‘The buck stops with me,’ says Caslin
Regional chair takes responsibility for Sawchuk snafu
Niagara Region was wrong to seize a St. Catharines Standard reporter’s notebook and computer and acted without any legal authority, says regional chair Alan Caslin,
Caslin’s comments in a written statement issued Sunday and again in an interview Monday morning with The Standard are the strongest statements of remorse yet from the Region over last Thursday night’s incident which saw regional staff unlawfully confiscate journalist Bill Sawchuk’s equipment before ejecting him from regional headquarters.
On Friday, regional chief administrative officer Carmen D’Angelo apologized for the “inconvenience” caused to Sawchuk.
Caslin said mistakes were made and he takes responsibility for them. Staff, he said, answers to the will of council, and he is the head of council.
“The buck stops with me. I’m it,” Caslin said Monday. “As chair of the board, it’s my position, although it’s a rented a position. It’s my decision and if I did not follow through well enough to understand what was going on (outside of council chambers) as well as what was going on inside that is my responsibility.”
However, asked who gave the order to seize Sawchuk’s notes and computer and have him removed from the building, Caslin pointed to everyone in the council chambers.
“About 25 councillors, a lawyer, the CAO, staff and a chair,” Caslin said, who also said order had broken down in the chamber at the time. “It wasn’t as if one person masterminded what happened. Councillors were yelling across the room ‘What about that piece of equipment? What about this piece of equipment?’”
St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik — he issued his own statement about the incident on the weekend — was pointedly critical of senior staff.
“Is this serious enough that it should become a human resources issue?” Sendzik said in a Monday interview. “This is something that regional council has to take very seriously.”
Sawchuk was covering Thursday evening’s council meeting when councillors decided to move the meeting behind closed doors to discuss code of conduct issues pertaining to St. Catharines Coun. Andy Petrowski.
Caslin ordered the audience in the gallery to leave council chambers for the in-camera session. Reporters also have to leave during in-camera portions of the meeting, and Sawchuk left his notes and computer on the media table.
Equipment belonging to local blogger Preston Haskell was also left on the table. On his blog and on Facebook, Haskel said he left the room to use the bathroom before council went into closed session. His recorder was left on, and he could not get back into the room because the in-camera meeting had started, he said. Haskell, who has not responded to interview requests, does not indicate if he alerted anyone to his operating recorder in chambers.
Several accounts of the meeting, including that of Caslin, indicate that Fort Erie Coun. Sandy Annunziata lifted a hat on the media table and found Haskell’s device.
Caslin said Annunziata will have to explain why he was searching the media table.
Annunziata was not immediately available for an interview Monday. In a Friday email, he explained his search by saying being an elected official furnishes him with a preternatural sense to detect “political skullduggery.”
In his online posts, Haskell denies the recorder was under a hat.
Haskell’s equipment was seized and, after some discussion, Sawchuk’s equipment was taken.
Caslin said the episode in the council chambers took about 60 seconds. Sawchuk said it was at least 10 minutes between the time the closed session began until he learned his equipment was being confiscated.
Regional clerk Frank Fabiano locked the computer in his office. Sawchuk was prevented from returning to the chambers to collect his notes by regional general manager Chris Carter.
Flanked by two Niagara Regional Police officers, Carter told Sawchuk he had to leave immediately, or he would have to deal with the officers.
NRP Chief Bryan McCulloch was not available for an interview Monday.
Caslin could not explain Monday why Carter had Sawchuk removed, saying council’s only intention was to have Haskell’s device removed from the chamber so they could continue the meeting.
“We all make mistakes, and I have admitted in this case mistakes were made. I think there is an opportunity for improvement,” Caslin said of Carter’s conduct. “We didn’t see, as council, any of that. Chris is the type of individual type who is pretty animated in his mannerism, and I am sure he could be deemed as intimidating in that circumstance.”
The Standard left several messages for Carter Monday. None were returned.
Last week The Standard pressed senior staff — including Fabiano and D’Angelo — about what legal authority they believed they had to seize a reporter’s equipment. Asked during an interview Thursday evening, Fabiano said he was acting on D’Angelo’s authority and “invited” reporters to talk to the Region’s lawyers in the morning. On Friday, D’Angelo was asked 17 times in a 30-minute interview but refused to answer the question once.
Monday, Caslin answered the question directly.
“I’ll answer that,” Caslin said. “None.”
Caslin said the situation was already tense as councillors were delving into the latest Petrowski code of conduct issue, and the discovery of Haskell’s recorder heightened emotions in the room. He said no one knew what to do and there are no protocols to guide council or staff.
“All of council was there. The lawyer is there. To say one person is at fault is wrong,” Caslin said.
In an email to councillors Monday, obtained by The Standard, D’Angelo laid some blame on other members of staff.
“On Thursday, decisions around the removal of electronic devices were miscommunicated amongst staff, as I was predominantly in chambers with all of you I did not see the actions that occurred outside and that of the regional clerk,” he wrote. “I have followed up to ensure these events are not repeated.”
Sendzik said Monday laying blame on everyone in the room is “buck passing.”
He said D’Angelo and his staff — particularly Carter and Fabiano — have to be held accountable for their decisions and actions. Apologies, he said, are not enough.
The mayor took particular issue with D’Angelo’s repeated claim that the circumstance was “unprecedented” in his more than 20 years of public service.
Sendzik said that is because D’Angelo didn’t have any experience running a billion-dollar municipal corporation like Niagara Region before becoming CAO.
“He was a paramedic and then at some small agencies before this. He doesn’t have the experience running a corporation this size, with this many people and departments,” Sendzik said. “And that shows.”
Caslin said rather than punitive measures levelled at staff, the Region can take the incident as a learning experience and craft better policies.
Specifically, he said council needs policy and protocols about electronic devices used at council, especially during closed meetings.
Sendzik said this is never an issue at St. Catharines city council meetings, because councillors move into an anteroom for confidential matters. Councillors must leave their cell phones behind, and the sergeant-at-arms stays in the chamber to ensure nothing happens to the devices. The sergeant is also the person who monitors the behaviour of members of the public, including the press.
Caslin said hiring a sergeantat-arms is something the Region should consider.
Both Caslin and D’Angelo have called Sawchuk to apologize for the incident. Sawchuk said he accepted the apologies on a personal level, but did not accept them as apologies from regional council or from the corporation.
“My call was of a personal nature. I know Bill, and I have worked with Bill for some years, I know him to be a man of character and sound judgment,” Caslin said. “To me, it was really about: we’ve offended someone I consider to be a colleague and someone I respect.”
The Standard is still weighing its legal options and response to the incident. glafleche@postmedia.com twitter.com/grantrants