Unemployment Ranks Reduced By One

What would happen to our Mayor if he decided to run for a third term and lost. After all, the Star reported that he and his wife are expecting another child.

He need not worry too much. Look at what happened to another politician who lost an election and who also had some involvement in the border file:

Whew, the poor man got a job. I mean, seriously, he has a wife and six children, aged 17 years to 17 months to look after.

Former Senator Michael Fortier, and losing Conservative candidate in the last federal election in Quebec, was able to get new employment quickly even in these recessionary times:

• 
  
  
  
  "On Monday, Mr. Fortier rejoins Ogilvy Renault, the blueblood Montreal-based law firm where he got his start in 1985, as a partner specializing in mergers and acquisitions...
  
  Ogilvy Renault, which counts corporate-world heavyweights Yves Fortier and Brian Mulroney on the letterhead, was at the heart of it all.
  
  Mr. Fortier himself had a taste of the M&A boom before entering politics, when he successively ran the Quebec operations of investment banks Credit Suisse First Boston and TD Securities...
  
  “When I left in 2006, we were pitching five income trust and six fully financed M&A deals a week,” Mr. Fortier, who turns 47 this week, fondly recalls. “Clearly, the environment is very different now. But that doesn't mean companies don't need financial and legal advice. Some companies are in better shape and will be looking for opportunities. There will be transactions in 2009.”
  
  If anyone can make them happen, Ogilvy co-chair Norman Steinberg figures it is Mr. Fortier...
  
  “I mentioned to him after the election: ‘Look, if you ever want to come back to practise law, we have your office ready for you,'“ Mr. Steinberg says. “When he was with us in the ‘90s, he was a fantastic rainmaker. Since then, he has the added experience of having had two senior positions at investment banks and experience in government. You add this all together and he rejoins us as an even more valuable member of our business team.”

I wonder if one of M. Fortier's first calls will be to contact Jacques Demers, a former senior partner with Ogilvy Renault LLP in Toronto. who was recently hired by OMERS to be the president and CEO of OMERS Strategic Investments.

Obviously, times are tough, even for the mighty and powerful. It would appear that even Mr. Fortier has had to take on a second job to make ends meet:

• 
  
  
  
  "Iconic investment bank Morgan Stanley is making a high-profile move into Quebec.
  
  Morgan Stanley, still a global powerhouse despite Wall Street's woes, just landed one of the best-connected deal makers in Montreal, when lawyer and former federal cabinet minister Michael Fortier signed on as the firm's special adviser in Quebec.
  
  Mr. Fortier is a partner in Ogilvy Renault, the blue-chip law firm that he rejoined after being defeated in the last federal election. His political career saw the 47-year-old serve as Minister of International Trade, Minister responsible for the Greater Montreal region, and Minister of Public Works and Government Services in the Harper government.
  
  The newly created position sees Mr. Fortier remain at Ogilvy, but also take on a rainmaking advisory role at Morgan Stanley."

I wonder what big deal will work on first.

Francis Failures Continue

Now that you have read yesterday what the newspapers have said over the past few days, let us do a bit of analysis.

You have no choice but to read this stuff and weep for our City. I’m not trying to be mean. I did not write these articles. It is the Mayor who was quoted, not I. Do you see anything to be positive about? Do you see a plan in action? Or rather do you see a Mayor who has no idea what he is doing and whose sole function appears to be to talk a good game without performing. It is quite easy to do with Toronto media or the Canadian Press who really have no idea about what has gone on here.

Of course, no one can blame our Mayor for the collapse of the Big Three or the economic devastation caused by the financial meltdown. However, the articles make it clear that there were issues of economic diversification years ago:

• “Four or five years ago when manufacturing and automotive started to decline, we felt the impact immediately.”

A slight rewriting of history here because, according to our Mayor, the problem before was supposedly cyclical not structural. We had been through these ups and downs with the car industry before so what was everybody getting so excited about.

Wasn’t that why we had the report prepared with respect to a joint City/County Development Commission? That revolving door, rudderless organization is a disgrace that has not accomplished much over the past several years that it has been in existence other than waste money. Terrific, they finally accomplish something before the end of the year… a few more call-centre jobs.

• "There's no question that without a leader at the head of the commission, it presents a number of challenges for us in attracting investment to the region," said Nelson Santos, warden of Essex County and mayor of Kingsville. "I know that the existing staff is working hard and working overtime to pick up the slack but, with all due respect, it's not the same as having an executive director or a vice-president in place…”

Is there absolutely no sense of urgency?

