Harsh words at ‘consultation table’ meeting
Brantford mayor fires expletive at Six Nations land consultant before walking out
BRANTFORD — Mayor Chris Friel is removing himself from a mediation process with Six Nations and the County of Brant following an outburst at meeting last month.
Coming to light now in documents obtained by Brant News, two letters detail an incident at an Aug. 9 meeting in Paris between the three jurisdictions that resulted in Friel telling a Six Nations consultant, “F--- you, Phil,” before packing up his things, leaving and saying “Good luck.”
The meeting, which Six Nations Chief Ava Hill says was initiated by Premier Kathleen Wynne and facilitated by former Liberal MPP Michael Bryant, was meant to explore Six Nations’ concerns that they weren’t consulted or accommodated in last year’s boundary agreement between the city and county.
One of two documents is a letter from Hill to all Brantford city councillors dated Aug. 17, in which Hill says she found Friel’s actions “disturbing” and says her councillors and staff were “deeply offended” by a display of “disrespect and unprofessionalism.”
The other document is an email from Friel that appears to be to all Brantford city councillors later that same day, in which Friel lays out his version of events to counter what he calls a “very one-sided view” of the meeting.
Hill’s letter says that following the boundary agreement between the city and county in 2016, Six Nations informed the province that it felt they were not properly consulted nor accommodated in the deal.
The deal, which came into effect on Jan. 1 of this year, transferred 2,720 hectares of county land to the north, east and south of Brantford into the city’s jurisdiction.
Hill stated in the letter that in December 2016, Wynne agreed to set up a “consultation table” with all three parties present. The first meeting convened was on Aug. 9 in the County of Brant office in Paris.
In Friel’s letter, he says that about 45 minutes into the meeting debate turned onto the issues of what’s known as the 1997 agreement. The 1997 agreement between the city and Six Nations, which Friel was involved in creating, allowed for the crossing of the Grand River for municipal services — including water and sewer lines — to connect to Brantford’s northwest industrial park.
In Friel’s letter, he said that Monture “reinitiated his twisted history of the 1997 agreement.” Friel said he told Monture that “we would not see the 1997 agreement applied across the whole city.”
In previous documents, including a 2014 lawsuit filed by Six Nations against the city, Six Nations council has advocated that, according to the 1997 agreement and the Indian Act, municipal land in the City of Brantford held in trust for Six Nations was never intended to be taxed. Friel has said in the past that the 1997 agreement was not intended to apply to any plot of land in Brantford, only lands located within the northwest industrial park.
At this point, both Hill’s letter and Friel’s letter agree on the next series of events.
Monture said to Friel, “That is why I don’t trust you.”
Friel then left the meeting while tossing an expletive at Monture, “F--- you, Phil.”
“From my perspective, the meeting was going well and I felt like we were making progress, until I was unjustly provoked,” Friel said in a statement on Tuesday. “While the remark to incite my reaction was absolutely uncalled for, I regret if I offended anyone in the heat of the moment. That certainly wasn’t my intention. In retrospect, I should have responded differently.”
In Friel’s letter to his councillors, he says that Monture’s comment about not trusting him went “to the very heart of my personal integrity” and that his reply came in “frustration.”
In her letter, Hill says that Friel’s actions “will certainly put a strain on the relationship between the city and Six Nations with respect to further discussions on any issue.”
In his letter, Friel said he contacted Bryant the next day to step away from the mediations and said he has asked Coun. Cheryl Antoski to take his place in future meetings between the three parties. He said he tried to call Chief Hill twice the next day to no response.
“I remain committed personally to supporting Indigenous issues — I will always be a vocal advocate,” Friel’s letter says. “But I can’t be involved in a process in which my involvement will be a detriment.”
Hill did not respond to requests for an interview.