[GREN-Exec] MZO Press Release

Wed Jan 12 21:24:57 EST 2022

Hi Kevin-

I can do a quick edit of the press release tomorrow morning, Kevin, if WWW can wait until tomorrow afternoon to issue it—-and if there’s no need for every party to weigh in on changes. I’d want you to check the final, though. It won’t be perfect but could be better. Let me know if I should go ahead.

Susan B

Sent from my iPad

On Jan 12, 2022, at 8:36 PM, Susan Bryant <shbryant at uwaterloo.ca<mailto:shbryant at uwaterloo.ca>> wrote:

You have been doing such a fabulous job, Kevin, many hours simply donated. I listened in to today’s noon Zoom on the MZO and it was very informative, valuable, well done. Many thanks for your work.

I agree with you, re: the press release, that that the people connections are more valuable than the document resulting. Writing by committee is purgatory at best.

Susan B

Sent from my iPad

On Jan 12, 2022, at 8:27 PM, "kevthomason at gmail.com<mailto:kevthomason at gmail.com>" <kevthomason at gmail.com<mailto:kevthomason at gmail.com>> wrote:

Hi Greg,

Good points.  I would agree that this press release isn’t ideal but it certainly hasn’t been easy writing this document with six other authors that I never have worked with before and trying to get everyone rowing in the same direction.

In the end this is a compromise.  I’m not even sure how much media interest there will be in picking up the story but it was perhaps more about getting these MZO groups connected and working together than getting huge volumes of press out of it.  I really appreciate the Water Watchers reaching out, leading this initiative. and trying to do what they can to help us.

Also, just a note that we also have to watch how we spend the funds that we have been granted by the Greenbelt Foundation.  As you saw in the 10+ page interim report that I spent hours preparing for them earlier this week they have provided these funding for very specific activities and outcomes that we are to deliver on over a 12 month period.  We have to account for how funds are spent and the results that we have achieved.  Specifically this funding is for is building local awareness and community relationships for the Greenbelt and public awareness and consultation during the Growth Plan MCR processes.

The good news is that GREN already is highly focussed on the Greenbelt and our Regional Official Plan and we would be trying to do many of these activities anyways - without any of these resources and I certainly couldn’t be devoting the considerable time trying to lead things that I have the past few months without some compensation to buy groceries.  However, we also have to carefully position things because this funding is from the Ford government and while they might feel compelled to reluctantly provide funding to help facilitate the Greenbelt expansion they may roll out later this year, they certainly wouldn’t be happy providing funding to us to fight the MZO’s that they so desire.

It’s okay for us to be using the funding to help educate elected officials on MCR’s, or engaging the public in participating in the Official Plan process but some of these activities against MZO’s certainly aren’t things that we can be using the funding for - in particular to issue press releases encouraging the media to attack the government over their use of MZO’s.  Thus, I’m trying to walk a fine line here.

With more than half of my hours being a pure donation to GREN, I can put these Wilmot MZO activities in that bucket, and claim compensation or expenses for the many hours I’m spending on Greenbelt or Official Plan aspects.  And while we can send cheques to the Nith Valley Ecoboosters and 50x30WR for their help with our educational webinars on encouraging citizen engagement on the Municipal Comprehensive Reviews, we can’t use any of the Greenbelt Foundation funding we have received for funding “anti-Ford” activities or anything that they might be concerned about.  It’s unlikely that the Greenbelt Foundation will audit us - particularly if we keep delivering the strong outcomes and results we have in the first six months, however, I keep very detailed notes, records and daily timesheets detailing all my activities just incase.

It’s all such a silly situation, but I’m trying my best to guide things locally, regionally, and provincially while working with a broad consortium of groups and somehow finding the needed resources to allow the provincial groups to keep functioning and ensure we have the ability to do whatever we need do here too.  Hopefully, all this makes sense.

Let me know any questions or ideas and thanks again for all your ongoing help with things.

Cheers,
Kevin.

-------------------------------------

Kevin Thomason

1115 Cedar Grove Road
Waterloo, Ontario Canada  N2J 3Z4

Phone: (519) 888-0519
Mobile Phone/WhatsApp: (519) 240-1648
Twitter: @kthomason
E-mail: kevinthomason at mac.com<mailto:kevinthomason at mac.com> or kevthomason at gmail.com<mailto:kevthomason at gmail.com>

-----------------------------------------

On Jan 12, 2022, at 7:47 PM, Greg Michalenko <gcmichalenko at uwaterloo.ca<mailto:gcmichalenko at uwaterloo.ca>> wrote:

I think the press release needs a lot of work.  Good press releases are not easy to write.