When you read the newspaper articles, does what is being proposed sound familiar? It should. What does the Mayor talk about… plans that have been around for months and months and months and for which little has been accomplished. It actually would be nice if the Mayor spoke to “senior research and policy adviser entrusted with the task of getting the shuttle service off the ground.” While the Mayor claims:

• “We have been working with Saskatchewan and we're close to finalizing a program."

his policy adviser states

• “We're working with Saskatchewan officials on how we can make it happen. We're still at the very beginning."

It would be nice if they got their act together don't you think.

Back in July, “Mayor Seeks Information About Windsorites Travelling West.” There were FIVE questions to be answered and, according to the article, 69 responses. Incredibly, it has taken all this time to try to figure out what those responses mean. With the oil prices tanking in Western Canada, there is probably now no point in people going out there even if they were going to go out in the first place. Failure.

Let’s look at what else the Mayor talked about…he has grabbed on the idea of Windsor becoming a retirement community. Terrific except for the fact that he’s telling the world that Windsor is dying so who would want to move here. And until such time as we get over our shortage of doctors, 200 or so who are needed already, I doubt if too many seniors are going to come here. With stories of horrible roads and sewers that have been in the media recently, increasing taxes and a shrinking tax base… the Casino reassessment being the latest example… this is hardly the place for Seniors to come especially if they are on fixed incomes. With “a little seed money,” we can hardly compete against some of the major retirement communities in North America and elsewhere. Failure.

Now we are going to be a hub for agricultural products at the airport to be distributed across North America. Whatever happened to the start-up German onion importers that Eddie went to see twice in Europe? So what exactly are we doing: exporting to Europe, exporting to the United States, importing from Europe to distribute to the United States or all or none of the above? Failure.

Remember how supportive the Mayor was of the University’s Engineering Complex. NOT!

Of course you cannot forget his assertion that unless the University did it his way and located the Complex downtown, there would be no contribution from the City. Can you please tell me why “the research and development capacity that we have in the city is one of the best kept secrets in the country...." Why hasn’t our Mayor ensured that R&D is not a secret?

That it is a secret is no doubt true from a study prepared for the Development Commission:

• “A. Sandy Munro, CEO of Munro & Associates, Inc., on a fact-finding mission to Europe was shocked to find how far Windsor Essex had fallen off European companies’ radar. Many had been led to believe that the core of the MTDM business in Canada was in Toronto, Winnipeg and Montreal. Senior staff in 5 of the largest European companies (EADS, Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes and Thales) had never even heard of Windsor, or the capabilities of the MTDM industry here. These companies have been outsourcing key work for the past 5 years to locations other than China and India demonstrating enormous lost opportunities for our region.
  
  The Region and the industry as a result of these findings must either move to raise its profile, or face irrelevance as a Global Supply Source.”

Wow, even consultants go to Europe at our expense. Oh I forgot, Windsor being an R&D centre is something that Dennison DesRosiers has been talking about and therefore not something that the Mayor can support. Failure.

The Mayor is still talking about creation of jobs. Exactly how many have been created recently? He can talk all he wants about the DRIC process and that there will not be a shovel in the ground until who knows when but he knows as well as everyone else that his stalling on full tunneling, Greenlink, Son of Greenlink and Greenlink: the Next Generation has caused this City untold grief. How dare he say

• “we need to continue to focus our efforts on creating jobs here, but we also need to be realistic in our assessment of the economic situation and challenges we are facing.”

To be realistic would have been working with the Senior Levels and the Ambassador Bridge Company years ago so that their projects could have started instead of threatening lawsuits or appearing in US Coast Guard hearings. That would have been the way he could have minimized difficulties as we were moving away from the automobile industry.

Seriously, what other City is fighting not to get billions of dollars in investments. Has City Hall been inhaling Tunnel exhaust for too long. Failure.

Our tourist industry…” a new convention centre, casino and arena…” not too shabby until one looks at the border crossing numbers and sees the number of vehicles and buses that are not coming to Windsor this year. And what are we doing about it? Have the City and County figured out yet how they are going to partner on increasing tourism? Failure.

To be honest, I do not understand why all these parts suppliers are moaning and groaning and even some of them are going out of business. Haven’t they heard, we are in the aerospace business. No, I do not mean promoting the Red Bull air race although we don’t have the millions of dollars needed yet for sponsorship at a time when Detroit is pulling out of its Grand Prix for economic reasons. I mean the aerospace industry. We have succeeded according to our Mayor

• “There is also an attempt to transition existing automotive infrastructure to meet changing market demands…
  
  "Parts suppliers that once used to supply strictly 100 per cent the automotive industry ... those parts suppliers are now transitioned and are now supplying the aerospace industry."

