While some Metro Transit workers muttered about union busting at the Halifax Forum Friday afternoon, a few kilometres away a comment was posted to The Chronicle Herald website under the username Spryfield Guy Until I Die.
"Since the drivers don’t have a contract, they can’t be laid off as they aren’t really employees," the commenter wrote in reply to another.
"Peter (Kelly) and the guys/gals can tell MT to hire new employees. That would be interesting."
The commenter’s account belongs to Stephen Adams, who represents Spryfield-Herring Cove on Halifax regional council.
Adams confirmed Friday afternoon that the account belonged to him. But he said he didn’t post the comment and that it must have been one of his friends who regularly use his email to post on the website.
"I’m going to have a little talk to the two guys that use this," he said. "That was (meant) to log on to add positive comments to benign issues, if you will . . . not to put me in a compromising spot or say things that are grossly unfair."
Adams said hiring new Metro Transit employees to replace the striking ones would indeed make things interesting, but "I don’t think that’s the right thing to do."
He said he used his company email address to set up the account and has posted comments "a couple times."
But he has let his buddies use the email address, or the username for The Chronicle Herald website, to post comments under his name, he said. The friends liked the Spryfield Guy Until I Die username.
When asked if the IP address from the comment could be traced back to his home or office, Adams said it "absolutely" would. His friends were over on Friday afternoon and must have posted it while they were there, though he wasn’t aware of it at the time, he said.
He would not provide the names of the friends in question.
"I don’t want them in trouble," he said. "They’re union supporters, they’re union members. I am not going to do that."
Asked why a union member would post such an anti-union comment, he said, "It’s hard to tell, isn’t it?"
Several of Spryfield Guy Until I Die’s comments in the past, including several bashing the transit union, have been posted from a mobile device carrying an IP address from Bell Mobility. Adams said his friends may have posted them from their own smartphones.
Mayor Kelly said it was "hard to comment on such a statement, especially if Steve didn’t do it."
"Councillors have the right to have their comments known, but if people speak for them, that’s problematic, and I’m sure that won’t happen again."
Adams thanked The Chronicle Herald for bringing Friday’s comment to his attention and said he had changed his password so his "ex-friends" will no longer have access.
The Chronicle Herald moderates all comments before posting them to the website.
"I guess they thought it might have been anonymous," Adams said. "But nothing’s anonymous in this day and age."
http://thechronicleherald.ca/metro/6694 ... t-not-mine" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW:
CH: Do you have an email address, stephen.adams@xxx.com?
SA: Yep.
CH: Did you post this comment that came in about an hour ago?
SA: Um, probably not. A couple people use that email address.
CH: Who uses it?
SA: Well, I’ve got a couple friends of mine. What do they say? Is it any good?
CH: It says “Since the drivers don’t have a contract, they can’t be laid off, as they really aren’t employees. Peter and the guys/gals can tell MT to hire new employees. That would be interesting.”
SA: Mmm, indeed it would, but I don’t think that’s the right thing to do.
CH: Ok. And you’re really saying that you share the email address with several people?
SA: Oh jeez, yeah.
(Discussion of Friday’s vote.)
CH: And again, you don’t think that Peter Kelly should hire new employees?
SA: No! That’s not fair. And I’m going to have a little talk to one of the two guys that use this.
CH: Who are the two guys?
SA: They’re friends of mine.
CH: How come they don’t have their own email addresses?
SA: They may very well, right? But that’s not acceptable. That was more to log on to add positive comments to benign issues, if you will. But that’s not to put me in a compromising spot or to say things that are grossly unfair.
(Called back 10 minutes later and began by thanking the reporter for letting him know about the comment, and saying he had dealt with the problem.)
CH: Ok. Can you tell me who these friends are and why you let them comment under your… I mean, you’re a city councillor, you must be a little nervous about letting people put words in your mouth online.
SA: Well, I guess they thought it might have been anonymous, but nothing’s anonymous in this day and age. But anyways, they won’t do it again.
CH: Are you saying that your friends have the password to your email account?
SA: Not my email, no, no, no, no, heavens no. They wouldn’t have that. The password to the email, my private email, is different than the one to log online to the Herald comments section.
CH: Although to set up those accounts on our website, you do need access—you do need to be able to go into the original email account.
SA: I don’t understand what you mean.
CH: When you set up an account, before the account is verified, they’ll send an email to your email address and you have to go into your email and verify it (…) so are you saying that you set up the account originally?
SA: Oh jeez, a while ago.
CH: Ok. Have you ever posted under that username?
SA: I have a couple times, yes.
CH: And you gave your email address and login?
SA: No, it’s not the email address I gave. It’s just the name, right? The name and then the password was *****, which has now been changed… so they won’t be able to access it anymore.
CH: So the comment wasn’t made from your home or your office? The IP address won’t match up to anything that—
SA: Oh, absolutely. Sure. Oh, yeah it will. Yeah, sure.
CH: Why will it?
SA: Well, they were here.
CH: They were at your house when they posted it?
SA: Yeah.
CH: Today?
SA: Yep.
CH: Is there anyone’s name you can give me so I can verify it?
SA: I am not going to do that. I am not going to do that. I don’t want them in trouble. They are union supporters, they’re union members. I am not going to do that.
CH: You’re saying they’re union supporters and they posted this comment?
SA: Yep.
CH: I find it hard to understand why a union supporter would post this kind of thing.
SA: Well, um, it’s hard to tell, isn’t it. But I’m not going to tell their name to you. That’s not fair. That’s not fair.
CH: Did you know at the time that they had posted this?
SA: No, I didn’t.
CH: Do they often post under your name?
SA: Uh, well, I don’t look at it that much, but I can tell you, they won’t do it again.
CH: All right.
SA: But I’m glad you told me, because things can get a little ugly. I don’t think they’d do anything to compromise me, but I’m a little disappointed in what was happening there. But I’ll take care of it. But I do appreciate you letting me know… I don’t know what else they’ve posted that would have been, um, bad, I guess. I guess I would’ve been told, would I?
CH: You would’ve been told? I don’t know.
(Discussion of how Metro Halifax doesn’t monitor comments on their website.)
CH: Councilor, are you sure—I mean, this story’s going to seem a little incredible to some people, I’m sure. Are you sure you don’t want to offer another explanation?
SA: Nope. No, that’s fine.
What an idiot.
