CAYUGA—Significant support was shown for MPP Bobbi Ann Brady as residents filled the Council chambers on Monday, June 24, 2024 to protest a motion forwarded by Ward 1 Councillor Stewart Patterson to stop Brady from participating in Haldimand’s delegations at the upcoming Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference.
Councillors voted 5-2 in support of that motion at a meeting last Wednesday, with the decision being ratified on Monday.
At the June 19 meeting, Patterson stated, “Noting that (Brady) is an independent MPP and her relationship with the premier, I feel it would have a negative impact on our deputations and potentially on our funding requests on particular items such as … the tri-party water agreement we’ve been going after…. I think it would be more detrimental to the county to have her presence at our deputations.”
Both Ward 4 Councillor Marie Trainer and Mayor Shelley Ann Bentley disagreed, and voted against disallowing Brady’s participation.
“I think it’s a little bit of a slam to our MPP. She does represent us, and we do want her to fight for us or go forward with things that we want,” said Trainer.
“It’s very disheartening that this is coming forward. We still live in a free country where people vote us in. Whether you like that person or not, or she’s an independent or not, she’s still our elected official,” added Bentley. “To have her shunned because you think we’re not going to get the funding? Doug Ford wants to build. We’re certainly going to get the funding, because he wants to pave over Haldimand and Norfolk.”
Councillor Dan Lawrence asserted that Brady had, through the process of organizing a petition against Haldimand’s Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO) for Nanticoke, shown a lack of support for the county, categorized as “working against us on a decision we made as a body.”
Councillor Patrick O’Neill added, “I don’t even see why this is a surprise. The premier said she’s not going to have a job. There’s clearly contentiousness there.”
The Press spoke with MPP Brady following the initial vote.
“It’s bizarre, but it doesn’t really surprise me. Those five councillors, those five males on council, know that I’m not in support of the city of 15,000 homes at Nanticoke, and nobody’s going to convince me otherwise. I think they’re trying to punish me,” said Brady. “I think it’s made them look very foolish from what I can see on social media.”
“They say the premier doesn’t like me. How do they know he doesn’t like me? … He’s yelled out things at all sorts of opposition members,” she added.
She planned to reach out to other opposition colleagues to see if any municipal governments in their areas were “bringing forth such a disrespectful motion against them,” asserting that she was no different than any opposition party members in the province.
Potential conflicts between Brady and Norfolk Council have also been brewing. Recently, Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma visited Norfolk to tour their wastewater infrastructure for discussions on further funding toward Norfolk’s wastewater vulnerabilities, a separate issue from the tri-party water agreement mentioned above. Brady was not formally invited to the meeting, but was informed through her own sources and arrived on her own volition.
Speaking to The Press, Norfolk Mayor Amy Martin said, “I can confirm that it sounds like you have an accurate account,” asserting there was little to no intent behind the decision to leave Brady out of the meeting.
“It’s a two-way street. The municipality or the minister’s office could have reached out to MPP Brady – that did not happen, but there was no plan there, that was just building on my relationships that I have built with the minister.”
Martin noted that Norfolk has met with Surma regularly in the past in relation to the tri-party water supply issue.
“Minister Surma has always said she would make herself available if we needed something from her, so Norfolk County extended an invitation to Minister Surma because we had submitted funding for the wastewater needs in Norfolk. It was important to us that we explain and demonstrate … that this is Norfolk’s number one priority: water.”
The Press asked Martin if Brady’s unexpected presence at the meeting resulted in any negative impacts.
“How do I answer this carefully,” responded Martin. “I think MPP Brady has a lot of face time with the minister in Toronto, and the municipalities do not, so I don’t know that it was necessary, but it made no difference to our day, what we had planned, and what we shared with the minister…. It was a bit off-putting, but I can’t speak to how the minister felt.”
Martin also shared her thoughts on Haldimand’s vote to exclude Brady from AMO, calling such meetings an opportunity for face time with ministers to advance county priorities in the “best way that they see fit, and again, our MPP and every other MPP has a lot of facetime with these ministers at Queen’s Park daily.”
She added, “I campaigned on improving provincial relationships to bring home money and opportunities for Norfolk County residents, and you have to take a step back and sometimes question the approach – how you’re going to do that, how you’re going to build relationships, and how you highlight our community and show only the best of it. These are municipally focused conferences, and I think everybody is just working to try and do the best for Norfolk and/or Haldimand County residents.”
Martin noted that Brady is currently not scheduled to attend any Norfolk conferences at AMO, as the schedule is not yet available to make any such bookings. She confirmed that while Brady attended delegations with both Norfolk and Haldimand last year, “that’s not necessarily typical. Sometimes MPPs will join at these conferences, but not always. In my experience, when I was a Port Dover councillor, I went to AMO once and ROMA twice when I was the deputy mayor, and Toby Barrett never joined us, not once.”
Brady responded to the assertion about the Norfolk wastewater meeting, listing Surma as a “very good friend” and noting, “When the mayor of Norfolk County brought the minister into Norfolk County to tour the water wells, the minister was very embarrassed that I wasn’t there.”
Brady said she spoke with the minister following the meeting and advocated for her to conduct a similar tour in Haldimand, scheduled for next month.
She added, “I’m not sure why Council is trying to use that as a convenient way to say that Bobbi Ann is trouble, because the minister is now coming to Haldimand County thanks to the mayor and I.”
Brady dispelled the notion of a communication barrier with either council, noting, “Things are happening for a reason. These are all very calculated decisions by a handful of people…. There’s a handful of people who can’t get over the fact that I was elected as an independent over one of their friends.”
Brady also called out Councillor Lawrence specifically, asking why he is clear to attend AMO after making numerous disparaging comments about the provincial government following inaction on the Argyle St. Bridge, among other issues in Caledonia.
She questioned, “Do they want me to continue to ask that? Or should I just stay silent and let the bridge continue to not be re-constructed?”
Brady concluded, “Am I to question the government, or am I not to question the government? I’m going to continue to take my cue from the residents of Haldimand County who like the fact that I question this government.”
Following that conversation, Brady appeared as a delegate on June 24 at a Council meeting that drew a large crowd of supporters to her defense. Haldimand Council listened to several delegates who railed against Patterson’s motion, demanding that Brady be allowed to attend AMO delegations. Following that debate, during which a substantial group of MPP supporters hurled insults from the lobby at Haldimand’s councillors, and loudly booed or cheered despite Mayor Bentley’s repeated attempts to maintain decorum, Haldimand voted once again, ratifying the decision with the same 5-2 vote they made last week.
The five councillors in support of the motion were Patterson, Lawrence, O’Neill, John Metcalfe, and Rob Shirton.
For a full, detailed breakdown of that meeting, including comments from Brady, the delegates present, and Council’s response, be sure to look to next week’s edition of The Press.
