Today’s Guelph Mercury editorial takes a swipe at both myself, and our city staff.
Read it HERE.
The way I read their editorial is like they’re implying, that I and/or staff weren’t quite upfront with the citizens of Guelph when a barrel was found (again) during the ongoing construction on Wellington.
They wrote it in a way that plants the seed of doubt in the readers mind by suggesting that when I stated that the city is being “transparent” and “very good,” at reporting these events, that perhaps instead we are purposely being misleading.
Give me a break.
And that is when the Mercury says that my positive comments are:
“… up for debate.”
There’s inaccuracies in the Mercury coverage.
- The piece suggests two barrels were discovered Wednesday. This is not the case. One barrel was discovered Wednesday. Staff reported as much to Council Thursday morning and in its first of two media releases Thursday.
- The coverage also creates the impression workers were sent to hospital Wednesday. This is not so. Workers were sent to hospital Thursday and later released.
- It was also on Thursday that it became apparent that crumpled metal near the first drum was likely a second drum. The City issued a second news release with that new information and in it included reference to workers being taken to hospital.
We appreciate the public and media expect updates in real time. Staff have been responsive throughout this complex construction issue. While it is not always easy to get the very latest information to multiple stakeholders as things are changing on the ground, staff remain committed to transparent, timely and truthful communication.
Look, staff and I won’t see eye to eye on every issue. Thats a given. But don’t belittle our staff when I know they’re doing the best job they can on this issue and doing it with integrity.
So enjoy the debate folks.
Cam