By Jennifer Vandermeer EDITOR
Wednesday May 07, 2008
While Ingersoll was ready to receive 100 Kashechewan evacuees last week, it was a decision that split town council.
A recorded vote to receive the evacuees at a special council meeting Tues., April 29 was defeated after resulting in a 3-3 tie. According to members of council, it was a matter of emergency versus having enough information.
Councillor Ernie Hunt, who voted to receive the evacuees, said things were a little tense around the council table and that this was the first division he could remember since he was elected.
Hunt said everything was ready. The evacuees would have been housed upstairs at the arena, the town’s emergency preparedness committee was in full gear and all the logistics were being worked out. Information was coming in and changing the situation by the hour.
"When you have a tie vote over something like this it’s tough," said Hunt.
Councillor Gord Lesser, who voted against the motion, said he didn’t feel he had enough information about who was footing the bill for this emergency to allow him to make an informed decision on behalf of the ratepayers. He also had questions about what compensation there would be for arena users who already had the space booked, and how the evacuees would occupy their time here.
Lesser felt sorry for the people who were put out of their homes due to flooding in the north, but his main concern was "our people, our town and how this was going to affect things."
He didn’t feel he was getting any definitive answers on what was required of the town or how fast everything was going to happen.
"I just didn’t feel comfortable making a decision with the information that was available," said Lesser.
The town was notified Mon., April 28 that it could be asked to house 100 evacuees by that Wednesday morning. It was reported that no evacuees would be arriving by the time council met on the Tuesday night.
There were a lot of information meetings held over the few days prior to the council meeting, during which information changed regularly.
"I did my own little walk around survey and there was overwhelming support to bring them (the evacuees) here," said Mayor Paul Holbrough, who attended meetings in Tillsonburg, at the county and in Ingersoll daily. Tillsonburg was also scheduled to receive evacuees and that town’s council voted to receive them.
Holbrough pointed out that in his position as head of council, he doesn’t need council’s approval to make this kind of decision. He can declare an emergency and simply make the decisions on his own. He was trying to get the concensus of council at the April 29 meeting.
"I would never do anything to jeopardize the community," said Holbrough.
Councillor Kristy VanKooten-Bossence sided with Lesser.
"If you don’t have the facts or you don’t have the answers to questions, how can I, as a councillor, make a decision?" VanKooten-Bossence said.
She pointed out though, that if an emergency had been declared, she would not have hesitated to do everything she was asked.
"We’re elected to think about our own community first," she said. "I’m all for helping. It wasn’t that I didn’t want the people here. I’m compassionate, but I’m compassionate about my own community first."
Everyone agreed that this situation was a good exercise for the town’s emergency preparedness group. This type of emergency – an influx of people – had not been tested, and while the evacuees did not arrive in town, the committee was following through with the exercise to make sure it would be able to handle such a situation in the future.
Deputy Mayor Fred Freeman also voted against the motion and Councillor John Fortner voted in favour. Councillor Dave McLeod was not at the meeting.
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