City had secret negotiations with Maple Leaf for months
November 15, 2005

City staff have been seriously negotiating with Maple Leaf Foods for more than a year, although the first news of the possible location of a hog processing and slaughterhouse facility on Hamilton mountain only emerged at the beginning of July.

Councillor McHattie addressing Nov. 10 meeting held by Hamiltonians for Progressive Development.

Brian McHattie told a meeting on Thursday evening that councillors found out last week that "serious negotiations with Maple Leaf Foods have been going on for thirteen months". McHattie said he and other councillors weren't part of the decision to start the negotiations and had no idea they were taking place for most of this period.

The city's director of economic development, Neil Everson, informed councillors and the public on November 7 that the initial contact with the company occurred in March 2004. Maple Leaf subsequently went directly to the mayor's office in September 2004. Everson said Di Ianni then "implemented the Invest in Hamilton Team to secure this investment and gave this project top priority."

But city council was not consulted. The meeting last Monday was the first at which the Maple Leaf proposal was on an agenda and presented to councillors. "In fact, our first meeting earlier this week was the very first council meeting that dealt with the Maple Leaf Foods thing," McHattie told a gathering organized last week by Hamiltonians for Progressive Development.

"It's the mayor's office that's controlling this process," he said, and suggested that the public needs to question a situation where "the board of directors for the city of Hamilton, city council, has no idea" about major development proposals.

The zoning for the site chosen by Maple Leaf in the North Glanbrook Business Park specifically excludes slaughterhouses. If the facility is to proceed, the site will need to be rezoned and serviced.

Funding for part of the servicing costs was secured by the mayor in September from the provincial government from a fund established to improve municipal infrastructure across Ontario. The allocation of these dollars to new roads and pipes in the business park was not discussed at council prior to the announcement.