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A who's who guide to the Wal-Mart hearing players
SCOTT TRACEY, Guelph Mercury
(Aug 5, 2004)
How can something so important to the future of the city be so mind-numbingly boring?
After six years of preliminary hearings and delays, the Ontario Municipal Board hearing began this week to determine, essentially, whether Wal-Mart will be allowed to open a store at the northwest corner of Woodlawn Road and Woolwich Street.
The hearing is being held in the city council chamber, but unless you're battling a stubborn case of insomnia I wouldn't bother going. While the council chamber of late has become a rather boisterous place, such is not the case during the never-riveting OMB case.
It's a bit like listening to -- not even as exciting as watching -- paint dry.
Make no mistake, this is an important process. The outcome of this hearing will largely determine the shape of our city in years to come, and should therefore be of interest to all of us, even if the nuts and bolts of the hearing are not.
So just who are the people participating in the hearing?
Here, for your dining and dancing pleasure, is my alphabetical Who's Who Guide To Players At The OMB Hearing So You Don't Have To Go Yourself.
You're welcome.
Ben Bennett: De facto head of the citizen's group Residents for Sustainable Development, which is the only official party still opposing the development. Bennett has been portrayed as a modern-day David fighting against the Wal-Mart Goliath. Alternately revered and reviled, depending on one's feelings about the American retailer, Bennett is nonetheless widely respected for his devotion to the cause.
J. Robert (Bob) Boxma: The OMB member presiding over the hearing. It will be Boxma who ultimately decides whether Wal-Mart is allowed to locate at the retailer's preferred location. Boxma is well-suited to consider the legal ins and outs of the complicated case. He holds a masters degree in law from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and practised municipal and planning law for many years in Toronto before being appointed to the board on Jan. 1, 1997, the same year the Guelph case landed before the OMB.
Denis Galon: Agent for the Ignatius Jesuit Centre of Guelph. The Jesuits are opposed to the Wal-Mart proposal because they believe the store would impact on their spiritual activities, and the centre of solitude which has existed for more than 90 years. The Jesuits are a participant in the hearing, rather than a party, which means they are not allowed to cross-examine witnesses.
Eric Gillespie: A Toronto lawyer hired a couple of months ago by Residents for Sustainable Development. Bennett hopes Gillespie's legal expertise will become the slingshot with which he can take down the retail giant. It has become an increasingly uphill struggle as other opponents, including the city itself and developer Armel Corporation, have dropped out.
Roslyn Houser: A partner since 1985 in Toronto law firm Goodmans LLP, Houser represents 6 & 7 Developments, the company hoping to offer Wal-Mart a home in north Guelph.
Craig Manley: A planner with the City of Guelph, Manley will tell Boxma the city, after seven years of flip-flops on the issue, is once again officially in support of the proposal.
Josie Matera: The Toronto lawyer representing the city at the hearing. As various city councils have taken polar-opposite positions on the thorny issue, Matera has had to adjust her approach to represent her client's most recent view.
Jim Profit: Soft-spoken director of the Ignatius Jesuit Centre. See Denis Galon above.
Peter Smith: The planner for 6 & 7 Developments, he's the one always talking about "no negative impacts" and "compatible land uses." Not surprisingly, considering who pays him, Smith feels Wal-Mart would be right at home between a spiritual retreat centre and two cemeteries.
Sadly missing from the hearing, of course, is passionate Wal-Mart opponent Griff Morgan, whom Bennett once called "a wonderful burr in Wal-Mart's rump." Dr. Morgan suffered a stroke May 4 while attending an anti-Wal-Mart event and died the next day in hospital.
His widow, Vi, is expected to be among the speakers tonight when the OMB convenes to hear public comments at the Italian Canadian Club.
I expect that meeting to be substantially more interesting than what we have seen so far in the process.
Scott Tracey's column normally appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. He can be reached at 822-4310, ext. 232, or by e-mail at stracey@guelphmercury.com
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