City Urged to Abandon Negotiations With Hamilton Company
Published September 25, 2019 at 8:29 pm
ED: This story has been updated with a response from Cardus
ED: This story has been updated with a response from Cardus
The City of Hamilton is hearing from a number of citizens who are unhappy that they are negotiating with a local Christian think-tank over the lease and rehabilitation of Balfour House.
Ahead of Wednesday’s Council meeting, the city received letters from several Hamilton residents who claim Cardus is connected to and supports organizations that are ‘racist, homophobic, misogynistic, anti-union, anti-pro-choice and Islamophobic.’
“As a citizen, taxpayer, and business owner, I strongly object to the City entering into any business relationship with, including extending public assets, religious organizations,” writes resident Michael Demone, “let alone an organization with a history of offensive discrimination and bias towards minorities, and one whose primary goal is to undermine the foundations of Canadian democracy.”
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Demone points out that Cardus has links to an anti-immigration group called Keep 43 and claims Cardus has contributed material to their website.
The estate in question, known to many as the Chedoke Estate, is made up of a stone manor house (Balfour House) — which was built in the 1830s — and a coach house that is situated on a picturesque park-like property on the mountain brow, overlooking the city.
The Cardus proposal for the Balfour Estate sets out a situation in which the think tank would lease the building until 2039 — the length of Hamilton’s stewardship under an agreement with the Ontario Heritage Trust (OHT) who owns the property.
They propose to cover the operational expenses and capital costs of the estate, without any cost to the taxpayer of Hamilton, for the duration of their tenancy of the property.
The General Issues Committee, who received the presentation from Cardus’ CEO Michael VanPelt last week, were enthusiastic in their response to the proposal, even so far as pushing up the timeline for negotiations.
Ruth Cameron, another concerned Hamilton resident says these negotiations are “in direct opposition to your purported values of inclusiveness and the declaration that Hamilton is a city for all.”
“Some of the content that I have seen [on the Cardus website] is homophobic, misogynist, racist and climate-change denying,” wrote Robert Brosius. “As one of your constituents, I urge you to vote AGAINST this proposal, and AGAINST dealing with Cardus.”
In a letter signed by VanPelt and address to City Council addresses some of these concerns raised by residents, it says:
“We lead some of the most respectful and thoughtful discussions on faith and public life in the country. Given the tenor of political rhetoric in North America, I hope you will see that Cardus has contributed to healthy dialogue that crosses political, religious, and philosophical divisions in a true effort to bring together people from different perspectives and backgrounds in deep pluralism,” it reads.
The letter points out that Cardus was invited to present to human resource professionals by Conference Board of Canada’ on workplace diversity and that they have been outspoken in their opposition to Bill 21. It also says that Cardus’ Dr. Andrew Bennett is on the record as condemning Islamophobia, among other examples.
The issue is currently before Hamilton City Council.
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