No blog until April 7th, 2008

Because of a death in the family, there will be no blog until April 7th, 2008.

No Green for Greenlink and Dr. Francis

 No Green for Greenlink

 $355-million over 3 years to help 20,000 unemployed workers get retraining.

$5.6 million for Chrysler Canada employee training in Windsor, Etobicoke and Brampton.

And some oft-repeated message about the strategic importance of our international border…yada yada ya.  If I had a dollar for every time I heard that statement I…

Really folks, time for a new way to say we’re not doing anything different than we’ve already announced.

Not that I’m knocking the province’s investments to date in Windsor - some $1.5 billion since the Liberals took office - but this budget will be sure to have our mayor undergo various facial contortions on the Windsor Star video blogs I’m sure.

Because no solid financial commitments were given towards funding of the access-road, let alone Greenlink, save for this paragraph in the Ontario budget:

Ontario will fully fund its share of the costs of the final proposed road link between Highway 401 and the new border crossing. Sufficient funds to cover the costs of the project are built into the government’s 10-year infrastructure plan.

And then yet another reference to the federal government’s initial $400-million contribution: 

The recommendations are expected to address the location and design of a new river crossing, access road and customs plaza. The federal government is leading the development of the new river crossing and customs plaza and has earmarked an initial $400 million towards a commitment to fund 50 per cent of the total eligible capital costs of the access-road projects.

There is that phrase again - “total eligible capital costs.”  I do wonder what that means.

What part of the access road is not considered “eligible” capital costs?  The service roads?  The overpasses?  The greenspaces?

I can do the math that clearly our local politico’s cannot.

What I’m thinking is, considering the province could be heading into a “technical” recession, according to the Windsor Star, and the federal government is anticipated to experience a budgetary deficit next year, I don’t forsee any funding exceeding that of the proposed DRIC highway - some $1.2 billion - and that is if, and only if the federal government coughs up another $100 - 200 million.

And what about the environmental assessment of the Greenlink proposal MPP Sandra Pupatello alluded to late last summer?  I ask because Dwight Duncan basically reaffirmed the DRIC timetable in his budget speech:

Construction is scheduled to begin in 2009 and is anticipated to be concluded in 2013. 

Not much room for a full EA to be conducted on the Greenlink proposal.  But what we do know for sure is:

This project will include unprecedented features to enhance the quality of life for people in the Windsor-Essex region while ensuring that traffic keeps moving.

Interesting - when did a 64% tunneled route, as proposed with Greenlink, become a “feature”?

When the province is not interested in funding such a project, in my opinion. 

Dr. Francis

“The last thing that we want to do is continue to propagate this myth that Windsor is a dead city.”  Mayor Eddie Francis, March 4, 2008

The Mayor stated these words back on March 4th during his weekly update on AM800 - nearly 2 weeks before his State of the City’s Duress, err, I mean Address.

But they clearly do not apply to him.

These words were in response to the Detroit New’s story entitled “Woe is Windsor“ which outlines the economic difficulties facing Windsor.  The article discussed the impact of the high Canadian dollar and the impact of the terrorist attacks on the local economy. 

Personally, it was a realistic discussion of the challenges, as well as the successes Windsor is experiencing.

But that was too much reality for Mayor Eddie Francis, or should I say Dr. Eddie Francis after his radio show.  Afterall, in a Gord Henderson column, the mayor quipped:

That might require counselling on a grand scale. I asked Francis how big a therapist’s couch would be needed to address Windsor’s deep-seated psychological issues.

“The couch is occupied,” he quipped.

Could those counselling sessions be paying off?

How do you feel when you’re around positive people?  How do you feel when you’re surrounded by negativity?

9 times out of 10 you’re attracted to the positive.  The positive breeds success and the success then will follow in terms of growth, business and jobs.

It’s about jobs.  It’s about the economy and the way we’re going to turn this around is by believing in ourselves and believing in our city.

Well, I believe in my city, I just don’t believe in the Mayor.  Does that count? 

Mr. Francis, I’m curious - what impacts do your statements in the media as of late have on attracting people to the city? 

Complaining about a high Canadian dollar and its very real impacts on Windsor pale in comparison to the mayor’s latest national statements.

As everyone knows by now the Mayor made the headlines in the National Post, Vancouver Sun, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Saskatoon StarPhoenix and the Montreal Gazette, to name but a few.

And while politicians received the Mayor’s idea of flying Windsor’s unemployed out west, at best luke-warmly, editorials and columns across the country were not so kind.

