LINK:
http://www.yorkregion.com/news/article/1374133--aurora-councillor-unhappy-with-publicity
Jun
13, 2012 - 7:45 PM
Aurora
councillor unhappy with publicity
John
Abel questions Aurora Jazz+ Festival organizers
Aurora
councillors hope they can finally put the acrimony surrounding the Aurora Jazz+
Festival behind them.
A heated April debate that left the festival on the hook for previously waived permit fees had an epilogue at Tuesday’s council meeting.
Councillor John Abel attached to the agenda a contentious e-mail response sent to him by Susan Morton-Leonard, chairperson of the Aurora Festival of the Arts, the jazz festival’s parent organization.
Mr. Abel e-mailed Ms Morton-Leonard May 19, seeking her response to what he saw as negative publicity in a publication called Ontario Festivals Visited, regarding council’s perceived lack of support.
“This article portrays the town and its council in a negative light,” he wrote, noting the festival advertised in the newsletter.
The article, entitled What Were They Thinking?, questioned why the town would “penalize” a non-profit community event.
Mr. Abel also described as “offensive, if not just plain vulgar”, two May 15 personal blog entries by festival artistic director George St. Kitts.
Other councillors wondered why Mr. Abel was re-opening old wounds.
“I was really hoping we’d be past this,” Councillor Chris Ballard said. “I don’t believe AFA was (trying) to besmirch the good name of the town.”
Councillor Wendy Gaertner wondered whether Ms Leonard-Morton had been made aware her e-mail response, which was CC’d to every member of council, would be on the public council agenda.
In her response, Ms Leonard-Morton wrote Mr. Abel’s e-mail was “structured more like accusations than queries.”
The Aurora Festival of the Arts has no interest in “smear campaigns”, or personal blogs, she said, explaining the writer had simply written his opinion based on an article he read.
She countered the town had not even offered congratulations for the festival’s recent recognition as a Top 100 festival in the province by Festival and Events Ontario.
“This is the second year the AFA board has endured an attitude of mean spiritedness from a handful of people,” she wrote. “Continual unsubstantiated comments in the press and elsewhere ... unfortunately serve to hurt the Town of Aurora more than they hurt the festival.”
Mr. Abel laid the blame for the problems on the reporter’s lack of research and said council has a proud tradition of supporting arts and culture.
“I’m proud of this council ... I’m not going to allow people to be unfair,” he said Tuesday night.
“I don’t want to respond to the bad things they’re saying about our town, but I feel I have to and I will.”
“The bottom line is, unless the comments are defamatory, it’s called freedom of speech,” Ms Gaertner said.
A heated April debate that left the festival on the hook for previously waived permit fees had an epilogue at Tuesday’s council meeting.
Councillor John Abel attached to the agenda a contentious e-mail response sent to him by Susan Morton-Leonard, chairperson of the Aurora Festival of the Arts, the jazz festival’s parent organization.
Mr. Abel e-mailed Ms Morton-Leonard May 19, seeking her response to what he saw as negative publicity in a publication called Ontario Festivals Visited, regarding council’s perceived lack of support.
“This article portrays the town and its council in a negative light,” he wrote, noting the festival advertised in the newsletter.
The article, entitled What Were They Thinking?, questioned why the town would “penalize” a non-profit community event.
Mr. Abel also described as “offensive, if not just plain vulgar”, two May 15 personal blog entries by festival artistic director George St. Kitts.
Other councillors wondered why Mr. Abel was re-opening old wounds.
“I was really hoping we’d be past this,” Councillor Chris Ballard said. “I don’t believe AFA was (trying) to besmirch the good name of the town.”
Councillor Wendy Gaertner wondered whether Ms Leonard-Morton had been made aware her e-mail response, which was CC’d to every member of council, would be on the public council agenda.
In her response, Ms Leonard-Morton wrote Mr. Abel’s e-mail was “structured more like accusations than queries.”
The Aurora Festival of the Arts has no interest in “smear campaigns”, or personal blogs, she said, explaining the writer had simply written his opinion based on an article he read.
She countered the town had not even offered congratulations for the festival’s recent recognition as a Top 100 festival in the province by Festival and Events Ontario.
