Haldimand County Mayor Marie Trainer and Haldimand County CAO Don Boyle will be flying to Ottawa this coming Monday to meet with Minister Chuck Strahl, Minister Indian and Northern Affairs.
Trainer said that the meeting was arranged with the assistance of Haldimand/Norfolk MP Diane Finley, Mr. Ron Doering, Lead Negotiator for land claims and the Chief Policy Advisor from Minister Chuck Strahl's office.
Recently Haldimand County Council adopted a protocol for meeting with Ministers and their staff. Protocol states that "any meeting with a Minister or their staff" has to first be sanctioned through Council, be a majority vote, and an agenda is in place prior to any meeting. Council members did not deliberate nor vote on this meeting with Minister Strahl at the Council in Committee meeting on Monday.
Councillor Craig Grice, who has been requesting a meeting with Minister Strahl for months, will not be attending the meeting in Ottawa on Monday.
Grice was disappointed to learn that he would not have the opportunity to meet with Minister Strahl, and feels that the residents of Caledonia will not have a "direct voice" on Monday in Ottawa. Grice and Trainer flew to Ottawa and met with Minister Jim Prentice, Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs in early 2007.
Grice offered some contact information for the Mayor to possibly set up some meetings with the appropriate critics while in Ottawa. "Why not take advantage of being there and having as many meetings as possible", said Grice.
In response to his (Grice) statement Trainer said, "I do think that I represent Caledonia, a majority of my time in the last few years has been in Caledonia". "If we want to be technical about it our problems are in Councillor Tony Dalimonte's ward, and if anyone should go it should be Dalimonte", said Trainer.
Every ward in Haldimand County has been affected, said Councillor Lorne Boyko. The Welland Canal Claim is in the Dunnville area of ward 5 and 6.
"Let the Mayor be the Mayor" said Councillor Tony Dalimonte, let her do her job and if you want the job (speaking of Grice) then there is an election coming up next year, put your name on the ballot!
In an Interview with the Chronicle on Monday night Trainer would not say why Grice was not invited to come to Ottawa, Trainer would not say if this decision was Haldimand's decision or Minister Strahl's decision.
The Chronicle contacted Patricia Valladao, Senior Media Relations for the Department of Northern Affairs on Tuesday to clarify if it was the Minister that did not want Grice to be included in the meeting on Monday.
Unfortunately due to the tight deadlines of the newspaper, the Chronicle was unable to verify this information with Valladao.