Differing opinions
Former CBRM economic development officer takes witness stand
While it was never his role to create jobs, the former director of economic development for the Cape Breton Regional Municipal testified Monday he viewed his job as going beyond municipality boundaries in search of economic opportunities.
John Whalley told a Supreme Court hearing there was an expectation by members of the regional council that his focus was to be job creation and that resulted in ongoing tensions between himself and council.
Whalley has launched a civil suit against the municipality for what he claims was his unfair dismissal in 2015. The municipality contends Whalley resigned.
Supreme Court Justice Patrick Murray is now expected to preside over five days of testimony which began Monday in Sydney.
Whalley, who was hired in March 1997, said initially, the bulk of his time was taken up administering a $250,000 economic development fund to which communities within the municipality could apply for funding.
He said it took several years to finally get council to agree to remove the fund from his duties, noting it was later moved to a committee.
Whalley also testified that he was the lead researcher and spokesperson when it came to the municipality’s argument over equalization payments, which was a cornerstone issue of former mayor John Morgan’s administration.
The issue resulted in the municipality taking the province to court but lost and the Supreme Court of Canada declined to grant further leave to appeal.
Jerry Ryan, former chief administrative officer for the municipality, also testified Monday that the debate over equalization created tensions with the province.
In the 2012 municipal elections, former provincial cabinet minister Cecil Clarke was elected mayor of the regional municipality.
In a meeting with Clarke shortly after his win, Ryan said the new mayor suggested that it may be difficult for his administration to work with Ryan and Whalley because of the equalization debate.
While Ryan stepped down from his position, Whalley, who holds a masters degree in economics, continued in his role and began assuming control over the future development of the port of Sydney.
Whalley said at the time of his appointment, he was facing several serious economic issues that were at play across the municipality.
The closure of the coal mines and steel plant left hundreds without work and there were no replacement industries ready to move in. There were also concerns about the future of the Port of Sydney and what possibilities could flow from such a project.
However, he said, in repeatedly hearing that the mayor and some councilors were expressing a lack of confidence in his abilities, Whalley said it was increasingly difficult to do his job.
As an example, he said, he received a letter of discipline on his file because he wrote a letter to the editor in 2016 that appeared in the Cape Breton Post critical of a report suggesting that investment should be directed at Halifax rather than the other regions of the province.
He was told he could no longer speak directly to media and all such communications needed to be channeled through the new communications officer hired by the mayor.
Whalley also said he expressed concern over some land deals being made by the municipality including the muchcriticized Archibald Wharf deal in North Sydney.
Whalley said one of the problems he had with the deal was that the municipality had made a financial agreement with Canada Marine Engineering before the property was actually appraised. Two appraisals were later received.
Whalley is to continue his testimony today as his lawyer Blair Mitchell is expected to finish his direct examination. The witness will then face crossexamination from Tony Mozvik, who is representing the municipality.
Whalley was initially hired in 1997 with an annual salary of $50,000, four weeks vacation, 35 hours per week along with pension and other benefits and a six-month period of probation.