Where's Dionne Warwick When You Really Need Her

I wish that one of the religious leaders who offers a prayer at the beginning of the Council meetings would also offer up a prayer for taxpayers rather than just for the Mayor and Council. We need help as well.

You see, taxpayers are going to have to open up their wallets again for the next anti-DRIC advertising bonanza and to be told that we have a significant risk of dying. So much for the big story on the Senior’s initiative in the Star today:

• “Council unanimously passed a series of motions that included launching a public information campaign regarding the DRIC health information, a demand for meetings with local MPPs Sandra Pupatello, Dwight Duncan and Premier Dalton McGuinty as well as an invitation to SENES -- the air quality consultant hired by DRIC -- to appear at council.”

Who the heck in the seniors community would want to move to this region after these scare stories? The better question to ask is who the heck wants to stay here!

What a bunch of petulant children. Making “demands” on the most senior politicians in the Province who control everything that this City does. How ridiculous. Compare that with the “invitation” offered to a DRIC consultant.

If you believe that the Province will knuckle under to this City, then you have a serious problem of being delusional. Before the Council meeting was started, DRIC sent out a Press Release that included the following:

• “DRIC WANTS YOU TO KNOW THE FACTS
  
  WINDSOR – The Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) study team wants the public in Windsor and Essex County to know the facts about the technical reports that were submitted as part of the Environmental Assessment to the Minister of the Environment on December 31, in particular the reports on air quality and human health, as many questions have recently arisen on these topics…
  
  The air quality assessment completed for the DRIC study found that all options for the access road would have a similar impact on air quality and that, “the existing air quality is greatly influenced by local, regional, and long range (cross border) contaminants generated in upwind urban and industrial areas.” (DRIC Environmental Assessment Report, page 10-2) .In fact, a transboundary pollution study by the MOE indicates air quality episodes in Windsor are driven by transboundary pollution rather than by local sources. Moreover, predicted PM2.5 levels associated with The Windsor-Essex Parkway are not expected to
  exceed criteria levels in residential areas. Other sources of particulate include industry, agriculture, and construction sites. The air quality assessment also found that building The Windsor-Essex Parkway will improve overall air quality in comparison to building nothing at all. The greatest air quality benefit of The Windsor-Essex Parkway will be from the reduction in truck idling along the traffic corridor.
  
  A Human Health Risk Assessment was also undertaken using results from the air quality studies to determine the potential health effects for people living in the immediate area of the Recommended Plan, including The Windsor-Essex Parkway. The results of this analysis concluded:
  • The Recommended Plan does not increase the risk of cancer for local residents exposed to vehicular emissions.
  • The Recommended Plan does not result in an increased health risk in comparison to either the existing conditions or the future conditions that could be expected if the access road is not built. In fact the reduction of truck idling along the traffic corridor results in health benefits.”

That shows to me that DRIC does not intend to sit idly by but it also says to me that they intend to ignore City Council. Why not, they are irrelevant. Except to viewers of Cogeco and readers of the Star, the rest of the Province does not have a clue what is going on here nor do they care.

Just in case, dear reader, you do not trust what was said by DRIC, in 2004 that man of integrity, Gord and Eddie's bestest new buddy, Dr. Diamond of the MoE, said in relation to the Windsor crossing, which seems to me to support DRIC:

• “During normal traffic movement (no delays), the average increase in particulate matter adjacent to the road was minimal.”

I have to admit that I don’t understand all the numbers going around but I also have to admit that I don’t understand how pollution will increase so dramatically when traffic numbers will obviously be significantly less than what DRIC projected for 2035. Moreover, with the changes in diesel fuel and on diesel engines, the amount of the pollutants should shrink dramatically. Why no one is talking about this, I just do not understand.

Tell me the truth. You did not watch the Estrin presentation at Council several weeks ago and you did not sit through about three hours of the presentation last night did you, dear reader. I will admit that I did not either. We both know that this is nothing more than a game. We are not expected to have listened to all of that but rather just to read the summary prepared by the Star.

Today, we are supposed to be very worried and so supportive of the Mayor because:

• “Particulate pollution will nearly triple by 2035, causing a 2.5 per cent increase in the death rate in some areas close to a new border highway proposed by the provincial government, the city's environment consultants told council Monday.”

Quite a paragraph to start off your day and that of rich Seniors in Toronto.

Let us assume however that the Mayor may be correct in what he is saying. Where does that get us?

Obviously, the campaign is directed primarily at the Premier politically and at Dwight and Sandra secondarily.

Do you honestly believe that the Premier will back off based on what he said several weeks ago in Windsor that we need to move forward? Do you really think that he is going to be made the fool by the Mayor of a small town? Do you really believe that in a time of economic distress with every area of the Province demanding money that the City of Windsor will be given Greenlink?

The attack on the Federal Government has not come yet and Eddie is being so nice to the Prime Minister. The reason for that is that the Feds are the ones who going to put up at least half of the money and perhaps even more for the road to the border if the Province can convince them to do so. No point in attacking the people with the real money. At least not so far.

I hardly believe that the Conservatives are ever going to put in the kind of money required for Greenlink in an NDP area.

Everyone knows that Eddie will not do anything. He will not sue. He does not have the nerve. If he does sue, it is "Wink wink, I do not mean it." He is a WEAKLING after all. All talk, no action as was seen again last night.

He knows what would happen to him politically if the Senior Levels pull out and take the 20,000 jobs with them. His threats are nothing more than threats. He is bluffing. Did you see anything in the Resolution reported in the Star that talked about a lawsuit? In fact, didn’t the City’s lawyer say last night that judicial review was not the only alternative but that representations could be made to the Minister of the Environment.

Councillor Marra was correct again. Sorry Gord.

