City member of council Gord Hunter sees nothing unwarrantable when he tells a medical marijuana user who feels his human rights were entrenched to "grow up." The above-ground Knoxville-Merivale councilor thinks that Diane Deans had a definite purpose to make an apology for him at a commission meeting Tuesday.
"She doesn't speak for me, and she doesn't speak for council," he said.
Hunter is known as a person of often humoristic, rectilinear talks but Russell Barth, who is afflicted with chronic pain due to fibromyalgia, wasn't mocking over an e-mail interchange he had with the disabled soldier Ottawa politician last year.
On Tuesday there was the city member's services committee and Barth appeared before councilors, including Deans and brought accusations to Hunter of a "ignominious demonstration of impatience."
Barth compelled the panel to utilize standards of conduct for members of council being elaborated by staff to discourage such behavior. Due to the fact that his human rights had been entrenched on several fundamentals when using marijuana in public, Barth was seeking help from Hunter. According to Barth he applied various unsuccessful attempts to complain to his MP and MPP, even filed an Ontario Human Rights Commission complaint and sent an e-mail to Hunter, who represents the trusteeship he lives in, requesting a meeting and help.
Hunter's response was a surprise, Barth said.
"Tough luck on you that (you) feel you had your human rights violated," the councillor said.
The e-mail then says:
- Barth's case seems no different than smokers being asked to move on;
- others with similar conditions adapt and move on without smoking marijuana: and
- Barth should smoke in private.
"If it is sympathy you are looking for, you won't find it here. Grow up and get on with your life and quit taking up taxpayers' dollars and time with your frivolity."
At yesterday's meeting, Hunter did amounts to quick sightedness, and proposed the councilors' dome prevent this conduct.
"He shouldn't be allowed to dump on people like that, there should be some sort of rule against this," Barth said.
According to city lawyer Rick O'Connor, the dome could constrain some universal language demanding complaisance, but voters would be the real judge. Anyway councilors consented, but Deans added that he treated his colleague e-mail was unbecoming and delivered his justification on behalf of council. In the following interview, Hunter, who doesn't participate in the committee, said he supports his words to Barth in the e-mail.
"I just don't think his human rights were violated by people asking him not to smoke marijuana around them. He sent a frank e-mail, and I sent a frank e-mail."
Concerning Deans' justification, he pointed he presumes she was supposedly undertaking to disengage an comfortless situation, but then he added:
"She doesn't speak for me, and she doesn't speak for council. If (the Gloucester-Southgate councilor) wants to do that, she should run for mayor."
Deans substantiated there was need for her to apologize on behalf of council, and that Hunter's response to Barth was inappropriate.
"I don't think there's ever an excuse for being rude, and I thought that he was rude," she said. | 
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