I went to the Development Commission site to see how many firms are actually involved in the aerospace business at least according to the Commission. Searching the word “aerospace” on their database, I found four companies.

Silly me, I forgot that we had a consultants’ Report prepared, "Changing the Paradigm for the Machine, Tool, Die and Mould Industry in Windsor Essex" so that we could talk about all of this rather than achieving something. Those consultants are really smart people too compared with our foolish business people:

• “The first question we ask any client or company in trouble is, “What is the objective of your business?” If the answer is anything other than “make a profit,” then we know the company is in serious trouble. We have asked this question of a number of MTDM companies in Windsor Essex and never once received the “appropriate” answer even after coaching individuals several times.”

We are so dumb here and the consultants so smart I guess. Failure.

It is enough already. It is a new year which ought to be a time of hope for us and not despair. Realistically however what do we have look forward to under the Leadership that we have in this City? I do not blame the Mayor alone although he must bear the greatest measure of blame since he is the only full-time politician and acts as the City’s CEO. I blame the Council as well for allowing him to achieve so little. They are virtually invisible and play little role in this City, even the loopy ones.

I trust it now that you understand why I am so angry at Prime Minister Harper. He could have solved our problem but didn’t.

There is a step that our Mayor could take that would accomplish the same result. I will let you figure out, dear reader, what that step is.

Francis Failures (Part 1)

I promise that I will not vote for a Conservative Party candidate, and neither should you dear reader, while Stephen Harper is the Leader. After all, what he did to this City and to the Region is a disgrace.

No, no, no… I am not talking about what he has put us through with respect to the automobile industry and jobs before he finally decided to provide billions of dollars to the industry. I’m talking about something much more important.

He had the opportunity to save this region by giving our Mayor a new job and he blew it. When he had that 10 minute “personal” phone call with the Mayor, I am certain that the “reassurance” part of that call took all of about 30 seconds. The remainder of the time was in effect a job interview.

You still do not get it do you. Harper had 18 Senate appointments and he did not give one to Eddie Francis. If he had, then Francis would no longer be our Mayor. Instead we have to put up with him for another two years.

Oh I know, you think I am being nasty. It is the beginning of the new year and some of you may have hoped that perhaps I might be a little bit more gentle towards our Mayor. How can I be? It is a good thing that I have not written anything for a few days because after reading the Toronto Star articles on Windsor on Christmas Eve morning, and some others that I read, I was literally sick.

You know already that I believe that our Mayor has failed us especially on the Border file. I do not take seriously anything that he says with respect to Greenlink anymore after this quotation which I have posted several times already but is worthwhile to post one more time:

• "City council and the city of Windsor and myself would be the first to stand in support of this project if the province of Ontario guarantees 20,000 jobs will be in this community at the beginning of 2009."

This nonsense about quality of life is nothing more than nonsense after reading this quotation.

Our new Jewel, the arena… if it were not for Project Ice Track proposing to move to Tecumseh, it would still not be built. That may not be such a bad idea after reading this recently in the Star at a time when this City needs every penny it can get:

• “It has already been determined the capital budget of nearly $100 million -- separate from its operations budget -- will be consumed by a massive $31-million chunk designed to pay off much of the new $71.6-million east-end arena.”

Who needs roads and sewers in this City to be fixed up when we have an arena to pay for and perhaps a new canal system too? Imagine people wanting to move here and seeing the above photo that came out of the Star’s sister newspaper, the Vancouver Sun.

I'm going to take it easy on you today. There is a lot to read but it is mostly news articles that were reported about Windsor over the last couple of weeks during the holidays.You may have missed them. I will take an in-depth look at them in a second BLOG.

Take a look at these Toronto Star articles and read them for yourself. I am not being nasty. All I am doing is setting out exactly what our Mayor said. What it tells me is that he has absolutely no plan for this City and that all we will be doing for the next two years will move from crisis to crisis with no hope with him as our Leader.

That money for the glossy advertising booklet that was distributed across Canada extolling the virtues of Windsor was wasted. When someone does a search on the Internet about Windsor, they will not find references to the advertising booklet but rather references to the news articles. Who would want to come here after reading stories like these?

• “No light at the end of the tunnel for Windsor
  City staggers under weight of auto industry's collapse but some still cling to hope
  http://www.thestar.com/article/558056
  
  "It's pretty bleak."
  
  Painful words but ones that describe how this proud industrial city has been ravaged by the loss of thousands of auto-related jobs.
  