No, dear reader, the real risk to the Senior Levels is the Bridge Company and Eddie knows it. What they have to be concerned about is NOT Eddie but that Eddie and Estrin are giving them so much material to attack their Environmental Assessment that the Bridge Company actually will start a lawsuit over it. That is what Eddie is counting on. He expects the Bridge Company to save his bacon.

What I find very interesting however is that Eddie is locking himself into position where he must sue. He has no choice. The Bridge Company will play to their agenda not to his. With all of these attacks on DRIC and the pleas to save our children and to prevent people from dying what alternative does our Mayor have if no one listens to him? He must sue. Poor Eddie.

If Eddie sues, then the lawsuit and appeals will take years since this is such a complicated matter and so much technical evidence will have to be introduced. That does not help the region and create jobs.

Let’s assume however that the City wins. What is the result… the DRIC process must start all over again, or at the least, they must do an in depth analysis of Greenlink. How many years will that all take. That does not help the region and create jobs.

To be direct, with the fall in traffic, I could see the approach that a “do-nothing” solution might be satisfactory. It saves the Senior Levels billions. That hardly helps the region and creates jobs.

Alternatively, I could also see a situation take place here as took place in Sarnia where the Province refuses to do an environmental assessment on their new road to the border and we could get an at grade or perhaps a below grade non-Schwunnelled road to the border. We lose again.

In other words, by litigating, Eddie will give us the worst of all possible solutions. We are better off now even if there are some imperfections.

Never fear however, dear reader, there is a strategy behind all this. It is no coincidence that the DRIC matter and the Bridge Company matter were both heard at the same time by Council. You see they are both tied in together.

The strategy that is taking place is the Hamilton strategy against the Federal Government developed by Estrin except there is no lawsuit here as there is there that has been ongoing for years. The intention of the Mayor is to be an irritant and to annoy everyone. The game is to threaten the lawsuit not the lawsuit itself because that will cause a delay and that costs money.

How many years would it take the Bridge Company to appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board or to the Divisional Court for judicial review? I already discussed this in relation to the DRIC road. Moreover, since the DRIC road and the new P3 bridge are part of the same EA, the new bridge is in jeopardy.

Both the Bridge Companay and the Senior Levels have cause for financial concern due tp Eddie even if he loses in the end. And he has little personal risk he thinks because it is taxpayer money that funds all of this, not his personal cash.

Some people are going to have to make some decisions pretty soon. Is it worthwhile giving in to the Mayor’s demands whatever they are, and we do not know because we have never been told by this secretive City? After all, what’s another few hundred million dollars in a $5 Billion plus DRIC project. How much will the Bridge Company be willing to suffer at the hands of the City even though the City does not have much of a legal position?

So relax. Your only concern now is to shovel the snow and to keep warm in the subzero temperatures over the next few days. All of this waste of taxpayer money is designed to pressure the Bridge Company and the Senior Levels. And do not worry too much, since the Detroit Grand Prix has been cancelled, we can use that money for all of this extravaganza.

This is a bunch of amateurs, the Mayor and Council, negotiating a big deal. You know how successful they have been in the past in hammering out major deals.

They are way out of their league. Trouble is, they are so arrogant, they have not yet understood that if they have guessed incorrectly, then Windsor is really doomed. What a legacy to leave.

Darn, I think I missed Dionne Warwick. Wasn't she supposed to be at the Casino entertaining. Had I met her, I would have asked her to

"say a little prayer for me."

And for you too, dear reader!

The End Of Our New Retirement Community Initiative

Honestly, I feel sorry for the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce, Greater Windsor Home Builders' Association and Windsor Essex County Real Estate Board. All of their efforts down the drain, in the toilet! They literally have been killed off before they even got started.

Their idea was an interesting one. They started up the concept called the Windsor-Essex Active Retirement Community Initiative

• “a not-for-profit cooperative marketing partnership. Our mission is to attract investment, create new jobs and revitalize the real estate market throughout Windsor-Essex by building on the region's growing development of active retirement luxury properties and services, and by promoting the unique location, diverse lifestyle and quality amenities of its nine communities.”

You remember we are going to attract all those rich Torontonians and others who had lots of money who would come down to this region to retire. It made good sense. As an example, selling a home in Toronto, even with the decline in the real estate market, meant that a seniors couple could buy an equivalent home here at a much lower price, or perhaps even a condo on the new Canal, and have more than a few dollars in their pocket left over to live very well.

Forget about the fact that we do not have enough doctors for the time being. I am sure that all of our problems in that regard will be solved by our new Medical school. Okay, so I am dreaming.

Picture this… a husband and wife decide that they want to retire shortly and so go on the Internet to do a survey about where they might want to relocate. They think of Windsor because they had seen the wonderful booklet produced and distributed through the Windsor Star.

They know that the weather is good here because we have an extra long spring and fall in this part of the Province. They know as well that we are right across the River from a major metropolitan city in the United States. Everyone knows that the cost of living down here is pretty good as well. We have the advantages of Canada and the advantages of the United States, the best of both worlds.

They go to the http://www.retirehere.ca/ website which is very well done and follow the links so they get a better appreciation of this region. Imagine how excited they are. Really, what other location could be better.

Just before they decide to drive down here to investigate first-hand and perhaps even put a downpayment on a new residence, they do one last search on Google to see what they can find. Here are some of the things they may see:

• “It's going to be rough. We are in deep s**t. It will catch up to us and have a significant impact," said Francis...
  
  Financial markets are crumbling. And guess who's left on Main Street to deal with all these issues? The taxpayer," said Francis...”
  
  
• “The reality is that without immediate action by the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario, this country and this province will lose a city,” Francis said in letters to the prime minister and premier…
  
  Francis said “the combined loss, and impact on the community, will be staggering.
  
