Latest news with #JanLiggett
CBC
3 hours ago
- Politics
- CBC
Cambridge mayor takes aim at councillor she says is spreading 'false information' over encampment motion
Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett says any accusations she kept a notice of motion regarding the clearing of encampments off a recent city council agenda is "false" and a "misrepresentation of what happened." In a Facebook reel video posted last week to the page called Office of the Mayor — City of Cambridge, Liggett says she wanted to "correct the false information swirling around in social media as well as online and in print media." In the video, she also accused Coun. Scott Hamilton of making comments to the media that are "disingenuous at best, coming dangerously close to political opportunism." "We should always, in our roles as members of elected body, be striving to do what is best for the community, not about placating our echo chambers of supporters," Liggett said. The issue started on July 4, when federal housing advocate Marie-Josée Houle wrote a letter to council over concerns the city was allowing encampments of people experiencing homelessness to be cleared during the hottest days of the summer. This letter prompted Hamilton and Coun. Ross Earnshaw to put forward a motion to the city's clerk to ask the city to pause clearing encampments during heat events, and they asked for a notice of motion to be added to a city council meeting agenda on July 22. Initially, Hamilton says he and Earnshaw, who was going to second the motion, wanted a full pause on forced removals during extreme weather. They changed the motion after advice from staff and the amended motion asked for a staff report instead looking into the matter. The motion would have asked staff "to report back on prevention of forced removals of unhoused persons during extreme weather events upon the issuance of a warning, an alert, or during the occurrence of, an extreme weather event as determined by Environment and Climate Change Canada." Hamilton told CBC News he wanted to see the report from staff come back later this year. But Hamilton says the notice of motion never made it onto the July 22 city council meeting's agenda. Hamilton says he was told by city staff that the notice of motion was "delayed" from being put on a council agenda at the mayor's request so that staff could provide more information to councillors. Hamilton has told other media that is what happened, but Liggett charged in her video that his comments were "a total misrepresentation of what happened." Concerns about 'compromised legal position': Mayor A notice of motion usually means that a councillor wants to let other members of council know they want to discuss and vote on a certain issue at a later date. In some cases, councillors can vote to discuss the issue right away. "When I was informed of the potential, and I repeat the potential of a notice of motion, I directed our legal and clerks departments to provide information and advice to all council prior to the notice being placed on the floor," Liggett said. "It is not enough for councillors Hamilton and Earnshaw to have the advantage and the privilege of information or staff advice and not all of the rest of council. This would or could have put council in a compromised legal position." In her video, Liggett says if council had voted to discuss the issue right away, some members of council would have been at a disadvantage because they wouldn't be privy to the staff and legal advice Hamilton and Earnshaw had already sought out. Hamilton said he had already told the city clerk that he had no intention of going beyond providing a notice of motion at that meeting, knowing council was about to go on a summer break. He said it was his expectation that the motion would be on the Sept. 2 council agenda, more than 40 days later and with plenty of time for councillors and the public to learn about it and be able to attend the meeting if they wanted to speak to it. 'All I have said was what happened' Hamilton, who is on vacation and who said Friday evening he has watched the video once, rejects the mayor's comments that he's said anything inappropriate to media. "I have never thrown any shade or made any accusations," he said. He said he only spoke to the media when they contacted him. "I never tried to say anything that was accusatory or untrue. I told the truth and I stated what happened and I stated the order in which those events happened and what staff had said to me in emails about why the motion didn't come forward on [July] 22," he said. "It's my responsibility, I think, as a councillor to just be cool-headed and think critically about complex issues to move the city forward." Return to issue of encampments: Coun. Earnshaw Earnshaw, who is in Ottawa for the annual Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference, said in an email to CBC News that the debate over what happened to the motion is overshadowing the real issue he'd like to see addressed. "The controversy regarding procedural issues and the extent of authority of the mayor have distracted from the underlying concern about humane treatment of unhoused individuals during extreme weather events," he wrote. "I'd like to see the focus return to the issues that originally prompted Coun. Hamilton to put forward his motion and for me to propose to second it." In an interview Friday, Hamilton told CBC News he, too, just wants to get back to talking about how to best help people in encampments. "I think we have to remember the motion is just calling for a report on how we can help the city and how we can help some of our most vulnerable residents and we need to return to the issue," he said. Currently, Hamilton says there is still no specific date for his notice of motion to go before council. "I think it's an opportunity for Cambridge to become a real leader in this because it's my understanding that many municipalities don't actually have a lot of these bylaws in place because encampments are new, on the one hand, as is increased incidences of extreme weather. And right now, they're intersecting in this extremely challenging, complex situation," he said. "As the housing crisis increases and exacerbates, as we're seeing more extreme heat days, I think we're going to be seeing these issues more and more. So now I think it's time we have to come together as a council and as a city to learn more and to address it. Because the crisis isn't going away. We're going have to start tackling it bit by bit and the intention of this motion was just to have a start."