But what kind of message does this send to people across Canada?  That Windsor has no jobs? Don’t bother coming here because we’ll pack you up again and send you west.  Or is it, nothing to see here, keep moving - go west?

So much for attracting the best and the brightest to the city.

Or as Murray Lyons, of the StarPhoenix wrote:

While Francis’ commuting plan has a hastily hatched aspect to it, there could be more to it than meets the eye — if we look beyond what we think we know about Windsor’s economy…

…The law of unintended consequences means mayor Francis may have only succeeded in alerting companies in Calgary, Edmonton and Saskatoon that there are people in Windsor willing to move, and some of his citizens may end up coming on a one-way ticket.

So while the Mayor criticizes residents yet again, I wonder what Mayor Francis would say to Mayor Francis’ statements in media outlets across the country?

See, the Mayor has no problem whatsoever criticizing taxpaying and voting residents in the media, regardless of what message this sends out.  Remember last November when he said in Gord Henderson’s column: 

 ”If you think it’s the worst city in the world, what are you doing here?”

Could another of the unintended consequences of the Mayor’s hastily hatched statements be driving people away from calling Windsor home?

Mr. Henderson, get those diapers ready.  Your worst fear for Windsor’s future may just have received a tremendous boost.

Airport and A Blueprint for Economic Renewal - It starts with leadership

Airport bleeding red ink - again

To the tune of $27,000 a month on average.  Funny, that is the amount that the city has been forking over since they took over.

But geez I’m confused.  So confused in fact I may have to seek medical attention.

Didn’t Mayor Francis just claim back on January 30th that the airport was “profitable?”

“We’re being very aggressive in terms of trying to attract every single commercial airline we can,” the mayor said.

The city took over operation of the airport July 1 and Francis said it has been profitable since then.

And didn’t the Mayor assure us back on June 19th, 2007:

“We will just get it up and running,” Francis said. “Our hope is that there will be a new operator in place soon and no need for a new board.”

Fast-forward 8 months into the future - the city is running the airport and it’s now costing taxpayers money.

And just on November 27, 2007 the Star’s Editorial Board wrote:

But the city’s efforts to find a private operator to take over the airport have foundered and it isn’t precisely clear why. Three undisclosed airport management companies responded to the city’s request for proposals but all were rejected because they didn’t comply, for various and undisclosed reasons, with the mandatory requirements of the RFP.

Instead of working with the proponents to address city concerns or issue a new RFP, council opted to continue operating the airport as a corporation and to create a new executive board with community, business and aviation representatives. While this might be a prudent approach, council needs to ensure the people appointed to this board place an emphasis on transparency, openness and the public’s right to know about public money and public entities.

Back on November 15, 2007, when Gord Henderson was chearleading council’s decision to take over the airport, he wrote:

City council thought the airport would continue to bleed red ink, so they created a $90,000 contingency fund to prop up Nazzani’s team while the airport’s management options were under review.

They were wrong. In its first four months under Nazzani the airport has turned a tidy profit, reportedly in excess of $70,000 a month, and that money will be used, in part, to crank up an airport marketing and promotion campaign.

Except this marketing and promotional campaign doesn’t seem to be happening:

“Once the city took over it’s been downhill. People there working don’t know what they are doing or seem to care less,” said the owner of Len’s Personal Transportation.

“Nobody is promoting the airport. If you stand still, nothing is going to happen. That’s exactly what they are doing.”

And all those stories last year about the airport miraculously turning a profit, as reported by the Star?   Tonight in the online Star we get the facts:

Monthly losses under Serco were as high as $90,000, but averaged about $40,000 when the city took over last year. Several months since have been break-even or showed a small profit, but losses have averaged $27,000 a month. 

But never fear,  the Mayor hopes to have a new board in place “hopefully” in the summer.   No rush, afterall we have lawsuits to launch; infrastructure projects to delay; Greenlink to promote and planes to fill to send out west.

The Mayor maintains the first objective “was to get control of the airport” and “stop the bleeding.”

Ack - I’d hate to see it out of control.

And never fear more “talks” are happening and the city is “poised” to reach agreements with other commerical airlines.  

This is beginning to sound a little all too familiar.

The city recently attracted Mexicana airlines to the airport to bring seasonal workers into Windsor; and is working on a plan to fly residents out west in search of jobs.

And once there are more flights the plan is to develop the airport and surrounding lands but even then it would take another 18 months for planes to start landing.  At $27,000 per month that amounts to $486,000.