  “At this stage, a refusal by the federal and provincial government to act is nothing less than a decision to allow the death of a community.”

Can you imagine the sweat that is now coming out on the brows of these two people? They are looking at each other saying

• “What were we thinking?”

What they are being told by our Mayor is to expect higher taxes in a community that may be dead economically even if the automobile industry recovers. I would expect that they would start to wonder whether this would be a good area to come and buy a new house and to live comfortably as they grow older notwithstanding the pluses.

Then the pièce de résistance, the ultimate statement by our Mayor which they might find on the video on the Windsor Star website:

• “Again, I think that has been the fundamental issue. It is not an issue of want, it is not an issue of need. It is an issue of fairness and quality. Our residents, their lives and the quality of life they lead should be of equal value for all residents across Ontario and across this country. This very report, this Human Health Assessment report, clearly identifies that Health Canada has already done a study that indicated that Windsor has higher rates when it comes to cancer, when it comes to cardio-vascular issues, when it comes to health affects as a result of air pollution. This report clearly identifies that in 2035 that we are going to continue to suffer high rates as it relates to respiratory issues, as it relates to exposure to particulate matter, as it relates to chronic lung issues, as it relates to cancer. We are not asking for something we want, for something we need. We are asking for the insurance that the residents of Windsor are valued the same way that the residents of Ontario and Canada.”

He looks at her. She looks at him. High taxes, a dead City, cancer, cardiovascular issues, air pollution, respiratory issues, exposure to particulate matter, chronic lung issues. The Mouse pointer goes to the “X” in the top right corner of the Retirehere website, there is a click and that is the end of the Windsor as a possibility.

Do we have big issues in Windsor? Of course we do as do other areas across the country.

Is there the need to make a point with the Senior Levels? Of course there is in order for us to get our fair share.

Do we need hyperbole or exaggeration which makes a good headline or a sound bite for a short-term political advantage but which will turn around and hurt us when we try to move forward? Of course we do not.

We do not need a Mayor who slams naysayers and yet is the biggest naysayer of all for this Region. Our Mayor needs to start thinking before he starts talking any more.

Fortunately for us, if our Mayor keeps his promise, he will only be a two-term Mayor. Unfortunately for us, his words on the Internet may be around and continue to haunt us for a very long time.

BLOGEXCLUSIVE: Was There Ever Any Money To Do The Tunnel Deal

Did the City of Windsor ever have $75M to do the Tunnel deal with Detroit in the past? If not, has Infrastructure Ontario now put up that amount so that all that must happen is that the Mayor of Detroit calls our Mayor to start up the deal-making again? If not, why has almost $2M been spent in legal and other fees by taxpayers? If not, what is the purpose for all of this? More importantly, who knew what and when!

Keep on reading. You will see documents you have never seen before that will shock you and will lead to questions for which you, dear reader, ought to be demanding immediate answers from our City leaders. No excuses. Truthful answers only. Right away.

Councillors Halberstadt and Marra may be prepared to wait for a year or so for answers from our Mayor/Chair of the Tunnel Commission but we ought not to do so. It is time that they got some guts and started demanding answers to their questions on the Tunnel deal!

They and their colleagues cannot be so weak any more. Windsor cannot afford it. Halberstadt and Marra must ask their questions again publicly at Council on Monday and demand that Eddie provide the answers on the spot. They must not let him off the hook.

Heaven forbid, it looks like the Tunnel deal may be started up again. Oh my aching wallet, more money to be spent unless this thing can be stopped right away.

I note in the Detroit media that:

• “Other issues ahead for the [Detroit] council include:
  
  • The city's deficit, which could be as high as $300 million. Cockrel's staff said recently that a deficit elimination plan could be submitted to the City Council within the next two weeks. Layoffs and proposed sales of multiple city assets, such as the Detroit/Windsor Tunnel, are expected to be core components."



• “City Councilwoman Barbara-Rose Collins said fixing the mess will require measures she once opposed, such as selling Cobo Center to a regional authority and the city's half of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.”

In addition, here is some frightening news that scares the heck out of me when thinking about the transaction. Can you imagine now if the deal had been signed. Guess whose head would be on the block and who would be blamed:

• “Detroit, in financial crisis, can look to San Diego
  
  Extracting Detroit from a junk bond credit rating will require difficult, painful steps to finally balance the city's budget and untangle its financial records, government and financial officials said Wednesday…
  
  Standard & Poor's downgraded Detroit's rating Tuesday...
  
  The downgrade carries severe consequences for the city. Besides higher interest rates on the city's debt, depriving the budget of money to fund services to residents, it also could force the city to pay $400 million to investors with certain deals with the city.
  
  Those deals enabled the city to get a lower interest rate on certain debt -- with the catch that if the city fell into junk bond status, it would have to repay whatever savings it derived from the lower rate, an amount estimated at $400 million.
  
  Daniel Cherrin, spokesman for Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr., said the city is consulting with its financial advisers and attorneys about the downgrade and is putting together a plan to avoid having to pay the sum, which experts say could force the city into bankruptcy.”

Some very tough questions need to be asked on both sides of the river and the questions that need to be answered forthwith.

The assumption on the Detroit side seems to be that Windsor is still in a position to do a deal with them. After reading this BLOG, someone on the Detroit Council or their Mayor needs to ask Eddie Francis exactly how much money Windsor has been offered by Infrastructure Ontario to complete this transaction with Detroit. I would be very surprised if the amount is anywhere near what Detroit thinks it is.

From Windsor’s perspective, someone on Council needs to ask the Mayor why the City should enter into a transaction with Detroit. It is one of only five cities in the United States who “have junk bond credit ratings from Standard & Poor's” and whose deficit is at least $300 million, a 50% increase from the amount that the former Mayor was dealing with. Why do we want to do a loan transaction with a city that is verging on bankruptcy and whose rating has just been downgraded?

