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Robert Benzie and Don Wanagas National Post
The chairman of the Toronto Police Services Board expressed surprise yesterday that he was not invited to a secret meeting on July 19 between the Mayor, the police chief and the head of the officers' union.
"I should have been. I had no knowledge of it at all," said Norm Gardner, head of the force's civilian watchdog, in the wake of National Post reports that Mel Lastman met with Craig Bromell, president of the Toronto Police Association, to discuss political strategy for the Nov. 13 municipal election.
Chief Julian Fantino said on Tuesday that he called the meeting to discuss police matters, but stressed politics were not mentioned "in [his] presence."
Mr. Bromell has declined to confirm he was even there.
Mr. Lastman angrily rejected the suggestion he -- or his senior staff -- conferred with the unionist about the association helping his key council allies during the election campaign.
The Mayor, also a police board member, dismissed the National Post report. "You can ask the chief, you can ask Bromell, you can ask anybody if I asked for any support," he said earlier in the week.
Mr. Gardner was not invited to the afternoon session with Mr. Lastman, Mr. Bromell and Chief Fantino at the discreetly located Dundas Room in the Marriott Eaton Centre hotel, which normally rents for between $250 and $350.
He did, however, point out that too much is being read into the fact the rendezvous was held away from nearby City Hall and police headquarters.
"I don't know who rented the room. Sometimes the Mayor likes to have meetings outside of headquarters so people don't see him with people -- if in fact it was the Mayor that did it," said Mr. Gardner.
"Sometimes you like to have a meeting private so that other staff people don't see you. It's just to stop rumours."
Mr. Gardner noted the frosty relationship between City Hall and the union warmed months before the July session.
"There's a much better rapport going on at the moment," said the councillor for North York Centre.
Mr. Gardner said the peaceful end to the debacle surrounding Operation True Blue -- the union's controversial political fundraising campaign -- brokered by Mr. Lastman, Mr. Bromell and Chief Fantino on April 27 "was a major hurdle in improving relations."
He did, however, acknowledge the union's politicking is on the increase.
"They have some political influence with a lot of people," said Mr. Gardner, emphasizing he is not among the more than 30 politicians who have apparently approached the association for electoral assistance.
"If they can put a fair amount of people out there ... going around door-knocking for candidates, I think they can do a lot of good for candidates," he said.
Not everyone at City Hall can understand why the union's political influence is on the rise.
"The thing that surprises me is that there appears to be a thaw when there has been no public reason for a thaw to occur," said Kyle Rae, a Downtown councillor.
"We've seen no apology [from the union over Operation True Blue]," he said. "So how do they get back at the same table?"
Reprinted under the Fair Use doctrine of international copyright law.
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This page created August 10, 2000
