From: ChrisFriel@brantford.ca [mailto:ChrisFriel@brantford.

ca] Sent: Thursday, October 27, 2011 14:06 To: Larry Kings; Jan Vanderstelt; John Utley; Vince Bucci; Dan McCreary; Debi Dignan-Rumble; Richard Carpenter; Dave Wrobel; Marguerite Ceschi-Smith; David Neumann Cc: Ted Salisbury; Darryl Lee; Charlene Touzel; Larry Tansley Subject: Best of Intentions and Apology

Members of Council, As you will have noted there is a story about by-law 127-2011 on the front page of the Expositor. I must first apologize for my role in this unfortunate situation, and I accept full responsibility for the decision not to sign the by-law. Staff conducted themselves with professionalism and courtesy throughout the whole process. The decision was mine and mine alone. I have outlined the events below as I remember them. I must emphasize that I made this decision with the best of intentions and an honest belief that a delay in signing would eliminate the potential for an unfortunate and highly public protest. I also apologize for any embarrassment, or dispersions cast against Council. It is unfortunate, but because of the source of the article, and the vehemence with which this campaign is being pursued I must outline my position. It is true that I did not sign the bylaw. The reason I did not was because of a specific threat made to protest the site and any future development by a strong group on Six Nations. We have in all of our land sales a clause that (paraphrasing) states, that the buyer must be made aware of the potential of protest and possibility of the delay or end of the development. In a desire to avoid having the threat of protest made public, or by having a protest start and further damage our community's reputation within the development community, we contacted the purchaser and, I and members of staff, had a discussion. I stated in that meeting that this was a concern, that a specific threat was made to the development, and that perhaps meeting with representatives of Six Nations would help eliminate this threat. The developer/purchaser agreed and also agreed that the bylaw signing would be delayed while this discussion happened. The luncheon was facilitated with the elected council and staff, myself and staff, and the purchaser and his representative. They established a relationship and began discussions. All of this information was relayed at each stage to the Councillor who was the advocate for this developer and the purchaser, with the understanding that he relay this information to his ward mate.

During the next months contacts with the representative of the purchaser indicated that the discussions were proceeding and that a deal was imminent. Even up to Monday evening an email (while we were in camera) arrived from the representative stating that a deal with Six Nations was imminent and would be completed in 30 days. Recent events, including news stories brought this item back up, and staff asked what to do with the item. I contacted the Councillor and suggested that as the advocate he needed to meet with the City Solicitor to determine a course of action. Although the meeting was held in my office, I was involved in a telephone conference call, then left the room. Upon my return it was reported that rescinding the bylaw was the preferred course of action. Now let me state, I consider this part of the events to be nothing more than a miscommunication and that neither the Councillor, nor staff should assume blame, or have themselves considered part of a conspiracy. Should there have been a report, absolutely, but I believe that there was a concern regarding a broader publicizing of these events and allowing the community's reputation to be further damaged. This clearly was a bad decision because that will now happen, and I am sick that something that has been made so personal will be the cause of this publicity. I acted with the best of intentions, and at the time, while we were also working on the "Consult and Accommodate Agreement" and consultation on Six Nations Territory, it seemed like a worthwhile endeavour, and, in fact, a logical course of action. I meant no disrespect to Council, to any individual member of Council or to the community in not signing the by-law. It was never my intention to have this item explode on the front page in this manner. I understand if there is reasonable concern regarding this action (or non-action) with the signing, but there is nothing more to it than good, if misdirected, intentions; it was an honest attempt to find a quiet solution. I understand the mistake that I made, and I assure each member of Council that I will not undertake this type of action again. In future, any concerns in this matter would be brought forward either to a Six Nations Liaison Committee of Council or to Council as a whole. Again, I apologize wholeheartedly and accept full responsibility for the events that have unfolded with regard to by-law 127-2011.

Regards,

Chris

Mayor Chris Friel Brantford Ontario Canada www.brantford.ca City Hall, 100 Wellington Square N3T 2M3 519-759-4150 #2213