  People are walking away from their homes, foods banks are rushing to meet the ever-increasing demand and personal bankruptcies are on the rise…
  
  Many fear the situation is only going to get worse over the next year as the employment insurance benefits and buyout packages run their course. The unemployment rate is about 10 per cent, the highest in Ontario, but still nowhere near the 18.2 per cent high during the recession of the early 1980s…
  
  Decision-makers are seriously talking publicly about marketing Windsor, with its moderate climate and easy access to the U.S., as a retirement destination. An added attraction is property prices, which are among the lowest in the country, second only to New Brunswick…
  
  But even the normally upbeat Eddie Francis, mayor of Canada's most southerly city, seems a bit darkened by events. He fears the global downturn, combined with the struggling auto industry, could deliver a death blow to Windsor.
  
  This city of almost 200,000 has felt the satisfaction of boom and the sting of bust before. There were always better days ahead…
  
  For years, people warned Windsor to diversify and not rely so heavily on this cyclical industry, but that's easier said than done when plants are working at full capacity and workers, making $30-plus an hour, can't put in enough overtime.”


• “Windsor looks at ways to reinvent itself
  http://www.thestar.com/article/558055
  
  WINDSOR, Ont.–Saskatchewan needs workers and Windsor says don't look any further.
  
  A regular air shuttle between the booming prairie province and this auto town is just one of the many ideas being bounced around by Mayor Eddie Francis and others here to try to cope with a very iffy manufacturing future…
  
  "That will allow them to keep their families here and the kids can stay in school and the dollars stay here in the economy," Francis said, adding that, "We have been working with Saskatchewan and we're close to finalizing a program."
  
  Windsor also appears serious about marketing itself as a retirement location offering cheap housing, water recreation and a moderate climate.
  
  With a little seed money from the private sector, a group of business and community-minded folks are now working on a plan to convince Torontonians, among others, to sell their homes and transplant themselves and their bundles of cash to Canada's most southerly city, where a decent home sells for $150,000…
  
  The mayor is also talking about working with Essex County and the agricultural sector to make Windsor an international hub for distributing perishables throughout North America, similar to how Frankfurt, Germany became the hub for the European market.
  
  "We have one of the largest agricultural businesses, exporting $1.5 billion annually from Windsor-Essex to North America ... and there is no reason we can't build the facilities at our airport so it becomes the clearing point for all food products destined for the U.S.," Francis said.
  
  The University of Windsor is also proving to be a bright spot. It now has a satellite medical school and will soon have a new engineering school. It is host for the Network of Centres of Excellence for the Automobile of the 21st Century or AUTO21, funded by universities, industry and government.
  
  Francis says "the research and development capacity that we have in the city is one of the best kept secrets in the country...."

Here is some more for you to read, this time from our Star:

• “Alberta bound
  Laid-off workers head west for greener pastures
  
  These days, a fuzzy image on a computer monitor is the only way seven-month-old Madison Freeland-Main gets to see her dad, Bill…
  
  The Freeland-Main's dilemma -- continue living apart or uproot the entire family -- is facing a growing number of jobless Windsorites desperately seeking work in the healthier economies of Western Canada.
  
  Alberta isn't the only destination for job seekers. Other provinces, such as Saskatchewan and British Columbia, are attracting the growing ranks of Windsor's unemployed -- a trend that is depleting the local economy's pool of skilled workers and reversing several years of population growth…
  
  The troubling trend prompted Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis to propose a commuter service that would shuttle workers to and from Western Canada.
  
  After talks with politicians from Saskatchewan, Francis's office launched a survey to determine the number of residents already travelling to work out of province and who else might be interested, as well as their job skills. "The preliminary results are confirming what we expected," says Francis. "There are a number of people in the automotive industry and manufacturing that have skills that companies are looking for. Most have indicated that the shuttle was a good way for them to keep their family here. The interesting thing -- most recognized it was a way to get through the transition."
  
  Adelle Ferguson, a senior research and policy adviser entrusted with the task of getting the shuttle service off the ground, says the survey drew about 69 responses. "It's not a huge number," she admits. "But there was consistent interest in the possibility of the service. We're working with Saskatchewan officials on how we can make it happen. We're still at the very beginning."
  
  "We have all of our family here. There's nothing out west for us besides work," says Freeland-Main. "If the mayor gets his air shuttle service off the ground, I'd be the first in line to commute…"
  
  Francis describes his plan as a temporary measure designed to ease both the city and workers through an economic slump that isn't going to turn around anytime soon.
  
  "It's only one element of a broader perspective in terms of economic development here," he says. "Obviously, we need to continue to focus our efforts on creating jobs here, but we also need to be realistic in our assessment of the economic situation and challenges we are facing. The economic challenge we are facing clearly indicates that we are going through a transition. So, we either lose these people for good, as we know is happening. They're moving out west. They're relocating their entire families. Or, we provide this program and keep these people and their skill set."
  
