War of words: Sarnia council meeting abruptly adjourned, mayor blames councillor’s conduct
At a monthly council meeting in Sarnia on Monday, things went sideways after one councillor derailed the conversation.
“You guys made this…my little outburst, which I apologized for, you made that sound like it was January 6th, that's why you made the motion. That's why the mayor went on TV and basically said people should be afraid of me, that is absolute nonsense," said Coun. Bill Dennis at the meeting Monday.
While council discussed security recommendations, Dennis continued to interrupt, prompting several councillors to call a point of order.
"Excuse me, excuse me, I am a taxpayer too; I’m not only a councillor,” interrupted Dennis.
“You know what, when those clowns wanted to put you in a bus barn, I had your back,” he added as he pointed to Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley.
Bradley maintains the report was from the health and safety committee making recommendations.
"This wasn't generated by the council on the sense of the actions, it wasn’t generated by the public, but by the health and safety committee of the city of Sarnia that is very concerned about the workplace,” explained Bradley.
But Dennis argued that the discussion and the motion was about him.
"The original motion was always about Bill Dennis, you know, to try to make me look bad. It was always about that. And the mayor went on TV and said that, and another councillor who made that motion basically said that too," explained Dennis, pointing to the fact that there have been heated debates in council chambers in the past that didn’t lead to discussions of escape plans.
“Sarnia City Hall, that particular building has been used since the 1960s, as if they don’t have protocols in place for fire, as if they don't have protocols in place, you know, the one guy talked about for tornados, that's just silly,” said Dennis.
Bradley said this is the second time he had to adjourn the meeting due to Dennis’ behaviour, adding that he wants to see respect and civility restored in the council chambers.
"Now what we have to deal with is that there were a number of substantial, millions and millions of dollars, that was going to be invested in the city, in construction and roads, all those things, because we didn't complete the meeting. Those bylaws have not been passed,” explained Bradley, who now hopes to get those bylaws passed before the next council meeting in April.
Meantime, Dennis said he has put the mayor on legal notice, saying, "You better cool your jets, otherwise this is going to cost you in the wallet."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Couple randomly attacked, 1 stabbed, by group of teens in Toronto, police say
A man has been transported to hospital after police say he was stabbed in a random attack carried out by a group of teens in Toronto on Friday night.
Ron Ellis, who played over 1,000 games with Maple Leafs, dead at 79
Ron Ellis, who played over 1,000 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and was a member of Canada's team at the 1972 Summit Series, has died at age 79.
Fort Nelson, B.C., wildfire doubles in size as 3,000-plus ordered to evacuate
The wildfire that sparked Friday and caused evacuation orders for more than 3,000 people in Fort Nelson, B.C., and the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has grown to nearly 1,700 hectares in size, according to a Saturday morning update from the BC Wildfire Service.
Dutch contestant kicked out of Eurovision hours before tension-plagued song contest final
The Netherlands' contestant in the Eurovision Song Contest was expelled from competition hours before Saturday's final of the pan-continental pop competition, which has been rattled by protests over the participation of Israel.
IN PHOTOS Northern lights dance across the night sky in southern Ont.
From London, to Mildmay, Collingwood and St. Thomas, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
Haitians demand the resignation and arrest of the country's police chief after a new gang attack
A growing number of civilians and police officers are demanding the dismissal and arrest of Haiti's police chief as heavily armed gangs launched a new attack in the capital of Port-au-Prince, seizing control of yet another police station early Saturday.
opinion How to use your credit card as a powerful wealth-building tool
Irresponsibly using a credit card can land you in financial trouble, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says when used properly, it can be a powerful wealth-building tool that can help grow your credit profile and create new opportunities.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
'We have no judge for you': Man's assault charges dropped weeks before trial due to lack of judges in Toronto
A man who was accused of sexually and physically assaulting a woman had his charges dropped in April, just weeks before he was set to stand trial in Toronto, due to a lack of judges in the region.