Why we call her Hurricane Hazel
Just got off the phone with Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion who is always up really early and always takes my calls as early as 6 a.m. Today, I wanted to talk to her about the meeting she called with all of the GTA mayors and regional representatives to figure out a coordinated strategy that can be used to request disaster relief for damage caused by the Dec. 21, 2013, ice storm.
At 94 years old, McCallion doesn’t pull any punches. She told me the current disaster relief program set up by the province doesn’t work. She tried to access the fund to cover damage from the flash flooding in July and was denied. McCallion wants the group to be able to question the municipal affairs minister today about how the disaster relief program works and what it needs from them to get at the money.
Listen to the full interview below:
As for the squabble between the Ford brothers and Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly — over which one of them should be attending to represent the city — McCallion told me the invite was sent to Mayor Rob Ford because he is the “elected” mayor of Toronto, but that Norm Kelly is welcome to attend.
Also, Kelly is not quite accurate when he says he was invited by McCallion. She clarified to me that he phoned her to ask if he could attend after learning the invite went to Rob.
She doesn’t think they will decide how much money to ask for at today’s meeting, but does hope to get agreement on a formula.
Have a good weekend.