Infrastructure Ontario needs to be asked by politicians at Queen’s Park why they would even consider such a transaction when Ontario has its own infrastructure problems. Someone needs to ask the question whether money is still available knowing that is going to a City in the United States in financial crisis and that Windsor is facing severe economic problems that could also result in a default in the transaction.

Taxpayers need to demand that Windsor Councillors stop this madness right away and if not why not! We ought not be paying any more money in legal and other fees. Almost $2 million is enough already.

What did we get for that money and was it worth it? You may get pretty angry by the time you reach the end of this BLOG so make sure that you do not have any hot liquids near you that may spill over. I do not want it to be responsible for you getting burned.

If one goes by success, then this was another failure by the Mayor. It shows that he is incapable of executing a transaction. Unfortunately, there is nothing to show for the $1.7M since no deal was completed with Detroit.

However, there seems to be a silver lining to justify this spending although it is hard for me to understand the comment of Council Valentinis:

• "But unfortunately when you are trying to protect your interests it simply becomes necessary."

Eddie repeated the comment by saying:

• "The costs incurred are necessary in order to protect the asset."

On Face-to Face, Eddie said:

• "For us, the driving, the driver force, the driving force behind the discussions was that we cannot afford to have this entity, the American half fall into private hands because of the…consequences.

Can somebody please explain to me how spending all that money achieved the result of protecting the asset? The deal had nothing to do with Windsor's asset----it all had to do with Detroit's asset. Nothing has changed after spending $1.7M except taxpayer money has been wasted. Even after the deal was done, Detroit could still sell the asset. Windsor was NOT buying it.

Presumably, the asset is still available to a third party if someone wanted to get control of Detroit’s half of the Tunnel. In that respect, Valentinis and Francis still do not understand that they have failed to protect at all. In fact, I would not be surprised to see it being offered by Detroit as collateral for Detroit creditors with credit swap agreements given their extra $400M exposure because their credit rating dropped.

Oh I do remember the comment about someone cementing up the Tunnel. That took a very fertile imagination to think that someone would spend millions and then destroy the asset. At least now our Mayor has condemned P3 investors so we know that we will never get a P3 DRIC bridge in Windsor because the Mayor will use all of his resources to adamantly oppose it:

• "He reiterated his concern that investors such as Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun or private infrastructure funds could make a bid to take control of the Detroit side of the tunnel."

Poor Eddie, he just cannot get the Bridge Company Owner out of his mind! He is so fixated on him.

I do have a bit of trouble understanding the mathematics of the legal fees. I know it is a minor detail but it is those minor details that interest me. The Star story claimed:

• "Legal fees have risen about $375,000 since March, when the city said it had been billed $1.3 million by lawyer Cliff Sutts, according to a report prepared by Mark Galvin, executive director for the tunnel commission."

However, in a previous Star story, the following was written:

• "Legal fees hit $1.2M in city's tunnel talks
  Windsor Star 04-05-2008
  
  The city has spent $1.2 million in legal fees to date as it attempts to negotiate a deal with Detroit over control of the U.S. side of the Windsor-Detroit tunnel."

So which is it? Is it $1.3 million in March or $1.2 million in April? Surely if they cannot do the mathematics on this, one has to question the mathematics of their business case, especially since they seemingly forgot that, if the DRIC bridge is built, the comment was made that about 25% of the Tunnel traffic would be lost.

Do you remember what Cliff Sutts said:

• "Residents and council in Windsor will soon be privy to more details of the multimillion-dollar transaction, Sutts said."

How many months ago was that? Apparently that "soon" may take much longer than I thought. As you will see below, I asked under a Freedom Of Information Application for certain documents to be disclosed by Infrastructure Ontario. Some "third party" opposed the release. Now I have to appeal and that will take months for a decision.

You see I had some questions:

• How much was the City going to receive from Infrastructure Ontario as a loan, $75M or less and if less, how much less


• If the amount was less than $75 million, why would Eddie want to go on with the transaction when that amount might not solve Detroit’s budget woes


• Did Eddie tell anyone about the amounts he was going to be loaned and if so whom


• When was the Infrastructure Ontario transaction put on hold and who was told that and when


• What does the new Mayor of Detroit know about the amount of the loan that Windsor was to receive?

The most simple transactions in Windsor seem to be complicated all out of proportion as they move along. I am not sure of the reason for it but given the experience of contract negotiations in Windsor on a major transactions, every time one happens it makes me nervous.

Why am I asking these questions?

The Blogmeister has found through the FOIA directed to Infrastructure Ontario some startling new documents that demand an answer from our Mayor. I was advised recently that Infrastructure Ontario has refused to provide certain other documentation and a key piece of information because a "third party" has refused to allow the information to be released to me.

Since the only parties who could be involved in the document request were the City of Windsor, Windsor's new Tunnel Corporation and Infrastructure Ontario, I am certain that you can make an assumption about who the third parties were who refused permission to release the information.

To me, it is shocking since the "old" Transaction is over and done with as the Detroit Mayor has stated yet the "third party" still wants to keep the materials hidden. I cannot think of a reason why it should continue to do so. The "third party" believes I am told that to give out this information would weaken its position.

However, as was said in the Star story:

• "Francis said he does not anticipate additional legal fees related to the tunnel talks in the near future.
  
  Valentinis hoped the legal fees were nearing the "tail end."

It is important first that you take a look at the key documents. I will comment on each.

This first document is interesting because it suggests early on that Infrastructure Ontario might have a problem with the transaction and so sought the support of the Ministry of Transportation, the DRIC Road people.

