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39 Renfrew Ave.W., W., Unit Raglan St. S.1, 39 342 Renfrew Ave. Unit 1, Box 100, Renfrew K7V 4A2 Renfrew K7V 1R5 P.O.P.O. Box 100, Renfrew K7V 4A2 Pager Pager 1-888-717-9181 Pager1-888-717-9181 1-888-717-9181
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Mercury
Inside Year 142, Issue 31
Thursday, February 7, 2013 • 40 pages
www.yourottawaregion.com
Asselin vs. McDougall court case adjourned Steve Newman
public viewing of McDougallʼs videos.
steve.newman@metroland.com
DEFAMATION CHARGES
Three people were injured in a Highway 17 crash just outside Renfrew. – Pages 2 and 4–
Edwin Amell has rubbed shoulders with many stars in the movie industry. – Page 34 –
The Renfrew Timbervoles run their winning streak to five games in the EOJHL. – Page 13 –
Matt McDougall of Moviemat continues his court battle with Mike Asselin, the Town of Renfrewʼs director of development and works. The town asked McDougall to provide a site-plan application for his business at 785 OʼBrien Rd. last year, but he has yet to do so. Out of the 864-square-foot building he continues to rent videos and sell sports memorabilia and adult videos. He relocated Moviemat to that site, from downtown Raglan Street, on Oct. 19, 2012. Although the town has requested a site-plan application, McDougall says section 41.1 of the Planning Act of Ontario says heʼs not required to do so. McDougall also says the townʼs contracted, part-time planner Julie Stewart gave him the green light. More recently, the town announced it has hired a fulltime planner to start working Feb. 11, 2013. Asselin says McDougall is required to submit a site plan because the use of the property at 785 OʼBrien Rd. has changed from vacant residential. McDougall has neither submitted a siteplan application nor appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board, said Asselin. The town submitted a stop-work order to McDougall on Oct. 26, 2012, but it has not taken steps to close his business or shut off access to town water, said Asselin. Asselin says McDougall was invited to resubmit his site plan application from 2004 at no charge, but has not done so. That was an 8,000-square-foot project that was going to cost about $1 million, says McDougall. McDougall says he pulled back plans in 2004 to expand his business when another video company came to town. To comment on the impasse with the town, McDougall placed videos on YouTube in late October and November 2012. McDougallʼs videos received almost 9,000 views. Asselin subsequently received a court injunction Dec. 7 to prevent the
Prior to the injunction, the director of development and works says he had already sued McDougall for $100,000, for defamation of character, because of the content of those videos. “Mr. McDougall has disagreed with my interpretation of the bylaws as they relate to his development,” Asselin told The Renfrew Mercury EMC in a written summary of the court action. “We have made Mr. McDougall aware, in writing, of the application and appeal process. We have not received an application, and rather than following the appeal processes, that were readily available to him, he chose to publish statements on YouTube about my personal and professional integrity. These statements are the subject of the defamation action which the court has yet to rule on.” The Town of Renfrew is also paying for Asselinʼs defence, which McDougall says is troubling, especially when an employee is the plaintiff. Renfrew clerk Kim Bulmer says legal fees are covered by the town in accordance with a council-approved agreement with all department heads. The agreement guides matters arising from the employeeʼs performance of duties pertaining to the governing of the Town of Renfrew. Because of the court action, McDougall says he is selling the family home to acquire more cash to fund the legal battle. McDougall was to appear in Ottawaʼs Ontario Supreme Court Friday, Jan. 25 to determine if the injunction on the YouTube videos would be made permanent or lifted. The case was adjourned. The new court date is expected to be in late February or early March. Meanwhile, McDougall maintains his own website of www.moviemat. com, where he includes documented correspondence about the legal battle below the headline: Is the Town of Renfrew Trying to Bankrupt & Destroy Small Business in Renfrew?
PETER CLARK/METROLAND
Every coin counts Kevin Hughes helps granddaughter Kyra Ann Rennie contribute to the Money Mile for the Renfrew and Area Health Services Village doctor recruitment program during the family winter fun day hosted by the Balsam Hill-Horton Women’s Institute Feb. 2 at Admaston Public School. Looking on is Kyra Ann’s brother Connor.
Endangered species session planned Steve Newman steve.newman@metroland.com
The County of Renfrew will host a Feb. 22 workshop with the intention of crafting recommendations for the Endangered Species Act. Director of property and development Paul Moreau will be among the afternoon workshop facilitators as feedback is sought from invited members of the countyʼs various business sectors. These will include sand and gravel, agriculture, tourism, property development and forestry. “Weʼve seen significant increases of time spent on development projects because of the new restrictions of the Endangered Species Act,” said Moreau. “So we want to have a shopping list of recommended changes to the actʼs regulations for the provin-
cial government.” Changes to regulations are already coming, says Moreau, as suggested by the Endangered Species Act Panelʼs own report and recommendations, which appear on the Ministry of Environmentʼs Environmental Bill of Rights website. “We want to respond to those recommendations and also go a little bit further,” said Moreau of the workshop in county council chambers. “We know the province is thinking about changes, so we hope we can have some influence on the regulations (of the act). We think thereʼs an opportunity there.” As the act now stands, Moreau says those involved in property development, including planners and developers, face extra time and costs, that arenʼt always necessary.
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