Rideau-Vanier Councillor Mathieu Fleury is responding to a letter, sent by the Salvation Army, which claims he not only knew about a proposed move to Montreal Road since 2015, but that he supported the plan, and insisted the proposal remain private until the official announcement in June of this year.

The letter, which was obtained by CFRA Wednesday, outlines a brief history of the Salvation Army’s dealings with Fleury and the City between January 2015 and the present.

But speaking on CFRA’s Ottawa Now with Evan Solomon Thursday, Fleury said the letter contained falsehoods and misrepresentations.

Fleury admitted that he knew about a proposed plan by the Salvation Army to invest in Vanier for some time, but did not confirm the January 2015 date offered.

“I knew for some time, I don’t know the exact date but it seems accurate,” Fleury said, “that they had interest in 333 Montreal Road and, at that time, I was very clear that I would be opposed to it. I was opposed to any one location because I do believe that it is not the best approach to offering their services. I’ve been clear with them all through this process.”

Fleury says he’s been talking with the Salvation Army for the last seven years about operational issues and on their future site, but he says they narrowed their search for a new site in the last few years.

“They’re always a very polite organization, we’ve always sat down and they’ve always said, ‘We’re going to consider what you’re saying. We recognize you’re opposed to the location. We are continuing to look at options and we’ll come back.’ And then we’d have another meeting and they’d say, ‘Let’s talk Montreal Road,’ and I’d say ‘No, no, what about the other options.’”

The proposed move has been a controversial file in Vanier since June 22, 2017 when it was officially announced. Community groups, business owners, and residents have been fierce in their opposition to the move, and have charged that they were taken by surprise and not consulted.

The Salvation Army said, in their letter, that they have “never been requested to engage community groups in discussion or consultation.” Fleury told Solomon he did suggest the Salvation Army engage, but “they chose not to.”

“When you meet with an elected official,” Fluery said, “no matter the topic, as the elected official, I can say, ‘You need to engage with my community.’ If you choose not to engage with my community, I’m bounded until you submit your application.”

Fleury said the pre-consultation with the Salvation Army did not involve his office. The Salvation Army met with urban planners at the City, but a representative from the Vanier Community Association was not in attendance.

When asked why he didn’t meet with community groups during the two-and-a-half years he had been meeting with the Salvation Army, Fleury said the charity was never clear in their intention to move to 333 Montreal Road.

“We never knew that they would proceed,” Fleury said. “Every time we met with them, they were open to our suggestions to look at different locations. I admit that in the last few months they narrowed that, when they brought in architects and so on, but at that time, then it’s for them to submit and to engage with our community as part of their proposal.”

Fleury countered a claim in the letter that he “reaffirmed his support for the project” in November of 2015, saying that while he supported the Salvation Army’s move out of the ByWard Market and its investment in Vanier, he remained opposed to the 333 Montreal Road site suggestion.

“That’s where I find the letter is spinning all of this information,” he said.

Close to the end of the letter, the Salvation Army said there was “insistence by yourself and the City staff to keep this proposal for 333 Montreal Road private until the announcement on June 22nd, 2017.”

“That’s false,” Fleury fired back. “Completely false. The element of truth in that is that I was away the first week of June and I informed the Salvation Army I would be away. That is the only time for which I communicated that to the Salvation Army. They’re making it sound like, ‘Oh, for months and years Fleury told us to hold off.’ I was away for the first two weeks of June, for which I informed them I would be away.”

The Salvation Army letter does say they were asked to delay their announcement until Fleury returned from vacation and they “respectfully agreed.”

During his conversation with Solomon, Fleury maintained that he was always opposed to the 333 Montreal Road site.

“We worked in good faith with the Salvation Army highlighted our opposition early on, and hoped that they would continue to change their offering. They didn’t,” he said. “What my community wants is public consultations and we’re awaiting the submission. The ball’s in their court. They’ve opened the process, they’ve applied, and still we don’t have a date and a location for the public consultation.”

Fleury says he is preparing an official response to the Salvation Army’s letter.