Open Letter to Minister Watson

Earlier, today we emailed the following letter to Minister Watson and all interested parties. "Saving Vaughan" is requesting that Minister Watson gives the citizens of this city the opportunity to have a discussion with him so that our side of the story can be heard! Minister Watson: Once again, we come to you to request that the citizens of Vaughan, that we have the honour of representing, be afforded the same courtesy as did some of the City of Vaughan staff. We believe that, if truly the government of which you are part of is fair and open, you should grant us an audience so that our side of the story can receive the same attention. There is an old saying that says “Every bell has two sounds”, and so far you have chosen to listen to only one. If our judicial system operated that way our prisons would be busting at the seams with all sorts of innocent people behind bars. How can a meeting that lasted less than an hour have given your staff the certainty that “everything in Vaughan is fine”? We (the residents), have spent numerous hours, days if not months researching the information that has led to not one but two current members of Council, one other that got away with a slap on the wrist and the former mayor facing charges under the Elections Act. There have been allegations of corruption from within Council: there are now new allegations that an investigation by York Region Police was underway. The number of lawsuits against the City is reaching unprecedented levels. The abuse of taxpayer’s money is absurd. Yet you, siding with your staff, continue to turn a blind eye to all of this. Minister, we urge you to do the right thing. Listen to our complaints and hopefully act on them. No more of the usual rhetoric of “vote them out at the next election”. An audit, if an inquiry is impossible, will send a strong message to anyone seeking to “serve the people” that they will not be allowed to “serve themselves”. In closing we urge to please grant us an audience within the next few weeks. Respectfully, Saving Vaughan

Ward Boundary Appeal Update

Will they change or will they not change for 2010 elections? Ward boundary changes have a massive impact on the future of Vaughan and how effectively the voters will be represented. The key ingredient that was necessary during the ward boundary review was a much wider public discussion. Having councillors make that choice amongst themselves was not in the public’s interest. The Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) Pre-Hearing has been scheduled: Date: Thursday, September 10th, 2009 Time: 10:00 a.m. Location: City of Vaughan, Civic Center (Council Chambers), 2141 Major Mackenzie Drive Any individual who wants to become a participant can either attend the OMB Pre-Hearing and indicate that they would like Participant Status during the hearing or they can write or email the OMB with their name, address, and contact information and request that they want Participant status and/or that they're interested parties to the hearing. We have the OMB email contact information for the Planning Assistant who is looking after the file however, in order to avoid an abundance of residents contacting them you can email us at savingvaughan@gmail.com for further information. The appellant documents are public documents and are available either at the city clerk's office or by contacting the OMB Public Inquiry Office at 416-326-6800. The OMB Public Inquiry Office will arrange a time for individuals to review the file, at that time, an individual can also make photocopies (will be charged a fee) of the file. The City Clerk’s office will also provide you copies for a fee.

City of Vaughan - Ward Boundary By-Law OMB Appeal

Recently, the City of Vaughan passed a Ward Boundary By-Law 89-2009, based on a review that was commenced by city councillors and staff prior to 2006. On May 5th, 2009, City of Vaughan council voted to pass the by-law which is for a system of five wards with re-aligned boundaries. Ms. Lucia Milani, a long-time resident of Vaughan has now challenged the ward boundary by-law at the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). The review and potential ward boundary configurations were all performed by city staff and council members were able to submit their own configurations and comments during the process. One public meeting took place where those in attendance were not allowed to voice their concerns or comments. Instead they were given markers and were asked to write comments on the various configuration maps made available. Very minimal public input was implemented into the process. Staff and council’s involvement should have been limited to just providing the data and the logistics for the review and an independent consultant should have been hired to conduct the review. Key stakeholder and stakeholder groups such as: ratepayers associations and business improvement associations across the City of Vaughan should have been invited to participate. “Saving Vaughan” believes that a ward boundary review should not have been taken so lightly and that the process should have had more of a broader public input from beginning to end. A ward boundary change should not have been made with extensive involvement from councillors. All members of council have a vested interest in the outcome … even if they knew 100 per cent for sure they will not be running. In order for the new Ward Boundary By-Law to be in effect in time for the next municipal election in the fall of 2010, the OMB must make a written decision by December 31st, 2009.