I decided to read it as if I didn't know about the issue.  It's pretty wayward, begins without specifically summarizing the history of the issue at hand and is rather confusing and becomes rather plodding.  It tends to assume that a reader is already familiar with the issue and events.  I think it needs a good editor to turn it into a crisp, interesting, engaging, and readily understandable text. Can you find one? We have enough in our credit union account to pay for the services.

I'm too tired this evening to write a specific critique. It's been a full day.

-Greg

________________________________
From: Executive <executive-bounces at gren.ca<mailto:executive-bounces at gren.ca>> on behalf of Kevin Thomason <kevthomason at gmail.com<mailto:kevthomason at gmail.com>>
Sent: January 12, 2022 7:17 PM
To: Susan Koswan <susankoswan at execulink.com<mailto:susankoswan at execulink.com>>
Cc: GREN executive <executive at gren.ca<mailto:executive at gren.ca>>
Subject: Re: [GREN-Exec] MZO Press Release

Hi Susan,

Good point and I agree with you.  Originally, they had drafted the release with all three municipalities listed but I had them change the wording so that it now reads “in both Stratford and Cambridge, the mayor, Councillors and Staff were complicit in keeping this from the public…”  since in Stratford and Cambridge there were numerous in-camera meetings where Council and Staff discussed things without public knowledge.

We aren’t sure in Wilmot how long Staff has known about things but they surely new about it before Christmas Eve.  Two Wilmot Councillors have stated they knew nothing about it advance but suspected other Councillors and the Mayor had known about it for a while and were keeping it from them and the public.

So hopefully, there is the right balance in this press release - two communities clearly being called out for withholding information from the public and Wilmot guilty of trying to push their MZO through so quickly over the holidays with little time for public knowledge or engagement.

Let me know any questions or if there is something we need to change further.

Thanks,
Kevin.

-------------------------------------

Kevin Thomason

1115 Cedar Grove Road
Waterloo, Ontario Canada  N2J 3Z4

Phone: (519) 888-0519
Mobile Phone/WhatsApp: (519) 240-1648
Twitter: @kthomason
E-mail: kevinthomason at mac.com<mailto:kevinthomason at mac.com> or kevthomason at gmail.com<mailto:kevthomason at gmail.com>

-----------------------------------------

On Jan 12, 2022, at 7:05 PM, Susan Koswan <susankoswan at execulink.com<mailto:susankoswan at execulink.com>> wrote:

Is this true, or assumptions about municipal councils and staff being complicit? I did not get the impression from the Wilmot meeting that they knew about this proposal - or am I just being naive?
Susan K
The use of MZOs in the three communities of Stratford, Cambridge, and Wilmot include similar abuses of power by their respective Municipal Councils. In each community developers worked for months in secret to craft their MZO request and in both Stratford and Cambridge the mayor, Councillors and Staff were complicit in keeping this from the public and catering to the developers profit motive.  The fact that Wilmot’s MZO was to be announced and approved so rapidly over the holidays with little public knowledge or information is equally troubling.

On 1/12/2022 6:24 PM, Kevin Thomason wrote:
Hi GREN Executive,

The Wellington Water Watchers, Blair Engaged, and Concerned citizens of Stratford have reached out to GREN to see how they might be able to help with this Wilmot MZO.  The have offered to do a joint press release with all of our organizations to try to raise awareness on the abuse of MZO’s by the provincial government.

The amazing Mike Balkwill at WWW has taken the lead on things and I have worked with him to draft the following press release below.  Please review it and let me know any concerns, otherwise the WWW is going to distribute it tomorrow using their public relations machine.  We already know that CTV is interested in doing a story next week and the other groups have been fantastic in doing what they can to help us with this.

Let me know any questions or ideas.

Thanks,
Kevin.

-------------------------------------

Kevin Thomason

1115 Cedar Grove Road
Waterloo, Ontario Canada  N2J 3Z4

Phone: (519) 888-0519
Mobile Phone/WhatsApp: (519) 240-1648
Twitter: @kthomason
E-mail: kevinthomason at mac.com<mailto:kevinthomason at mac.com> or kevthomason at gmail.com<mailto:kevthomason at gmail.com>

-----------------------------------------

_______________________________________________
Executive mailing list
Executive at gren.ca<mailto:Executive at gren.ca>
http://gren.ca/mailman/listinfo/executive_gren.ca

_______________________________________________
Executive mailing list
Executive at gren.ca<mailto:Executive at gren.ca>
http://gren.ca/mailman/listinfo/executive_gren.ca

_______________________________________________
Executive mailing list
Executive at gren.ca<mailto:Executive at gren.ca>
http://gren.ca/mailman/listinfo/executive_gren.ca
_______________________________________________
Executive mailing list
Executive at gren.ca<mailto:Executive at gren.ca>
http://gren.ca/mailman/listinfo/executive_gren.ca
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://gren.ca/pipermail/executive_gren.ca/attachments/20220113/e8f04afa/attachment-0001.html>