One can wonder whether there has been some wheeling and dealing with respect to the DRIC/Greenlink issue that may result in a payment perhaps from the Province so that the Tunnel deal can be done. If Eddie gives up on Greenlink after being made to appear as our Saviour as an example, would he get money from the Province for the Tunnel deal? Who knows? Mind you, $75 million is mere chicken feed in a $5 billion plus DRIC transaction.

Note that part of the document has been "redacted." Must be something really serious there. The key point to notice is that Infrastructure Ontario would not make a loan for the purposes of making a loan. In other words, neither the City nor the New Tunnel Corporation could borrow money and then immediately loan it to the City of Detroit for its half of the Tunnel.

That may explain why the Loan Application was made by the Tunnel Corporation to acquire the Canadian half of the Tunnel from the City and it was then going to pay off part of its promissory note to the City for $75M. Presumably then, the City was going to turn around and loan the money to Detroit.

One may question whether this transaction was possible at all since it was doing indirectly what could not be done directly. Moreover, there is a question in my mind whether the City of Windsor, if that is how the transaction was going to be structured, has the municipal power to loan money to a foreign city. I am not certain if the Regulations passed previously by the Province contemplated this type of a transaction. It may therefore be one that the City cannot entertain.

Now we are getting to the nitty-gritty. Note the important piece of information that was redacted again.

HOW MUCH WAS THE AMOUNT OF THE LOAN OR THE RANGE THAT WAS BEING OFFERED BY INFRASTRUCTURE ONTARIO?

Presumably, that amount was not $75 million or the letter would have been drafted to say that. It sets out how much money was being asked for. There would be no reason to set out a range of amounts if the full amount was to be loaned. If $75 million had been granted, then there would be no reason for "the third party" not to allow that amount to be disclosed. After all, there would be nothing to hide.

Shall we assume therefore that the amount was less and perhaps significantly less than what was asked for? If you will remember, I did a BLOG on this and speculated that the range might be around $15-20 million or so. Was I right or wrong? Unfortunately until the Privacy Commission appeal takes place, probably four to six months from now, we will not know assuming that I am successful. Otherwise we will never know until Cliff Sutts tells us.

The final document is interesting because it now appears that MTO is the party that may have an interest in the Tunnel deal. It also appears that the loan application to Infrastructure Ontario was put on hold pending further direction from the Tunnel Corporation.

In passing, what is very strange to me is that there is no documentation in writing between the City and Infrastructure Ontario putting this transaction officially on hold in July. This is the most bizarre way for government entities to act on a $75 million transaction. There may be a reason for this but frankly I don't understand it. Perhaps the Auditor General better see how Infrastructure Ontario carries on business.

From these documents, we can see that there seemed to be a question whether Infrastructure Ontario could do the transaction at all, and that might be why MTO was involved. The assumption that I am making is that the amount of the loan that Infrastructure Ontario was prepared to make was less than the $75 million asked for. My assumption again is that the amount would be significantly less or why else would the transaction be put on hold at this time.

The fundamental question that I have is why this transaction went forward and negotiations continued if the amount was less than the $75M. Why was time and money being wasted? Was the deal on or off?

If the deal was on hold in May, why was Windsor Council only "stepping back" in July? If it was "on hold," why were there negotiations and over what? When did negotiations actually cease. We do know that there were actions on the transaction until around the end of July at least.

I do not understand why negotiations would continue if the $75 million was not going to happen? Detroit needed that amount of money. Why were legal costs incurred from May to July?

As I said, it appears from the Infrastructure Ontario records that this deal was put on hold at the end of May. If that is the case, then why did it take so long for Windsor Council to know that? It appears that it was not until mid-July that Council made the decision to put the transaction on hold. And yet, there were still negotiations but in secret as my previous BLOGs set out.

Was Council ever told that Infrastructure Ontario was only prepared to extend a loan of less than $75 million and was Council told the exact amount? Note that Mr. Sutts said he had authority to continue speaking with Detroit officials. Were Windsor Councillors told for example that Detroit would take less? Otherwise, why would they want legal fees to keep on being incurred if the deal could not go forward?

Here is what I wonder now. Does the City of Detroit know that Infrastructure Ontario may have offered less? It would seem to me that if their deficit is about $300 million and that they think that they are going to get a significant amount of that from the City of Windsor transaction, then they are in for a big surprise.

Wouldn’t you expect that Eddie would tell the new Administration in Detroit what was going on? After all,

• "Francis also said he has a good relationship with U.S. attorney Saul Green, who on Wednesday was named Detroit deputy mayor.
  
  Francis said they previously worked at different offices of the same law firm."

We need answers and we need answers now. There is no reason to keep secret the amount of the Infrastructure Ontario loan any longer. If it is less than $75 million, Detroit will hear about it sooner rather than later once negotiations start again if they ever start.

Do the Councils of both cities know what the amount of the Infrastructure Ontario range is? If so, why is that information being kept from citizens on both sides of the river?

Who knew what and when? This is a $75 million transaction that makes no sense on the face of it especially given the huge amount of the legal bill. This secrecy is shameful and a disgrace. What took place between March or April and today that justifies an increase in legal fees of anywhere from $375,000-$500,000.

In a different context in this strange file, Cliff Sutts stated:

• "We feel it's necessary to put the record straight...
  
  We feel we need to reveal the facts...
  
  The facts are the facts -- and they can't change them."

I agree. I trust on Monday our Council will ensure that Windsorites get the facts!

Capitol Punishment

What the heck does this mean? I cannot understand the logic. What does one thing have to do with the other:

• “Doubt cast on Capitol's future as a theatre
  
  Because of a prolonged legal battle for ownership of the Capitol Theatre, Mayor Eddie Francis said Friday he can no longer guarantee the 89-year-old playhouse will be used as a theatre in the future.”