  An air shuttle makes sense for residents who face steeper housing costs out west while trying to sell their homes here, says Francis.”

Take a look at this interesting Canadian Press story:

• “Many auto workers looking to leave increasingly uncertain sector once and for all
  
  TORONTO — After 30 years of working in the manufacturing and auto parts industries, John Knelsen has seen the situation go from bad to worse.
  
  Now that Knelsen has been laid off for a sixth time due to plant closures and slowdowns, the 48-year-old just feels lost.
  
  "What they're telling me is I have to go out and find where there are jobs, but where do I begin?" he said from his home in St. Catharines, Ont.
  
  "I've worked in a plant since 1978. I don't know any different…"
  
  At the southern tip of Ontario, Windsor is no stranger to auto industry malaise. As the so-called Automotive Capital of Canada, the city has a presence from Chrysler, Ford and GM (though that plant is slated for closure).
  
  In the region of 350,000 people, about 43,000 of them are employed by the auto industry.
  "Four or five years ago when manufacturing and automotive started to decline, we felt the impact immediately," Mayor Eddie Francis said.
  
  "We as a city generally tend to set the trend for the rest of the country. Excuse the adage, but we're well known to be the canary in a coal mine."
  
  If true, the example of Windsor holds some promise for other auto communities.
  
  The city has started to diversify its economy, with the building of a new convention centre, casino and arena. There is also an attempt to transition existing automotive infrastructure to meet changing market demands.
  
  "What we're trying to do now is ensure that the automotive footprint is maintained," Francis said.
  
  "Parts suppliers that once used to supply strictly 100 per cent the automotive industry ... those parts suppliers are now transitioned and are now supplying the aerospace industry."

That is enough for now. Did you become as disgusted as I did? It should get you in the mood about what we have to look forward to in 2009. In the next blog I will analyze what the stories say.

For those of you who have been loyal readers of this BLOG, a lot of what was written about should sound eerily familiar. Needless to say, the one common theme amongst all of the stories is a lack of leadership role at the top.

More about that next time.

Wanted To Buy: Dunbar 400 Building Report

A creative member of the public posted this actual ad in the Windsor Star on Saturday!

Since the City's Audit Committee is stonewalling the release of the Report, even though the Mayor and Senior Administrators apparently have seen parts of it, it has come down to this with a Municipal Government that claims to be open and transparent.

If one cannot get the Dunbar Report as a citizen, then in Windsor, it appears that this is what one must do!

SHAME!

Star Protects Eddie's Sensibilities

How kind and generous of the Windsor Star not to publish anything in the Saturday Star about DRIC filing its Environmental Assessment report even though the information was distributed early in the morning on Friday, January 2 when I got it.

It might have ruined Eddie's weekend!

In this way it appears, since the Mayor as well as most people in Windsor get their news information from the Star, we are spared a few more days of angst about what is going on with the border file. Mind you, CKLW did post something about this on their website on Friday. I assume that was done to give Lisa Williams extra time to prepare her hard-hitting questions for the Mayor on the CKLW interview show on Tuesday morning.

The Mayor must be livid. I wonder if he expected the filing or thought that DRIC was going to negotiate more with him. There is a rumour that another Greenlink proposal was put forward by the Mayor, Greenlink: the Next Generation, but that it too was rejected. If true, it would be fascinating to see what was proposed this time around.

Effectively, DRIC called Eddie's bluff! Given what Eddie said about the Premier prejudicing the DRIC process, he does not have a year of options but rather must commence his lawsuit immediately.

Given how much our Mayor would love to be a witness in a lawsuit and is eager to be cross-examined, I doubt that will happen. Lots of talk from the City but little action. The Mayor and Councillors can read the polls and know that there is no stomach in this City for a lawsuit that will delay thousands of jobs being created and also could result in the Senior Levels leaving town.

I have also posted the DRIC backgrounder that you can view at the following site:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/9692004/DRIC-Backgrounder

Will Eddie Help The Bridge Company Next

Fair is fair after all. It is not only the Truck Ferry that is having problems with the Federal Government. The Ambassador Bridge Company is having their troubles as well although it has not yet reached the litigation state yet.

Shall we expect our Mayor, on their behalf, to send off a blistering letter to Transport Canada about all of the difficulties being imposed on the Bridge Company? How about a letter to the Prime Minister stating that, unless something is done to help them out, it could mean the death of our border crossing? Given his good relationship with the PM, I would expect Eddie to get another personal phone call from him providing more reassurance. If the Bridge Company is really lucky, Eddie’s letter might get them a favourable result such that litigation will not be necessary. Wouldn’t that be nice!

