A joke.
That's what a senior member of Premier Dalton McGuinty's staff called a letter from MP Diane Finley pleading for help for Caledonia.
Finley, Conservative MP for Haldimand-Norfolk, has been criticized by some residents for not being sufficiently involved in the fallout from the Douglas Creek Estates dispute. Her letter -- the first she sent to the premier about the standoff -- was sent three and a half months after Six Nations protesters occupied the subdivision.
For its part, the premier's office isn't backing away from the comment, saying it expressed their frustration with the level of Ottawa's involvement.
The executive director of the premier's office forwarded Finley's letter to Aaron Lazarus, director of issues management for Premier Dalton McGuinty, on May 19. Just after midnight, Lazarus responds: "What a joke!"
The exchange was obtained by The Spectator through a Freedom of Information request.
Lazarus is one of five provincial officials caught last week using government resources to conduct federal Liberal leadership business.
In an interview yesterday, Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory called for a review of Lazarus's performance and pay.
"Obviously this man has far too much time on his hands," Tory said. "This is unacceptable but this is the type of attitude (the Liberals) have adopted on this from the beginning. It's disgraceful."
Finley's letter says Caledonia has "suffered enormously." It calls for an agreement between the two governments to work "towards a long-term strategy for the rehabilitation of this area."
It appears to be this point that drew the ire of Lazarus. The letter from Finley ignores "the fact that only the federal government could bring about a speedy conclusion to negotiations and the land claim dispute," associate press secretary Jane Almeida said by e-mail yesterday. "It spoke to the disappointment of getting a letter from a federal representative four months after the occupation began."
Colleen Cameron, spokesperson for Finley, said the May 19th letter was the first time the MP had written the premier about the standoff but stressed the two levels of government have been in constant communication. Finley did get an acknowledgment of the letter from the premier.
"(Finley) felt the concerns of her constituents were heard," she said.
Cameron would not comment on the e-mail from Lazarus.