Staff advising council to maintain position in face of massive threatened lawsuit
By Bill Rea

Caledon is looking at the possibility of a massive lawsuit from Solmar Development Corporation, on the order of $500 million, but Town staff's advice to council is "to continue with municipal business as usual."

That was one of the recommendations in a report from Town Counsel and Director of Legal Services Nadia Koltun that was slated to go before Caledon councillors at a special meeting held last night (Tuesday). The results of the meeting were not known at press time.

Koltun's recommendations came in light of a letter received from Lawrie Jacques, solicitor for Solmar, in which Jacques stated Solmar was demanding a written apology from Mayor Marolyn Morrison to be published for statements she's accused of making, along with a commitment to complete a residential needs study by the end of September and for the Town to make good on commitments Solmar says were made when it started investing in town.

Koltun's report recommended the Town advise Solmar it will continue with planning studies in the timeframe previrealty ously approved by council, and continue to address planning issues in a manner authorized by the Planning Act. She added Solmar should be encouraged to take part in that planning process.

As well, Koltun's report suggested the provincial government be called upon to conduct a public inquiry into the challenges facing municipalities by having to implement various pieces of growth-related legislation, and that the Premier and Attorney General for the province be told such an inquiry is "necessary to remove the innuendo and the confrontation in the current development process and to restore and maintain public confidence in good government in ontario and its municipalities.

Koltun commented in her report that Solmar's correspondence represents challenges, inherent in the current process, that is troubling municipalities that are trying to implement the Places to Grow Act. "This has created tension in the development process, which can lead to confrontation, threats of lawsuits, intimidation and innuendo," she stated.