What does a lawsuit have to do with running a theatre? What has one got to do with the other? I just don’t understand the comment.

Of course, there was a solution to the Capitol Theatre issue that I was prepared to provide but the Mayor’s Office did not call me. I wonder why. Perhaps it was because our Mayor figured it out on his own given his extensive Corporate and Bankruptcy law experience. He must have rejected what I wanted to do out of hand.

Better to pay out legal fees and waste several years of time than to sit down and negotiate. I just do not understand the need for the threat.

It is not as if the Capitol is not being used. What I posted above are the bookings to date. They are not spectacularly impressive to be blunt but there is usage. After all, do you really expect any group to commit to a theatre not knowing what the result of the litigation will be. Groups already have gone through that exercise before when the Capitol was closed and they had to scramble for new locations.

The Mayor’s remarks seem to be nothing more than a way to discourage people from even considering the Capitol so that he can say in the future that there is no need for the theatre considering the lack of bookings. This theatre will run down just like the Cleary ran down over time.

Here’s what I do not understand however about the Mayor and Litigation. What he is saying out of one side of his mouth with respect to the Capitol bankruptcy litigation is NOT what he is saying out of the other side of his mouth with respect to the DRIC litigation. He does not seem uncomfortable at all about starting a lawsuit against the Senior Levels since it can be done in a timely fashion:

• “Toronto lawyer David Estrin — the city’s hired legal expert on border issues — says there are legal grounds to challenge DRIC through a judicial review.
  
  The legal process involves convincing a court to find a decision by a government official invalid or illegal, he said.
  
  Council approved proceeding with a judicial review during a closed-door meeting earlier this month. The process normally takes six to eight months, Estrin said.
  
  “It could be done shorter than that, particularly if both parties want it to happen earlier,” he said. “It’s not something necessarily that will delay ultimate decision making.”
  
  But once legal action is launched, delays are possible because of court schedules and requests by lawyers for more time. A judicial review could threaten plans by the provincial government to begin pre-construction work next fall.”

Funny, I did not see the Mayor make this comment concerning the DRIC litigation, a variation of what he said about the Capitol:

• Because of a prolonged legal battle over the DRIC Road, Mayor Eddie Francis said Friday he can no longer guarantee that the 25,000 jobs for the border project would be available in the future.”

Obviously, we are being set up for something. What it is we will find out soon enough. In the meantime, members of the Arts Community in the City and supporters of the Capitol Theatre are expected to react in a certain way that will feed into whatever it is that the Mayor wants to happen.

As Shakespeare should have said:

• All the world’s a stage
  And all the men and women merely players
  They have their exits and their entrances
  And our Mayor directs them all
  To accomplish what only he knows!

FOI Pacestter

It is disgraceful. The only newspaper in town has a vendetta against our Mayor and Council. What a bunch of naysayers at that newspaper that are giving such a negative view of the City. If I did not know any better, I would think that the Paper has been taken over by a bunch of BLOGGERS!

Over the last few days what have we seen? First the "Fast Eddie" story about the sound system at Council with the unattractive picture of our Mayor on the front page. Then the unflattering comment about the Capitol Theatre from the Mayor. Of course we had Henderson effectively mocking our weakling Mayor for not starting a lawsuit over the DRIC demonstrating positively that he is not protecting our kids and is acting in an unconscionable manner. Now this.

The Windsor Star advertising contract comes up at Council on Monday.

In my opinion, considering all of the money that Council pays over to the Star in a year including that extra hundred thousand dollars for that glossy magazine, the Star has not learned yet to be a team player and boost this City. The Mayor and Council ought to think long and hard before they approve it

What a ridiculous headline to have in the Star:

• “City earns 'D' for non-disclosure”

Why didn’t the Star look at the story properly considering the strategic approach that our City takes towards Freedom of Information requests.

Heck, just the other day, I asked for copies of all Resolutions passed by the City with respect to the border file, both public and in camera. One would have thought that Administration could have provided this information instantaneously since the issue is so important to the City.

Nope.

It cost me $208 plus GST to have City employees spend eight hours to find this material. Fortunately, I did not ask for photocopies of the Resolutions. That would have cost me $2.00 for the first page and 0.30 for each additional page.

They should have run this headline instead to put a positive spin on what our City is doing:

• “City is fourth best FOI obstructionist in Canada”

How about this instead based on another section of the Report:

• “City is #1 in FOI fee setting/revenues”

Now headlines like those would draw out of town investors and seniors here like bees to honey. Isn't that the kind of City in which you would relocate? Things would look up for the City.

In case you want to read the report, I have posted the full report here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/10041357/FOIpaper

Here are some of the comments in the report that should make us proud. Put that “W” on your chest and make sure that everybody knows that you are from Windsor:

• “Want to know how much CBC pays its top employees? Hurry up and wait. Want to obtain a spreadsheet file of purchases by the City of Windsor, Ontario? Get ready to write a BIG cheque...
  
  The fourth annual Canadian Newspaper Association freedom of information audit shows vast inconsistencies in how governments and public agencies fulfill their obligation to be open with the people who elect them. Information available in little time and at no cost from some institutions was unavailable, or only available at high cost or with long delays, from others.
  
  Some examples:
  • The City of Windsor said it would cost as much as $103,000 to provide an electronic list of payments for goods and services, while Saskatoon, St. John’s and Regina released the same information quickly and for free.”
  


• “An inventory of the municipality’s passenger vehicle fleet, including make and model, how many are in the fleet, and the department using the vehicles. As well, a copy of the municipality’s policy on idling vehicles.
  
