In March, almost as soon as the concerts funding scandal came to light, city hall’s head bureaucrat Wayne Anstey resigned. Now, with city auditor general Larry Munroe’s report revealing the backstory, the question of blame needs to be raised again. Should mayor Peter Kelly resign over his involvement in the funding scheme?
Absolutely. Kelly was intimately involved in the scandal, hosting meetings to arrange the improper financing and signing legal contracts that he had to have known were against city rules. Kelly was one of the main cheerleaders for the Common concerts, urging that still more concerts should be held even though he knew actual attendance numbers for past concerts were far lower than published media reports indicated. And, as if that’s not enough, Kelly knew that millions of dollars in loans were being advanced to concert promoter Harold MacKay, and Kelly knew full well that city council has to approve any financial arrangement of this magnitude, but Kelly kept knowledge of the loans from council. In the face of these facts, there’s no question that Kelly should take responsibility and vacate his office.
Let’s not, however, over-simplify the scandal as a “Kelly screwed up” and leave it at that. Yes, Kelly should resign, but others, too, should be held to account.
In terms of culpability, the biggest player in the scandal is not Kelly but Trade Centre Limited—which I’ve detailed here.
A proper response to TCL’s repeated impropriety is for Halifax city council to refuse to pay TCL’s $359,550 invoice and to initiate legal proceedings against TCL for recovery of all funds related to the unauthorized takeover of Metro Box Office. Additionally, provincial auditor Jacques Lapointe should put TCL under his microscope.
Much of TCL’s impropriety dates back to the term of now-retired TCL president Fred MacGillivray, who I guess gets to ride off into the sunset, basking in the glow of his $1.2 million pension. But current TCL president Scott Ferguson is likewise at fault to a stunning degree: Ferguson knew that advances from ticket sales were improper—TCL’s auditor reprimanded Ferguson for making advances from ticket sales for the 2008 IIHF Hockey Championships—but Ferguson continued the practice for the Common concerts anyway, by arranging for the city to back the loans.
Put simply, the improper loans would not have been made without both Kelly and Ferguson. Yes, Peter Kelly should resign. And Scott Ferguson should resign as well.
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This article appears in Jun 9-15, 2011.
Why no tweets????
How can we take English Anstey and Freddie to task in this?
I don’t get how Kelly could read the attendance reports in the media, know that those numbers were bullshit, and keep on going. It boggles the mind. We are such rubes. How is the general public not jumping up and down over this? I can’t wait until my councilor comes to my door come election time. Fuck them all, I say.
I tell ya, the citizen are at fault, period! not kelly, not ferguson, not anstey etc… they all did what they did knowing full well that they could get away with it! A protest needs to be organized. I think taxes should be raised to cover this bill and any other shortcomings. It’s that simple, oh we will whine and complain, but we’ll accept it, because that is what we do. take it up the arse and keep coming back for more. we get what we deserve!
I watched the council meeting last night, it’s the masochist in me, it was quite informative and some councillors did a good job of scoring points against Kelly, but they were soon timed out and no more questions permitted. I feel that there must be some mechanism in place for the council to collectively grow a pair and pass a vote of non confidence and dump Kelly, because I am certain the twit isn’t going to do the honourable thing and feck off into the sunset.
Now you really don’t think they are going to voluntarily resign from six figure jobs, do you?
Our Paul McCartney tickets were paid for and when I found out HALF the friggin people there did NOT pay I feel like a chump. And I will NEVER EVER pay for another ticket to an event put on my HRM. PERIOD. I am so pissed. Also I have voted for Kelly in every election he has run. NEVER AGAIN Pete.
Really, Kelly is a scumbag. Politics should not be a full time career. The jerk off would be nowhere but for the creation of HRM. His only claim to fame is a refusal to sit in his council chair. The conservatives were going to run him in Halifax West but they rethought it after all this came out. Can you imagine this clown in Ottawa? Why would he resign? No business in the province would touch him. Where would he go? Back to look for work in Newfoundland? Remember that anyone? He will take his chances in the next election, banking on the fact he and his toady supporters on council will be elected again. Halifax voters are morons anyways, he’ll be back, that red eyed strung out looking creep.
I dont feel sorry for anyone burned by Peter Kelly. I have been posting about his Nefarious Nastiness since 2003 and you guys ignored me….attacked me….and Tim B threatened to ban me from posting….oh well..looks good on all you alls…