Councillor says comments not out of line

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A Hamilton councillor is under attack for comments he made to CHCH News about city staff.

When asked about the staff report on the city’s dedicated bus lane, Councillor Terry Whitehead said “I’ve never believed for a moment that the individuals involved in developing this report have been objective”. That generated a lot of reaction on Twitter, including this tweet from Mayor Fred Eisenberger saying: “There is no reason to impugn staff.”

But Whitehead insists he was not out of line: “These individuals weren’t being impugned. I was being very open and transparent. In fact, at the beginning of this process, I had concerns that the same people implementing the bus lane were the same people that would be making some sort of recommendation on the report and that’s like the fox taking care of the chicken house.”

The staff report on the controversial bus lane project was tabled yesterday. It recommended extending the year-long pilot project.