“This is the second year the AFA board has endured an attitude of mean spiritedness from a handful of people,” she wrote. “Continual unsubstantiated comments in the press and elsewhere ... unfortunately serve to hurt the Town of Aurora more than they hurt the festival.”
Mr. Abel laid the blame for the problems on the reporter’s lack of research and said council has a proud tradition of supporting arts and culture.
“I’m proud of this council ... I’m not going to allow people to be unfair,” he said Tuesday night.
“I don’t want to respond to the bad things they’re saying about our town, but I feel I have to and I will.”
“The bottom line is, unless the comments are defamatory, it’s called freedom of speech,” Ms Gaertner said.
John Abel positioning himself for mayor?
ReplyDeleteSay it ain't so, Ev!
Love it when councillor Gaertner wades in to define defamation. Not one of her strong suits.
ReplyDeleteI love Wendy's quote. Now she is the defender of free speech. Really ? Where has she been for six years ? She has hardly protected the innocent people that paid the price for disagreeing with her and her band of like-minded political allies. How many people were hurt by the previous council’s definition of integrity and their concept of free speech ? I can think of more than a few. There are a few previous and current councillors, a few previous and current Mayors, a few staff members and a few members of the public and at least one former integrity commisisoner that I’m sure would be awe struck by Councillor Geartner’s most recent statement.
ReplyDelete“The bottom line is, unless the comments are defamatory, it’s called freedom of speech,” Ms Gaertner said.
ReplyDeleteHowever true these words are, who else laughed when they were uttered without irony by someone with an identification and affiliation with the previous mayor?
This is like dredging old rotting garbage out from a landfill.
ReplyDeleteCan we not look ahead to things of a positive nature?
Like how to have a memorable and fun-filled 150th birthday party next year!
To Anonymous 11:23.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read Wendy's quote I wasn't sure if I wanted to laugh out loud or cry, but my reaction was immediate bewilderment, either way !
As a new defender of free speech, I'm sure that Councillor Wendy Gaertner will be very interested in these quote excerpts from a story that appeared in the National Post when the courts protected anonymous comments made on matters of public importance in Aurora:
ReplyDelete“In her decision, Justice Carole Brown weighed Ms. Morris’s allegations against the fundamental right to freedom of speech and found the former mayor’s case wanting.
“The public interest favouring disclosure [of the bloggers’ names] clearly does not outweigh the legitimate interests in freedom of expression and the right to privacy of the persons sought to be identified,” Judge Brown wrote, noting the three anonymous defendants, who chose to make comments on the site using pseudonyms, had “a reasonable expectation of anonymity.”
In addition, the judge noted, Ms. Morris failed to set forth the specific words alleged to be defamatory, including only snippets and titles in her statement of claim.
“It is not the role of the court to parse the impugned articles and blogs before it to attempt to determine, by divination or divine inspiration, which statements it should assess in determining whether a prima facie case has been established,” Judge Brown wrote in her decision, handed down last week.
… AND…
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association, which intervened in Ms. Morris’s motion by arguing the anonymous bloggers’ identities should be protected, also lauded the outcome.
“This is political speech… the kind of speech that we think should be given broad protection in society,” said Cara Zwibel, director of the CCLA’s fundamental freedoms program. Judge Brown’s ruling, she said, “sets what we think is an appropriately high bar for plaintiffs in defamation actions before they can get this kind of information.”
"Councillor Wendy Gaertner wondered whether Ms Leonard-Morton had been made aware her e-mail response, which was CC’d to every member of council, would be on the public council agenda."
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many people are aware of this. I did a Google search of my name a while ago. A hit popped up on the Town of Aurora server. Seems an email I sent to a councillor was printed and entered as an exhimit during a council session. I did not expect that. I was quite shocked to see it to be sure.
I've been thinking about that fence around the Park and how it is unnecessary and probably not even legal. And I remember Matt advising that we not approach the fence. Which makes perfect sense. BUT would there be any real harm if we were to have a very good look at the thing? And maybe then make any decisions?
ReplyDeleteJust asking is all. So tempting!
Slanderous jabber
ReplyDelete