sense of great disappointment over the conduct of the chairman, David Culham.  His hostility towards the ratepayers of Mississauga was evident throughout the meeting."

"Ratepayers, who were obviously laypeople in such a setting, were dealt with in a cursory manner, thrown from their chain of thought by a constant badgering over the factual content of their presentation.  This partisan intolerant attitude became obvious when the former Mayor, Mr. Ron Searle, was allowed to ramble on a subject which reflected society's views from nearly haft a century ago."

....63

"We are concerned residents of Mississauga and as such we resent the dismissive disregard for our sensibilities and our rights as ratepayers."
 

*   Quotes from the letter (Doc.# 65, 2 pages) of a person who was at the Feb. 10/04 OMB Hearing.

"the Chairperson stated he only wanted the individuals who chose to speak to provide factual and relevant information and not speeches.  I would like to say that the individuals that did try to speak, and stand up for the community, were questioned in such a manner that it was discouraging for anyone wanting to take the stand.  The "cross examination" by the Developer's lawyer of the individuals on the stand seemed to be quite fierce and attacking to the point that no one wanted to take the stand."

"There was a sign in sheet, but people were not being called from it."

"When a woman indicated a desire to speak, ...  She appeared fearful of being attacked, ... She asked the Chairperson if she was qualified to speak, being a regular homeowner in the community.  The Chairperson responded by saying that she had to be sure that she would be providing factual and relevant information."

"Mr. Don Barber, the local group leader for the Ratepayers Group, ...  Mr. Barber indicated to the Chairperson that he wished to speak.  The Chairperson spoke quite forcefully to this gentleman and would not allow him to take the stand.  Mr. Barber responded that a conflict of interest was noted more than once.  ... I would think that the Chairperson, to be fair, should have determined first if this gentleman had something important or relevant to say and not just outright threaten to have him removed forcefully"

"A previous Mayor of the City of Mississauga was allowed to make a speech.  As far as I could understand, we were not allowed to make speeches.  The former Mayor's speech was irrelevant, and the Chairperson did not take to task as to why his speech was relevant."

"I would think that a Chairperson should not appear to be biased.  My impression at this meeting was that the Chairperson did not seem to be acting fairly.  The Chairperson did not deal with conflict of interest."

"What was disturbing to me was that the people of the community were not treated with respect or the courtesy they deserved and were shot down for voicing their opinions."

"In short, I left at the end of the meeting with the distinct impression that the OMB was unfairly siding with the City of Mississauga and the Developer. ... The opinions of the people who live in this community have no validity or weight in the matter, as they are not high priced lawyers, ...  We have all wasted time and money for nothing."

....64

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