This Is A Mute Point

Because the McGinty Fiberals will not have to make a decision.....that will fall on the shoulders of John Tory and the majorty Conservative government.

Liberals in spitting match over OMB chair TheStar.com - columnists - Liberals in spitting match over OMB chair
April 23, 2007
Ian Urquhart

After the Liberals won the provincial election in 2003, one of their first moves was to dump Dave Johnson as chair of the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB).

Johnson, formerly a minister in the previous Conservative government, was an easy target for the incoming Liberals as they sought to give substance to their election slogan: "Choose change."

In Johnson's place, the Liberals named Marie Hubbard, vice-chair of the OMB, as the "interim" chair, pending a decision on a permanent replacement.

Various names were floated for the job, including former Toronto mayor Barbara Hall and former Burlington mayor Rob McIsaac. However, both of them were given other government appointments.

And today, almost four years later, Hubbard is still the OMB chair, and she continues to carry the qualifier "interim."

But her status may soon be resolved, one way or the other.

Sources say there is a major battle going on inside the Liberal government over whether to extend Hubbard's stay as chair of the OMB beyond this year and to remove her "interim" label.

On one side pushing for Hubbard's removal are Liberal MPPs – cabinet ministers and backbenchers alike – from Toronto, where ratepayer groups have identified the OMB as the enemy in a series of disputes over highrise redevelopment.

On the other side is Finance Minister Greg Sorbara, a 905 MPP and chair of the Liberals' re-election campaign.

Hubbard, a feisty septuagenarian, is not going down without a fight.

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