No pier trial until Spring of 2014 at best; watch for a decision to go the mediation route.

By Pepper Parr

BURLINGTON, ON.  June 26, 2013.  Remember that meeting that was to take place at the Court House in Milton; the one where all the lawyers involved in the pier lawsuits were to meet and get their ducks lined up; the one that was going to be open to the public and then at the last-minute got switched from an open court to a teleconference call – that one?

Well, they figured some of the stuff out.  The presiding judge determined that all the discovery stuff has to be completed by September.  The consensus of all the suits was that a trial date would not be any time before May/June of 2014.

Will the citizens be out marching in the streets along with the Burlington Teen Tour Band when the city announces they have settled all the pier related lawsuits in a closed mediation session?

Somewhere in between everyone has to at least make a stab at considering mediation, a process where everyone goes into a room and looks for a way to settle their differences behind closed doors.  Everything said during mediation is confidential and never gets released and that would certainly suit city hall.

Given the position the city is on – mediation is their best hope.  They are going to have to settle withHenry Schilthuis and Sons Ltd., the contractor who came to the conclusion that the pier could not be built with the plans he was given  – Burlington will be giving them a cheque and then work at getting as much they can from Aecom.

June of 2014 is when we begin to learn who is going to run for office in 2014 and the last thing this city council wants is a public trial in the middle of an election.

Will the city do the right thing and tell you how much they spent on legal fees before the election?  During the election remember that it was Mayor Goldring and Councillor Marianne Meed Ward who voted to release those numbers – the rest voted no – don’t tell the public how their money was spent.