Who knows, if he is successful in these matters as he was with respect to getting the Governments of Ontario and Canada to pay billions for the automobile industry, Eddie might have a new career as a mediator opening up to him.

I truly cannot believe what I saw on the City’s website. A letter from our Mayor to the Justice Department on behalf of a private party, the Truck Ferry, dealing with their litigation. As you see, there was a reference to Alan Davis. Apparently, he is Director and General Counsel, Justice Canada, REGULATORY LAW. Presumably, a letter was written to him as well.

Doesn’t the Owner of the Truck Ferry have his own lawyer? If so, why isn’t the Owner pressuring his lawyer to get on with the litigation? Why does he need the Mayor involved as well? Is it appropriate for the Mayor to write to the lawyer for the other side? Has the Mayor studied this problem thoroughly so that it is appropriate for him to make the kind of comments that he did? Can this be viewed as an attempt to influence this litigation inappropriately? I am shocked about this.

I expect that the Mayor will now write other letters on behalf of the Truck Ferry with respect to other litigation in which they are involved. I expect him also to write to the owner of the small parcel of land over which there is a dispute and demand that he settle his case with the Truck Ferry as well immediately. It is nice to know that the Mayor has so much time that he can deal with matters extraneous to the running of the City on behalf of a private party.

Back to the Bridge Company. The Mayor now has no choice but to write letters on their behalf as well. After all, one would not want him to be accused of favouring one proponent, a private company as well, over another proponent with respect to the Border crossing.

Perhaps if Eddie called Dan Stamper, Dan could tell him to whom letters should be written. If Dan was very pleasant to him as well, I am sure that Eddie might even be able to get the Windsor Star to do a story and an Editorial about the Bridge Company’s issues. After all, the Star helped out the Truck Ferry by doing that too.

In any event, I liked the response from Justice Canada effectively telling the Mayor to buzz off and to mind his own business.

Tales From Two Cities

An easy way to get you back into reading BLOGs after the holidays. A couple of newspaper articles that have application in Windsor.

• Rust Belt realities: Pittsburgh needs new leaders, new ideas and new citizens
  
  The current recession provides a new opportunity for Pittsburgh's elite to feel good about itself. With other boom economies from Phoenix to Miami on the skids -- and other old Rust Belt cities like Detroit, Cleveland and Buffalo even more down on their luck -- the slow-growth achievements of the Pittsburgh region may seem rather impressive.
  
  Yet at the same time, the downturn also poses longer-term challenges for which the local leadership is likely to have no answers.
  
  In large part, Pittsburgh's "success," such as it is, has been based on what may be called a "legacy economy," essentially funded by the residues of its rich entrepreneurial past. This includes the hospitals, universities and nonprofits whose endowments have underwritten the expansion of medical services and education, which have emerged as among the region's few growth sectors.
  
  The other great advantage Pittsburgh has -- as do potentially other shrinking Rust Belt burgs -- is lower housing prices. That's the good news. But the lack of a great surge in housing prices during the real estate "bubble" also testifies to the region's general lack of overall attractiveness and its languid job market.
  
  The current national economic meltdown now changes these realities, and in ways that may not allow Pittsburgh and other slow-growth burgs as much comfort as they might wish.
  
  For one thing, the "legacy" economy is almost certain to start shrinking as the portfolio investments of universities, hospitals and nonprofits begin to erode. After all, these institutions rode the boom elsewhere for a long time; they now will reap the consequences of that dependence.
  
  Perhaps even more important, the great housing advantage seems certain to weaken as a net positive. As prices in Florida, Arizona and even California begin to decline, Rust Belt residents who've been thinking of moving to warm weather, more dynamic economies and lively entrepreneurial environments will now have their chance.
  
  To thrive, Pittsburgh simply cannot rely on being somewhere that is a good place to go to school, get sick or die. It needs to offer restless, entrepreneurial people an opportunity to succeed and do something new.
  
  As local blogger Jim Russell notes, the real problem with his hometown is not that people leave, but that others do not come to replace them. People always leave places, but exciting locales -- Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Houston or San Francisco -- also attract large numbers of new people. The immigrants, many of them seeking the "main chance," are generally the people who shake things up and bring new energy to places.
  
  Who seeks their "main chance" in Pittsburgh? Certainly not foreign immigrants, who are staying away in droves. Metropolitan Pittsburgh has one of the lowest percentages of foreign-born residents in the nation. Even Detroit, with its sizable Arab population, has some sort of ethnic vibe.
  