  Of the 22 municipalities sent requests, 12 released the records in full, while two released them informally out-side of the act. Windsor and Ottawa issued modest fee estimates,”
  
  
• “Nine municipalities issued fee estimates, the largest of which was $103,420 from Wind-sor, Ontario. The city said it would have to search through more than 100,000 paper re-cords to locate the reasons it made payments. It allowed that if the reason for payment was left out, then it would only cost $1,570. The city said it would take its staff more than three days to export the data from its computer system, for which it would charge $780. The rest of the $1,570 was to be for time spent severing exempt information, and 2,000 photocopies at 20 cents each. It wasn`t clear whether paper copies would be provided, or if the charge for photocopies was per electronic “page.” The latter would be a highly unusual practice, while the former would mean the city was ignoring the request for an electronic file.”
  
  
• “A brief glance over the above table reveals that certain institutions are far more likely to ask for fees than others. The City of Windsor sought fees on three of the four requests it handled.”

Just think about this for a moment.

The scary part about all of this from a Windsor taxpayer perspective is not the FOI Report itself but the mess that our records system is in compared with other municipalities. 100,000 paper records to locate the reasons why the City made payments, three days to export data… can you really believe this? Can we have any confidence at all that the Finance Department has a handle on Windsor’s finances?

Perhaps it is time for the Provincial Ministry responsible for municipalities to come in and do an audit of this City’s systems.

The Diamond Memo

I assume that Eddie/Estrin/Henderson/Star Editors wanted to ensure that the Bridge Company knew about the 3-page memo from the Ministry of the Environment and its significance, in case they missed the EH-News story earlier in the week about it, to get them enraged so that they would use the memo to sue the Senior Levels to stop DRIC.

What a clever strategy. I wonder who thought that up! That would get Eddie off the hook now wouldn't it and he could NOT be blamed. The Senior Levels would not be that upset either since their DRIC project is dead in the water especially with truck volumes tanking and the economy sinking with P3 funds drying up!

I told you that our Mayor was a WEAK-LING. And he is a copycat WEAK-LINK too! Gord Henderson on Saturday along with the long Star Editorial just proved it. Read on.

• “Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis is ecstatic over the "smoking gun" proof of DRIC's environmental failings. "My initial reaction? Thank God. Let's bring him down here and give him the keys to the city," enthused Francis.”

Oh my goodness, it would not surprise me on Monday night at Council to see Eddie’s Teacher’s Pet, Councillor Loopy, jump to his feet to introduce a Motion to demand that we pay erect a statue to Dr. Gerald Diamond of the Ontario Ministry of the Environment in City Hall Square!

It is so nice to see that Eddie/Estrin have decided to hand out scoops to all of the media in Windsor and not just to the favourite Star Columnist all the time. Why, Gord did not seem to be too upset that EH-News got the scoop on the “smoking gun.” That ought to get EH-News onside to become a nice, tame media outfit if they want to get more of them.

I wonder when Bloggers are going to get a scoop or two so that we can be treated equally. Naaaaaaaaw, I cannot think of any Blogger in town that would allow him/herself to be bought out by City Hall scoops.

How can it be a “smoking gun” when it is right there in public in the DRIC documents themselves in the "APPENDIX D Comments Received During Pre-Submission Review" on pages 67 to 68. It is not like DRIC hid them or anything. They were produced publicly by the same people that are being attacked today.

Gee, does that mean that the City that got a “D” on Freedom of Information is now going to reveal all of its documents and tell us about Greenlink: the Next Generation? Hardly.

Now that our weakling Mayor has this damning piece of information, did you see the word "lawsuit" in Henderson’s column? Did weakling Eddie say that he was going to immediately instruct his legal weapon of mass destruction to begin the case for "judicial review" of the DRIC Report? If so, I did not see it. Weak, weak, weak.

The Star Editors tell us that the City is being ignored by Queen’s Park. Did you see the word "lawsuit" in their Editorial either? Of course not. They are about as weak as our Mayor. The Star believes that someone might actually care about what they write in their Editorials.

What is the Star's solution:

• “These complex issues are not going to be resolved by exchanging memos with Queen's Park. The only way to do that is for DRIC to meet face-to-face with city council, along with experts from both sides, and provide the clear answers that local residents deserve. Duncan and Pupatello should be front and centre helping to resolve outstanding questions and ensuring that their community gets the best access road possible…
  
  DRIC has dismissed GreenLink. Even if we disagree (and we do) with our cabinet ministers about their respective involvement up to this point, can we agree that since GreenLink has been dismissed by DRIC that Dwight Duncan and Sandra Pupatello are now in a position to fully discuss GreenLink without any concern about "ministerial" conflict?”

Wait a minute. They are not suggesting suing. I did not see Gord talking about suing either. Nor Eddie. They are all WEAK-LINGs.

Oh my, they have taken over Councillor Bill Marra’s position that Gord dismissed a few days before in a column when he called Marra a “Weak–Link.” Remember what Gord wrote because he clearly does not:

• “We're already seeing that with Bill Marra, council's "weakest link" on the border file, breaking rank to oppose legal action, the city's sole remaining weapon in its fight to extract GreenLink-calibre concessions from the province.”

It looks like there is another weapon that can be used: talking to people to try to arrive at a reasonable compromise. Wasn't that what Marra suggested! However, it is not one that our Mayor is capable of using given his ludicrous comments and Henderson’s Saturday column.

If this was the Council in 2003, they would have thrown out the Mayor as the Voice of Council and several of the Councillors would have been assigned the duty to meet with the Province to negotiate a deal. Our Council is so weak that they would be afraid to even contemplate such an action for fear of being scolded by the Kindergarten Teacher.

I am posting a copy of the memo so that you can read it for yourself.

Note that the memo is in relation to the “DRAFT” Environmental Assessment report. It is a shame that Gord did not quote the last paragraph:

• "Several documents for the preferred alternative are described as pending. More detail will be necessary for the final version of this document.”

