![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rfmcdonaldThe Toronto Star's San Grewal and the Brampton Guardian's Peter Criscione report on how Brampton is still trying to dig itself out of its past messes.
Former Brampton mayor Susan Fennell “does not recall reviewing” an agreement she signed in 2011 that detailed a $480,000 payment from the city to a development company to acquire an option on land the company was supposed to secure on its own in a half-billion-dollar construction project.
The agreement, filed in court this summer, was among hundreds of documents the court ordered the city to release as part of an ongoing lawsuit it is facing over the downtown project.
As part of that lawsuit, Fennell had previously told the court that she didn’t find out about the secret $480,000 payment until 2014, when the rest of council learned of it.
In an email to the Star and Guardian, Fennell’s lawyer said there was “no inconsistency” between her statements to the court and the fact that she signed a 2011 agreement that acknowledged the city “has paid or will cause to be paid” the $480,000 option fee.
“No reasonable person would expect the mayor to undertake a detailed review of legal documents before signing them when they have been reviewed and approved by City lawyers and others,” wrote lawyer David Shiller.