  In the short run, some might argue, not having immigrants relieves the stress on schools and eases potential social tensions. Yet in the America that is emerging, these newcomers represent arguably the most dynamic new element and harbingers of the future. By 2000, one in five American children already were the progeny of immigrants, mostly Asian or Latino; by 2015 they will make up as much as one-third of American kids.
  
  Rather than compliment itself on not exhausting itself by running too fast, the Pittsburgh region should think about producing enough of a pulse to attract immigrants and aggressive young people. A place that reassures itself on the basis of its stable, homogeneous and rapidly aging population seems doomed to achieve little better than self-satisfied stagnation.
  
  City leaders may be proud to see Pittsburgh hailed in the media -- most recently by USA Today and the Cleveland Plain Dealer -- as a poster child for urban "renaissance," yet these glowing accounts are clearly not inspiring many people to settle there.
  
  Indeed, in a nation with the most vigorous demographics in the advanced industrial world, the City of Pittsburgh continues to suffer one of the most precipitous declines in population. Like the former East Germany, the town needs more coffins than cribs. Even the suburbs of Pittsburgh have been losing population.
  
  More worrisome, there seems no strategy -- or even an inclination of needing one -- to change this reality. Rather than stimulate the grassroots economy, the region for decades has sought to revive itself by spending billions on new stadia, arenas, convention centers and cultural facilities, sometimes in the process demolishing vibrant working-class neighborhoods or local business districts. Meanwhile, the roads and bridges of the city -- which continues to battle bankruptcy -- are in a constant state of disrepair.
  
  Every time I read about or visit Pittsburgh, the powers that be have a new project to prove to themselves that the city actually has a life. Most recently, it's a lame-brained scheme to create a 1.2-mile, $435 million (at least) transit tunnel under the Allegheny River to connect Downtown's heavily subsidized office towers to the North Shore's even more heavily taxpayer-funded pro sports stadiums and a future casino.
  
  Yet, in reality, Pittsburgh's "Tunnel to Nowhere" is simply part of the same old brain-dead development strategy that may impress visiting journalists or conventioneers but creates little in the way of good new jobs or long-term opportunities.
  
  You have to think about what the energetic people who come to a community really want -- things like economic opportunities, single-family houses and good schools for their kids. Who but speculators and city officials cares about luring the latest ESPN Zone or Planet Hollywood? These kinds of venues are simply commodities now, with no sense of place and available in any city of decent size willing to subsidize them.
  
  So what should the Pittsburgh region do differently?
  
  The first thing would be to consider using its scarce public funds to revive the old urban neighborhoods and leafy suburbs that constitute Pittsburgh's greatest competitive advantage. These are places that may attract students now, but to matter in the long term, some of these young people must stay after they graduate. This will be particularly critical as the current "echo boom" begins to fade and the now record-high number of students begins to drop.
  
  Second, the region should target growing small businesses. The era when Pittsburgh was a big-business town is all but over. In 1960, 22 Fortune 500 companies were headquartered there. Now it's roughly a third that number. High taxes, tiresome regulatory regimes and the enormous burden created by outsized city employee pensions have hit the small entrepreneur hardest. Addressing these issues is more important to them than new arts venues or jazz clubs.
  
  Finally, the city needs a shtick to call its own. It might look at its historic strengths as an innovative engineering city. Pittsburgh could look also to its hinterland, a region rich in beauty and resources, as part of its competitive advantage.
  
  All of these things could provide linchpins for a true renaissance -- one driven not by public relations and shiny new subsidized edifices, but by the energy of its people.
  
  That's what has always made for great cities -- and what will do so well after this current recession has passed into memory. Pittsburgh has the potential to catch the inevitable next wave that will emerge after the crisis, but only if it can get past its long-standing celebration of mediocrity."

Replace Toronto with Windsor

• City of lost opportunity
  Mediocre leadership, lack of vision, high costs have squandered Toronto's once-glittering prospects
  
  Twenty years ago Toronto was on the cusp of becoming a world class city. Since then it has squandered that potential. Today it's just another struggling North American city bracing for the onslaught of the worst recession in living memory.
  
  This lost chance at greatness didn't just slip away on its own. It is the result of accumulated underperformance on many fronts.
  
  First there is the mediocre political leadership that Torontonians have imposed on themselves since the mid-1980s. The last Metro chairman, Alan Tonks, was well-intentioned. But other than leading Metro toward amalgamation, he was ineffective in dealing with many of the core issues of his decade in power. He was followed by two terms of Mel Lastman (what were we thinking?) – eight years of confrontation, confusion and embarrassment.
  
