More FCM-Dion Allegations

More fuel has been added to the fire by another anonymous poster on the Guelph Mercury Editor's blog...

(FULL DISCLOSURE: I have no knowledge as to who the anonymous poster is... just in case anyone was wondering)

"Phil - here are a few more points, and some speculation as grist for the mill.

- The ouster was performed in a closed teleconference by the executive in March. No minutes have ever been provided, which calls into question the legality of the whole affair

- You might want to speak with another Guelph concillor who sits on the FCM board. Did she participate in the process? Did she speak up for her colleague? Or, as a liberal, did she toe the party line?

- Regina Mayor Fiaco requested Kovach not attend a breakfast meeting of the big city mayors (of which she is a part as president) and Mr. Dion as he and FCM staff had received emails from Dion's office upset that the President was Conservative and saying he would not attend if Kovach was there. I would imagine that those emails still exist....

- The knapsack that Dion is seen with all the time is an FCM embroidered knapsack. Paul Martin had no problem working with Kovach, but then but he didn't carry the knapsack.

What I don't know is if it all came from Dion or were there Guelph Liberals involved? All of Guelph has done well by Kovach and her local and national leadership, so just imagine what she could do if she were sent to Ottawa. Of course, as a Conservative, that would be bad news for the Liberals in Guelph.

Posted by: Good Hunting | November 20, 2007 at 11:53 AM"

The two highlighted points, in my mind, are the most important ones that need to be investigated.

1) I'm looking into the membership of the FCM, and will post the name of the other Guelph councilor once I figure out who it is... I'm considering contacting her for a statement - UPDATE: The councillor is Lise Burcher, City of Guelph Councillor for Ward 5. I don't know whether or not she was involved in the teleconference that resulted in Ms. Kovach's removal, however, a quick e-mail (or a few dozen) should help clear things up... you can find her e-mail address listed here.

2) "FCM staff had received emails from Dion's office upset that the President was Conservative and saying he would not attend if Kovach was there. I would imagine that those emails still exist" If there is any truth to this statement, that's HUGE... e-mails have a tendency to stick around for quite a while, and have a nasty habit of getting forwarded and/or released to the public.

For the record, I am not in possession of any such e-mails, nor have I seen them... but if they do indeed exist, it would make for an interesting day in the OLO.

If any business supply stores in Ottawa get any calls for shredder rentals, please, LET ME KNOW.


UPDATE: For people looking for the background on this issue, see my posting on the media coverage from earlier today, or the main background post on the topic from yesterday.