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."