Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 ::: City Hall: Other

Frances Nunziata leaving Council Chambers, without voting, dressed in her coat and scarf.  (She’s the short, white-haired one holding the file folder.)

Councillors milling about, looking towards Councillor Nunziata, waiting for the 23rd vote to make the day’s proceedings official.

This morning we sent this release to the City Hall Press Gallery:

For Immediate Release, Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Councillor Deliberately Tries to Break Quorum to Prevent Confirmatory Bill from Passing

ILLEGALSIGNS.CA CALLS ON THE INTEGRITY COMMISSIONER TO INVESTIGATE THE CONDUCT OF COUNCILLOR FRANCES NUNZIATA

IllegalSigns.ca is calling on Toronto’s Integrity Commissioner to investigate the conduct of City Councillor Frances Nunziata after the Councillor for Ward 11 deliberately tried to break City Council quorum late last night in order to prevent Council’s confirmatory by-law from making the day’s Council proceedings official. A photograph of Frances Nunziata leaving Council Chambers, without voting, dressed in her coat and scarf, is available on IllegalSigns.ca this morning.

Moments earlier, City Council — low on members after a long day and competing with a hockey game — passed a motion asking the City Manager to investigate variances for billboards that were being granted by Etobicoke York Community Council, which Nunziata chairs.

Etobicoke York Community Council has granted 35 variances for billboards since June 2009 and rejected just one application; during the same period, only 3 variances were granted in the rest of the City. Nine of the 35 approved signs in Etobicoke are LED video screens; 7 of those are on the QEW or Hwy. 27.

119 variances for billboards are to be considered by community councils on March 7. Chief Building Official Ann Boorah told City Council last night that her department normally deals with that many variances in an entire year.

During the debate on the motion, City Manager Joseph Pennachetti noted that it is within his discretion to determine if community councils should hear the 119 variances on a delegated basis, or whether they represent matters of “City-Wide Significance” and should therefore be considered by City Council as a whole. Pennachetti noted that in a hypothetical case of a sign on City Hall property, he would declare ”City-Wide Significance.”

“Pennachetti needs to declare that these 119 variances represent a matter of City-Wide Significance because Frances Nunziata’s Etobicoke York Community Council is thwarting the will of Council. Her outrageous actions last night prove her disregard for Council,” says Rami Tabello, co-ordinator of IllegalSigns.ca.

Media Contact: Rami Tabello, Coordinator, IllegalSigns.ca
Phone: 416.822.3696
359 Palmerston Boulevard
Toronto, Ontario M6G 2N5