BY DANIEL BARTLETT
Borough Mayor Michael Applebaum said there are no plans to change the zoning of the original site for the Benny Sports and Community Complex to residential,
discounting claims made by former city councillor Jeremy Searle.
Last week, Searle told The Chronicle he didn’t think the latest public consultations on the Benny rec complex had much merit. Besides getting residents and local media to believe the project is moving forward, the former Loyola city councillor said plans still haven’t progressed especially since neither the provincial nor federal governments have agreed to pay a third of the cost of
construction.
Instead, he said, the meetings served only as a front for what the borough council really wants to do, which is to change the original site’s zoning to residential in exchange for support from social activist groups.
Last Wednesday, Applebaum denied the allegations.
“It doesn’t matter what Jeremy says,” he stated. “(The site’s) got to be for public use.”
Throughout the consultations, Applebaum continually told residents that a plan for the original site has not been made. He said if it becomes apparent that the complex should go on the north side of Monkland Avenue and that all three levels of government are committed, only then will Borough workers start looking at the Benny Farm site.
Applebaum also noted that the borough council has no underlying motive to change the site’s zoning from recreational to residential. That type of decision, he said, can be only be made after a public referendum is held and residents vote in favour of the modification.
“Not only do you have to go through a process, but the residents have the final
say,” Applebaum said. “It’s clearly not for housing.”
In the 2005 municipal elections, Searle formed a borough party for CDN/NDG and ran against Applebaum for the borough mayor position. He received 19.54 per cent of the total vote, while Applebaum, running under the Gérald Tremblay administration, kept his position with 48.11 per cent.
Now, Applebaum compares the way Searle ran for the job with the same way ADQ leader Mario Dumont campaigned to become Quebec premier. Their strategy, the borough mayor said, is to promise everything because they know they won’t win and be held accountable.
“(Searle’s) in a situation where his back is against the wall,” Applebaum said. “I’m not playing Jeremy Searle’s game … I’m accountable.”
Applebaum contests Searle’s allegations
Applebaum contests Searle’s allegations
Benny Farm site is clearly not for housing, says Borough Mayor
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Comments
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- Robin Edgar
- - February 10th, 2010 at 11:46:31
Jeremy Searle is one of those third-rate "populist" politicians who fit the following saying that I came up with decades ago to describe another municipal politician - I don't know if he keeps putting his foot in his mouth because his mouth is so big or his mouth is so big because he keeps putting his foot in it. . . Jeremy Searle's alleged false allegations in this matter pale in comparison to other highly misleading or blatantly false allegations that he has made in the past, to say nothing of other examples of foot-in-mouth disease such as his apparently racist "black dog" gaffe of some years ago. . . In depositions that he made to Montreal police in his and other Montreal Unitarians' deeply misguided efforts to have me falsely arrested on trumped up criminal charges in order to censor and suppress my ongoing protests against Unitarian aka U*U injustices, abuses, and hypocrisy, Jeremy Searle falsely accused me of "hate speech" and "hate crime". Jeremy Searle was one of the Unitarian Church of Montreal's *star* prosecution witnesses during the criminal trial that resulted from my false arrest on totally spurious criminal charges that my peaceful public protest activities outside of the so-called Unitarian Church of Montreal on any given Sunday disrupted religious services at said alleged "church". Jeremy Searle's sworn testimony in criminal court contained highly misleading and even completely false allegations. Jeremy Searle dreamed up complete fabrications about my conduct during my peaceful protest activities. There is a word for making false allegations during sworn testimony in a court of law. That word is perjury. In have seriously considered trying to bring perjury charges against Jeremy Searle for his highly misleading and outright false sworn testimony as a prosecution witness against me. As far as I am concerned he is also guilty of knowingly and willfully misleading the Montreal police force in his written depositions. There is no question that Jeremy Searle pressured the MUC police to have me arrested. It is abundantly clear from the letters and depositions that Jeremy Searle made to the MUC police which were provided to me as part of the Crown's dubious evidence against me that he made highly msileading and outright false statements to the police. I can't help but wonder if Jeremy Searle misused and abused his power and influence as a Montreal city councillor in his deeply misguided efforts to undermine and abrogate my constitutionally guaranteed right to peaceful public protest and I suggested as much during the criminal trial. In the end truth and justice prevailed and I was rightfully acquitted of the totally spurious criminal charges that Jeremy Searle and other outrageously hypocritical members of the Unitarian Church of Montreal were responsible for bringing against me. The trial recordings are really quite amusing and I do get a chuckle out of listening to Jeremy Searle making an U*U out of himself in criminal court during his sworn testimony. I am tempted to post the most entertaining snippets to the internet so that others may share in the fun. Jeremy Searle prides himself in being Montreal's "Pothole Czar" but as far as I am concerned one of the biggest potholes in Montreal is the one between Jeremy Searle's ears. . .