It is a draft report for heaven sakes. It was circulated specifically to get comments. One expects comments where there are weaknesses in order to beef it up. He only had problems with SIX sub-sections in the Report.

What the good Environment Ministry Ph.D. is suggesting, and what Gord's readers would not know about because he did not reveal it, is that Dr. Diamond may well be satisfied once the “pending” documents are produced. He may not be as well. Who knows now. If he is satisfied, then does that mean that Gord and Eddie will have to back off and support the DRIC report because he is such a genius? After all, he is described as someone with integrity and who can tell it like it is.

Or will they demand that he return the Keys to the City?

There is no doubt whatsoever that some of his comments are very damaging. I am surprised that Henderson did not refer to the comments made by others as further support of the Gord-called shoddy quality of the DRIC work.

However, our Mayor’s comment made me sick

• “It comes down to quality of life. Kids are going to school in this city with air monitors in their backpacks. Do we not want to change that?"

Did it tug on your heartstrings? Are we now down to our final emotional argument because there are no others: the kids? This from the mouth of a Mayor who could say about a year ago:

• “City may cancel crossing guards; Program, library cuts on budget chopping block
  
  Council is considering cancelling the city's school crossing guard program and ordered the Windsor Public Library to chop $800,000 in expenses as it struggles to bring next year's tax increase down from where it currently sits -- at 3.1 per cent.
  
  During a budget meeting Wednesday when it told the library board to find ways -- aside from mothballing branches or closing on Sunday -- to come up with savings, council also discussed saving $474,000 by chopping the city-funded crossing guard program.
  
  The part-time crossing guards add up to the equivalent of 28.3 full-time jobs, plus one co-ordinator employed by the city's licensing department. Windsor is one of the few cities in Ontario to provide the service.
  
  "If it's taken away there will be issues," conceded Mayor Eddie Francis…
  
  "It's not the city's responsibility to take kids from the front porch to school," Francis added. "The practice is in place, but it's not a mandated service."

Our weakling Mayor’s hypocrisy in using kids after his crossing guard statement made me want to vomit.

Again, most people will have missed the purpose of Henderson's column. He has put Eddie in the position where he has no choice but to sue. He knows as well as you and I do, dear reader, that Eddie is a weakling and does not have the nerve to do so. In effect, he is mocking our Mayor and destroying his credibility more than anyone else in this City but you cannot prove it from his words. As Gord wrote before:

• “Sadly, given the damning environmental evidence we heard this week, it would be unconscionable for the city to do anything less than fight for the health and safety of its constituents, even if it means seeking a judicial review.”

He has put Eddie on the spot.

Of course you understand that IF Eddie is forced to sue and the Senior Levels pull out of town taking the thousands of jobs with them, he cannot be blamed. It will be the fault of WINDSORITES. We will have demanded the lawsuit to protect our kids, not the Mayor. He is only doing what WE are telling him to do.

WEAKLING!

Should WEDC Be Woundup

I finally figured it out. It must be near the Budget deliberation time of the City and County as well as the Credit Union who are the financiers of the Windsor Essex Development Commission.

How else to explain the big story about 125 new jobs that may be created in our newest call centre. How else to explain the waste of money for a two page advertising spread in last Saturday’s Windsor Star.

The Development Commission has to pretend that they have done something over the past year for all the money that taxpayers and the Credit Union have poured into that organization. They have to be afraid that their budget will be cut or that Baord members will be replaced or even their organization woundup!

Let’s take a look at the ad and see what they have done.

• There was a nice picture of Mike Burton, their former Vice President who just announced that he was leaving


• There was no picture of their new CEO because no one has been hired yet for almost a year after the previous CEO was terminated


• There was a picture of the Chair who told us that after all this time “the new WEDC is still taking shape, growing and changing to effectively serve the needs of our Region.” His mistake however was telling us that they have been around already for 24 months. I would have thought that by this time the Commission should have taken shape already.


• I’m so glad to see that our Commission is winning prizes for creating websites and new marketing material. So that is how they spend their time at work.


• Under “Major Accomplishments” I did not see the word “jobs” or “new businesses” attracted although we were told quote “the WDC has close to 20 projects in the pipeline… Details on potential projects must necessarily be held in confidence.”


• There was a nice kiss up to the Credit Union and to the Windsor Star. Mind you, the advertising department of the Star must be pleased with two pages being sold right at the beginning of the year or is that part of their donation to the Commission.

It is all fluff, no stuff. If I was on the Development Commission of another jurisdiction whether in Ontario or Michigan, after reading this material, I would not be too concerned about Windsor/Essex being a significant competitor for any new business investment.

Given the e-mails that have been circulating around about what is going on at the Commission, our politicians have the obligation to try to discover what is really happening. I have no idea if what is being said in the e-mails is true or not nor do I care. What it tells me however is that there are serious problems at the WEDC that must be investigated.

For the money that has been invested in them so far and the time during which they have been around, their accomplishments are minimal. I have no idea why it was necessary to have trade missions overseas to the UK and to Germany. What did they accomplish? What happened after the train trip to Toronto to get all of the movers and shakers there interested in coming to Windsor? Has there been any follow-up on anything that they have done? Are they being held accountable for all of the money that they have spent?

Before another penny of taxpayer money is put into this organization, serious questions must be asked and the appropriate answers provided. We cannot afford at this time of economic crisis for the region the luxury of pretending to be doing something when in fact little is being accomplished.

It may well be that the decision has to be made to windup this organization and start again. While that would be a tragedy, it would be worse if the WEDC was allowed to carry on as it is now. It is nothing more than a revolving door for senior executives while spending millions and achieving little with the nerve of telling us that it "is still taking shape" after all of this time.