Media starting to pick up on FCM issue

The editors of the Guelph Mercury agree... something is fishy about the ouster of the FCM's former President Gloria Kovach... they say so in their editorial today.

Group's ouster of Kovach still murky
GUELPH MERCURY

A cryptic news release last week from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities related to Guelph councillor Gloria Kovach's ouster as president and national board chair last March has apparently satisfied the councillor, but it's too vague and leaves too many unanswered questions to satisfy us.

The release never answers the central question: Why was Kovach let go? [...]

The lack of transparency is arguably of greater significance in the Kovach case because a lobby group like the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, as we said here in March, is a less effective lobby group if it's tainted by scandal or potential scandal.

Was Kovach kicked out of her position as federation president -- just two months before the end of her term, by the way -- because of her political affiliation, or were there other reasons?

Indeed... were there "other reasons"? What do you have to say about this Mr. Dion? Are the rumors true? Did you, or did you not, exert undue influence over this supposedly "non-partisan" group? Was it because she outed herself as a Conservative?

Mr. Dion, one of your own sitting MP's was in the exact same boat back in 1997... and there didn't seem to be any problem with his running for office while sitting as the President of the FCM. So why was there an issue with Ms. Kovach doing the same thing? (maybe newly minted LPC(O) Central Region President
Jason Cherniak can shed some light on this, being Mr. Wilfert's riding association president and all...)

Was it, perhaps, because Mr. Dion was not comfortable working with a known Conservative as the FCM President?

Again, the FCM Press Release from last week rasies more questions than it answers.