Unanswered Questions

These words are starting to dominate the Windsor political scene.



Everywhere you look these days there are questions that are unanswered lying around it seems, just begging to be dealt with. But no one does. Does that seem fair to you?



Here are just a few typical examples:

• "I think our members are going to be very upset by this ... this still leaves unanswered questions," Local 543 president Jean Fox said of the board's decision not to hold a hearing.
• Well, the Olympic Games are over and Stephen Harper stated he prorogued Parliament to stop and think. Upon reading government-related articles in The Windsor Star, I have some unanswered questions. (Letter to the Editor)
• 'A lot of unanswered questions' around Essex animal deaths
• Paul Fields at Council saying that there were "unanswered questions" and missing information about the 400 audit
• But while the big [DRIC] cable-stayed bridge and associated highway approaches could shift into gear possibly next year, one of the big unanswered questions is how it will be tendered and financed.
• Detroit's council has so far refused to establish its new tunnel authority because of too many unanswered questions around the [Tunnel] deal.
• County councillors unanimously called for a halt Wednesday to any attempt to close Windsor and Essex County daycare centres until there's been broad consultation with parents, staff and the county itself.
  
  
  
  Councillors cited too many unanswered questions to even consider the recommendations of a city social services department report to close in the coming months all seven daycare centres in the city and county, as well as two satellite operations in schools.
• "Again, I have no idea what conversations took place between them and the proponent. It's not part of what showed up on the audit. Those are questions left unanswered."
• Yet events this week seem to suggest that the original audit contained information about activities that some might consider malfeasance.
  
  
  
  Obfuscation on fiduciary matters is troubling and raises issues beyond the ones addressed monday night.
  
  
  
  Even those who think these actions were justified to avoid a lawsuit would have to agree there are still many unanswered questions.
• Despite tightened security at U.S. airports and unanswered questions about how Abdulmuttalab escaped notice until it was almost too late, business proceeded as usual at Windsor’s airport on Monday
• There are so many unanswered questions to a proposal to link Point Pelee with Hillman Marsh that the Essex Region Conservation Authority board had no choice but to send a consultant's report to Leamington to find out what council and residents think about it .
• But Mayor Eddie Francis questioned in a phone interview Monday the need for an audit and accused Halberstadt of "creating a cloud of suspicion where there should be none."
  
  
  
  He said there were no "unanswered questions" and that Halberstadt was part of the discussions on the new arena until "declaring a conflict at the 11th hour."
  
  
  
  "If he wanted answers to the questions, he should have stayed on as part of the process," said Francis.

Wow, do you see what I mean. All of those questions that are just waiting to be answered but who has the time to do it.

Now I do not want to be the one who has to tell Edgar (aka Eddie) this but I think a lot of people do have questions that they want answered over the Arena deal. Take teh Pizza queen, she has one:

"Windsor's audit committee hopes to confirm a new auditor general in three weeks. It's asking council for a budget of half a million dollars.



One of the first tasks could be an audit of the construction of the WFCU Centre. It should include the question people still ask: Did the city receive value when it swapped downtown land for the arena site?"

So to provide a service to the Mayor, I would ask the Audit Committee to direct Angela Berry to find the answers to these specific questions since she is going to do the work anyway. If you can add to the list, dear reader, please let me know:

 How did a public-private partnership concept that was to go downtown at a maximum City cost of $15m and no risk wind up in the East End with a City-run project at 100% with all risk on taxpayers

 Beztak rejection---was it fair how they were attacked in such depth but not anyone else

 Was this all a done deal and worked out in advance

 Was the process all a phony but designed to select a favoured company regardless of cost

 Relationship of Taqtaq, Collavino and Francis

 Francis Farhi relationship

 Was Project Ice Track (PIT) treated the pits

 Tying up the Spitfires so PIT could never get them

 Were there unreported collateral deals not in the City’s interest to get the deal eg sweetheart deal on Canderel space, upfront payments (eg $4.5M allegation)

 Was the business case justifying the arena a proper one based on reality or was it based on a dream that bore no relationship to reality especially based on the actual experience

 How could an arena to be built in Port Huron in 1999 cost so little today especially when the concrte forms ot be used were all scrapped

 Was the City “extraed” to death

 Where was PCR for all of the years of the arena debate and just appeared all of a sudden and after one or two letters became the contractor of choice

 Why were the other possible proponents just noted and filed

 Was the Purchasing by-law circumvented thereby allowing another MFP-type deal (If so, what happened to all of the protections we thought that the PWC report was to give us)

 Single source justifications are all wrong eg the City had its own arena plans which it purchased but this was never mentioned

 Spitfires lease deal give them all the profits

 Naming rights deal means we pay money to WFCU over time

 Total cost of the project

 In which Department are the “overage” costs buried

 Should the developer, Farhi have paid some of the costs normally,

 Why was his land picked and not others that cost less in the area

 Did the City do proper due diligence before doing the deal with Farhi

 Did we get value for money ie what was left out to be paid for after the next election eg parking

 Did we get comparable arenas to the smaller City arenas that are to be closed (eg less seating)

 Why was a sound system not included originally in the package but added subsequently (Casino fooled by this)

 Was the land exchange PLUS paying for the cleanup PLUS the 3 year tax holiday a good one

 Rush, rush, rush to get everything done before the Council term ended eg no definitive plans and yet the deal was signed at the last Council meeting

 Were there environmental issues there that were “buried”

 Are there still environmental issues eg Wickes plant takeover which means the City has to clean up Farhi’s lands

 Role of the Casino in all of this

 Are legitimate arena costs now charged for political reasons to General Revenues since the project is finished eg interest costs on borrowings.

 Was the PIT Price Waterhouse Report correct

 Did the Mayor have a conflict of interest given his parents’ ownership of land