CTV News
07-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Surprise shuffle of City of Cambridge senior leadership and corporate structure
A City of Cambridge sign is seen here in an undated photo. Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett is shaking up the leadership structure at city hall. In an email to city staff, the mayor listed changes to department names and titles, as well as the introduction of a brand new department. Starting Monday, Corporate Enterprise will be called Customer and Financial Services. The deputy city manager, Cheryl Zahnleiter, will continue to run the department. Community Development becomes Planning and Growth, still under the leadership of Deputy City Manager Hardy Bromberg. Yogesh Shaw, the deputy city manager of Infrastructure Services, will continue on with Infrastructure Services, while the previously vacant position in Corporate Services will be run by City Clerk Danielle Manton. The new department has been named Community Services, and will be led by Lesley Head, who was formerly the director of Recreation & Culture. Employees, meanwhile, did not get much advance notice. The email, sent out on Friday, July 5, said the changes would go into effect as of Monday, July 7. According to Mayor Liggett, only a small group were consulted about the changes. 'The results of this reorganization come because of consultation with the City Manager, current Deputy City Managers, and a panel of senior leaders within the organization who provided valuable feedback, thoughts and recommendations for consideration,' the email read. It went on to say the changes would make the city a more efficient and effective municipal service provider. 'As part of our commitment to building a more responsive and effective municipal government, I am undertaking a thoughtful, comprehensive reorganization of our internal structure and services,' the email continued. 'This initiative is not just about change; it is about transformation. At its heart, this plan is designed to improve how we serve you as our employees and how we serve our community together.' It was not clear if the elected members of city council were aware of the proposed changes, but the issue was not discussed in open session. It is also not known if anyone lost their job in the department reshuffle. CTV News reached out to the City of Cambridge for comment. An interview has been set up with Mayor Liggett for Tuesday. This story will be updated.
CTV News
23-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Cambridge residents invited to tell W.I.T.Y. their priorities for the 2026 budget
Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett posed with the W.I.T.Y. system in this undated image. The City of Cambridge is inviting residents to help shape the 2026 municipal budget through a new interactive survey tool — a mobile touchscreen called W.I.T.Y. The initiative, which stands for 'What's Important To You,' runs from June 18 to July 31 and is designed to make budget engagement more accessible and inclusive. The system will be set up at community centres and public spaces across the city, allowing residents to easily share their spending priorities. 'W.I.T.Y. helps us reach people in their everyday spaces,' a statement from Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett read in part. 'It is about removing barriers to participation and making sure every resident has a simple and meaningful way to share their priorities.' W.I.T.Y. will be stationed at several locations this week, including the W.G. Johnson Centre, the David Durward Centre, and the Allan Reuter Centre. The city said updates on W.I.T.Y.'s location will be shared through its social media channels. Local businesses or organizations interested in hosting W.I.T.Y. can contact the city to arrange a visit, provided they can offer indoor space, Wi-Fi access and basic supervision. The city says the feedback collected will help guide decisions as it prepares the upcoming municipal budget.
CTV News
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Electronic music festival cancelled after Cambridge council denies noise exemption
A music festival that had been scheduled to take place in Cambridge next month will not be happening after city council denied their application for a noise exemption. The Rising Tide Music and Arts Festival was supposed to take place in The Gaslight District on July 5 from 4 p.m. until 11 p.m. Afterwards, an indoor event would follow until approximately 2 a.m. In social media posts, organizers called it 'more than a party – it's a movement.' However, during a council meeting on May 27, councillors raised concerns with how loud the event would be. 'Most of us understand what that music festival is all about and the kind of noise that is going to create,' Mayor Jan Liggett said. 'We have a senior's home right next door to it; we have condos all around it – [it's] right on the river where it's going to carry across the river. That entire neighbourhood is going to be very disrupted.' Councillor Sheri Roberts also shared concerns about the level of noise the festival would generate. 'Even a regular concert that happens there, I do get a lot of complaints from neighbours and people reaching out with their concerns about the sound,' Roberts said. 'Those are events that end at 10 p.m. I just really have trouble with this one going until 2 a.m. I think that it's maybe not the right location to have an event that goes until that time, being right in the middle of the residential neighbourhood.' Ultimately, all councillors present voted to deny a noise exemption. Councillor Ross Earnshaw was not at the meeting. In a social media post on Monday, the organizers of the Rising Tide Music and Arts Festival wrote, 'With heavy hearts, we must share that Rising Tide Music & Arts Festival will not be moving forward this year. Despite our best efforts, the City Council has denied our noise exemption with no opportunity to appeal this decision.' The post said all ticket holders would receive a full refund in the coming days. 'We are devastated,' the social media post read. 'So much passion, planning, and community support has gone into bringing this event to life, and we know many of you were as exited as we were to come together in celebration this summer.' Organizers are planning to move forward with another event, Rising Tide Presents: Cloverdale, at Room 47 in Waterloo on June 13.
