Sabrina Hill, St. Catharines resident, announced herself on the phone call as “chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee.”
She (formerly he, legally changed), said she wasn’t speaking an “official capacity” but claimed to be doing “a global survey” on local leaders, asking about Thompson’s position on renaming Marineland Parkway, a street in Niagara Falls.
Thompson said it had no political support in council and the motion had been sent to staff for a report.
Then Hill revealed that it was her motion, and asked why Thompson said “As long as it doesn’t come back”.
He denied having said this, but Hills video shows a clip.
Thompson, 82 year old veteran councilor and former Mayor, was evidently offended by the notion of changing the name of the street Marlineland Parkway, and the conversation quickly devolved. Thompson repeatedly asks for Hill’s name, and at one point calls says to the caller, “You’re a sick dog”.
When pressed by Hill as to why he said this, Thompson said he was offended by the disrespect towards the founder of Marineland.
Hill’s YouTube video of the phone call is embedded below.
In the video–towards the end of the call–is a text overlay that makes certain claims that were then disputed in a ‘cease and desist’ letter from Sulivan Mahoney, which Hill published herself on her (second) Twitter account.
The letter claims the conversation was recorded “without the knowledge or consent of Mr. Thompson”, and that “wording appears which implicates Mr. Thompson in wrongdoing and malfeasance”, adding “in our opinion, these statements may well be defamatory under Canadian law.”
Hill’s other Twitter account @sabrina_c_hill was recently was put into private mode after a controversial remark, and this second Twitter @itstimeniagara account is called “Sabrina Hill for Regional Council (STC)”.
DEI chair falsely claims to be doing a “global survey”, then engages in animal rights activism instead
Partial transcript:
SH: Hi, my name is Sabrina Hill. I’m Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Committee for the Niagara Region, how you doing today?
WT: Yeah, I’m fine.
SH: I’m not calling in my official capacity at the Region, but I’m calling to a recent agenda item I had placed on the agenda, sorry, on the council meeting for the 21st of June?
WT: Yes?
SH: Regards to renaming Marineland Parkway.
WT: Oh, yes. (Laughs)
SH: I’m just doing kind of a quick global survey, a count on who might be supporting and who won’t be supporting the motion, or my petition —
WT: Nobody that I heard was supporting that. It just referred to staff. There was only person that was in Niagara Falls, and five others, they’re protesters. So yeah, nobody is going to support that.
SH: You mean city councillors won’t support it?
WT: Well, why would they?
Hill promises to file Integrity Commissioner complaint.
This was covered in the Niagara Falls Review on July 3.
Link: Fall election should not impact whether code of conduct complaint against veteran councillor will be investigated, clerk says (Ray Spiteri, Niagara Falls Review)
Link: YOU’RE A SICK DOG: Conduct Unbecoming a Member of Niagara Falls City Council (Sabrina Hill Blog)
