Irving Oil community liasion committee co-chair Claude MacKinnon says the removal of clean air activist Gordon Dalzell from the committee had nothing to do with Dalzell talking publicly about air pollution caused by Irving operations.
Rather, MacKinnon alleges, Dalzell was leaking confidential “financial and business information” to the media. He declined to specify the nature of that information.
MacKinnon tells CHSJ News Dalzell’s “raison d’être appears to be talking to the media,” and even though he was “never asked” to sign a written confidentiality agreement, it was “understood” Dalzell wouldn’t share certain facts with news outlets.
MacKinnon says he was contacted by an Irving rep who advised Dalzell be dismissed, and he agreed. That reccomendation was communicated to the other committee members, who MacKinnon says then voted 8-2 in favour of Dalzell’s removal.
Dalzell, on the other hand, says the committee “doesn’t deal with any financial information” apart from the price tags on certain maintenance operations–and he never discussed any information that was not already public knowledge.
“There was no appeal, I haven’t gotten any kind of letter of decision. It was very arbitrary. I think the industry orchestrated this, and then they contacted the members.”
Dalzell says he plans to ask Arthur Irving to intervene on his behalf and reverse the decision.
