Toronto Humane Society election May 30, 2010

I'll tell you right off the bat that I support the Faces of CHANGE slate in the upcoming Toronto Humane Society election. They have excellent candidates with experience, knowledge, scope, passion and commitment. Most of the Faces of CHANGE candidates have been in the trenches fighting for years to get the THS reformed and rejuvenated. They have plans and processes. Be an informed voter.

When voting, be sure to properly complete your ballot.
Mark the boxes next to exactly 15 candidates' names with an X.
Be sure to complete the section with your name and mark whether you live or work within 60 km of 11 River Street (and write in your work address if the latter). If you're not sure, use Mapquest directions to figure out the distance from your home and/or office to 11 River Street; you'll first have to go into Settings at the bottom of the page and change from Miles to Kilometers.
SIGN IT.
Mail it in time for it to get to Computershare in downtown Toronto by Friday, May 28th or take it with you to the May 30th meeting.

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Daniel Dale of the Toronto Star has a short piece today entitled Election Supervisor rebukes Toronto Humane Society candidates.

Personally, the apology was not enough. Disqualification or withdrawal of the entire Save The THS (STTHS) slate would have suited me nicely.

After a number of incidents, I can confidently tell you that I have NO confidence or trust in the STTHS group.

First, the slate was assembled by Michelle Wasylyshen, an employee of Sussex Group which (at last report) worked for THS in 2009. There's no evidence one way or the other that Sussex Group has ceased to work for THS under the current board.

I believe that this group has been thrown together at the eleventh hour, given that its domain name was registered on April 26th. This is not a group that has been working for some time towards a goal.

The leaders of the STTHS group appropriated the name of an existing large animal welfare group. STTHS is either totally ignorant of animal welfare groups in the GTA or wanted to piggyback on the reputation of the animal welfare group. The former is inexcusable ignorance, the latter sounds like misrepresentation to me. Which is it, people?

The STTHS group used a list that was improperly obtained and not available to Faces of CHANGE and independent candidates, to contact THS members by e-mail which was contrary to (as I understand it) the judge's order and privacy legislation (see Daniel Dale article linked above). An apology??? Pffft.

The STTHS group has failed to answer whether any of its candidates are members of the THS.

Michelle Wasylyshen apparently denies that Bob Hambley (one of the board members charged with animal cruelty and a long-time Tim Trow supporter) and Pell Capone (former board member, currently one of the many, many THS lawyers) attend STTHS meetings. Other members of the STTHS have stated that Hambley and Capone have attended meetings. This is not a trick question, they're either at meetings or they're not. Which is it, people?

This is happening with a proposed slate consisting of at least two persons specializing in board governance (which encompasses ethics); a former provincial government minister; a chief financial officer; at least one lawyer; the CEO of a government agency.

Did these people agree to the improper use of improperly obtained information?

Do these people agree that straightforward enquiries should fail to receive a response?

Trust and respect must be earned. Has the STTHS done anything to earn anyone's trust or respect?

If the STTHS group is behaving improperly, talking out of both sides of its mouth on one hand and failing to answer straightforward questions on the other during its campaign, what can we expect from this group if it's voted in?