  David Miller is probably the most competent mayor to lead Toronto in some time. He is burdened by the lack of vision, action and creativity of his predecessors, but his own track record is not much better. As a result, he is now desperately trying to rearrange the chairs on the deck of the Good Ship Toronto as it heads into an economic storm of major proportions.
  
  Toronto has a long history of over-promising and under-delivering. Grand announcements about megaprojects have usually ended in their implementation being stalled or shelved. The revitalization of the waterfront is a prime example. It has been promised in several forms – none of which has ever been delivered. Compare this with Chicago's experience. Its mayor took a political risk by pushing aside the city's waterfront airport and went on to create one of the most attractive waterfronts on the continent.
  
  How many major transit schemes have been announced and then abandoned over the last 20 years? Instead of a steady extension of the city's rapid transit network, Torontonians have settled for a couple of new subway stops, the Sheppard Line to nowhere and a few more streetcar lines. Real "world class" cities like Milan, Hong Kong, Tokyo and New York have found creative ways to make massive investments in expanding their subway systems that are lowering their congestion, pollution and energy consumption.
  
  This city has endured a long series of risk-averse and, therefore, results-averse councils. While other cities around the world have been experimenting with new ways to finance infrastructure, Miller and this council keep relying on the whims of other levels of government.
  
  In Paris, developers buried some of the roads along the Seine in return for air rights and density bonuses. (Could this work for portions of the Gardiner Expressway?) London's 118-kilometre east-west Crossrail Line is expected to bring $40 billion to the U.K.'s economy. It is being developed with private funds. Other great cities are already charging car owners who drive downtown. They invest that money in maintaining and expanding their transit systems. Miller's "Transit City Plan" is yet another watered-down version of what is really needed. Once again, this compromise depends for implementation on the largesse of other governments.
  
  Toronto has failed to obtain enough fiscal freedom from the province. Neither Tonks nor Lastman understood how to politically engage city ratepayers (who can be influential provincial and federal voters) in support of Toronto when it needed more attention and money from Queen's Park or Ottawa. They either went cap in hand or threatened financial catastrophe.
  
  Miller has been able to attract a portion of the federal gas tax, GST relief and to negotiate some limited additional taxing powers from the province. But this falls far short of the fiscal needs of Canada's largest city – particularly when it generates much more money every year in taxes for Ontario and Ottawa than it receives from them in services or funding.
  
  There is also the expensive and environmentally wasteful urban form that Metro and Toronto allowed to develop for decades. Much of the city is still low-density suburban sprawl. It is car dependant, and carries with it permanent high infrastructure, energy and servicing costs. This council's encouragement of high-density development where services already exists is a step in the right direction. But the planning mistakes of the past have put serious limitations on the city's future quality of life.
  
  Toronto was a big loser in the late '90s downloading fight with the province. When skilful city leadership was needed, it was largely missing. Mike Harris rammed a wide range of provincial programs down the city's throat without the money to fund them. The city failed to redirect its ratepayer outrage back at Harris. It relied instead on a failed battle of words. Toronto continues to stagger under this burden with little relief in sight from the province. After two years of study, Premier Dalton McGuinty's recently announced phased-in approach to uploading is a cruel joke.
  
  Like General Motors, Miller has allowed the city's cost structure to balloon out of control. The total compensation of many city workers (wages and fringe benefits) exceeds that of their counterparts in the private sector. Collective agreements have been negotiated that limit the use of best productivity practices. They discourage outsourcing where it's a cost-effective alternative. Toronto's unit costs are so high now that it is increasingly difficult to deliver services to ratepayers that are perceived as good value for their tax dollar.
  
  Miller's long-term waste management initiative – burying its garbage in a hole in the ground south of London instead of one in Michigan – is not the act of an environmentally responsible 21st-century city. He could have provided much-needed environmental leadership to other municipalities by supporting the processing of the city's garbage in its own backyard, using proven energy-from-waste technology.
  
  Some issues can only be tackled at the regional or GTA level. Transportation is one of them. The province's establishment of Metrolinx was needed. But Metrolinx will simply add another layer of bureaucracy without aggressive funding from the province. The promise of $50 billion over 25 years to implement its regional transportation plan is just another pipe dream unless Metrolinx also learns, as others have, how to attract significant private sector investment.
  
  There is no silver bullet to ease Toronto through the tough times that lie ahead. The last two decades have not prepared it for what is coming. One can only hope that the federal and Ontario governments understand the importance of investing heavily in Canada's biggest city, as part of their forthcoming economic recovery programs. But that will only constitute a short-term means of saving Toronto from itself.