But it gets worse - it appears Mayor Francis knows best when comes to airport operations, as is the case with the tunnel:

He is among six of the airport’s 20 business tenants who say they are fed up with city hall’s lack of response to their recommendations. They have pleaded with the city for an independent board of directors, a strategic plan, regular communication with tenants, improved marketing and aviation-related business development.

And that intermodal hub dream of the Mayor?  We finally learn the cause behind the delay:

A city proposal to create a multi-modal hub in which air, rail and road freight could be exchanged has been put on the backburner. CP Railway officials say there is no need for it in Windsor because the rail company has a 770-acre freight hub in Vaughn, near Toronto.

Good grief - what exactly is the plan for the airport?  No wonder the Mayor is focused on attracting seasonal workers and sending the unemployed out west.

But kudo’s to the Star for actually doing some investigative reporting on this matter rather than taking the mayor’s word for it. 

The bigger question - didn’t anyone bother to consult private enterprise before formulating the intermodal hub plan?

Oh yeah, that’s right - in Windsor we don’t do that.  We ignore them.

A Blueprint for Economic Renewal

The Brookings Institute released what could very well be a blueprint for economic renewal for Windsor-Essex - but you wouldn’t really know it if you read the Windsor Star’s front page article. But only Canwest can turn a study that suggests a way for our region to excel into an editorial about bottlenecks at the Ambassador Bridge. The study’s summary states:

The bi-national Great Lakes region can continue to model what economic regions will look like in the global economy-and also how they can thrive. To realize this vision will require leadership and purposeful actions that acknowledge the unique opportunities provided by the Great Lakes economy.

Only the U.S. president and Congress, along with the Canadian prime minister andParliament, can promote understanding of the economic opportunities to be realized. Working together, and working with federal leadership, the opportunity is real for the Great Lakes region to forge a new economic leadership position, and serve anew as a model for world economic and social innovation.

Section three outlines the current problems facing the Great Lakes region, calling it an economy in transition.  It also highlights the region’s strengths - namely a huge market place comprising 36% of the entire population of Canada and the US; unrivaled innovation infrastructure; a hub of research and development totalling $91.4 billion; a region of talent generation comprising 41% of all university graduates in both countries;  the significance of international trade that passes through the region; energy production; manufacturing; fresh water research; health and bio-sciences; and information and communications.

The biggest threat to all of this - increased security (p. 12):

The largest challenge to further economic integration is posed by homeland security concerns and measures that have slowed border and bi-national economic exchange since 2001. The economic impact on the Great Lakes region of Homeland Security regimes has been disproportionate. New layers of security and more complex rules and regulations between 2000 and 2004 have tripled the processing time to enter the United States from Canada by truck. The costs of these efforts have been estimated at up to U.S. $11.5 billion annually across both countries.

So contrary to what the Windsor Star story claims, the problem is really what is causing the bottlenecks at all the border crossings.

According to Brookings, the Peace Bridge received special mention (you know the one with the much touted border authority):

Traffic is down at three of the four international bridges in the Niagara area, yet wait times are up; processing time at the Peace Bridge, for example, increased 32 percent in August 2007 versus a year ago. Bridge travelers say inspectors are taking more time to clear travelers and asking veteran border crossers new questions.

Section 5 (p. 19) outlines a strategy to strengthen the region as well as further integrate the interdependent economies:

• By 2010: Develop a Bi-National Innovation Fund and Strategy
• By 2010: Redevelop North America’s Freshwater Coast
• By 2015: Define and Implement the “U.S.-Canada Border of the Future”
• By 2025: Realize Bi-National Great Lakes Carbon Goals and Renewable Energy Standards
• By 2030: Create a Common Market for Commerce and Human Capital

While we’ve been told by our local politico’s that the conclusion of the DRIC study is the all-important economic saviour, Brookings suggests otherwise:

The U.S. president and Canadian prime minister, with the support of Congress and Parliament, should create a Great Lakes Coast Development Authority either by (a) repurposing an existing international Great Lakes-focused organization, or (b) creating a new authority charged with bi-national economic development planning, and with the disbursement of bi-national federal resources to support economic development. (The authority could also be the mechanism to fund and manage follow-through on a proposed and needed Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Restoration compact, and bring economic development planning together with border policy issues).

Furthermore, the study suggests that simply building more infrastructure is not the only solution:

Advances in policy and investments in infrastructures that both speed the progress of goods, people, and communication across the bi-national border, and provide needed security, will pay real and huge financial dividends to both countries, and particularly the Great Lakes region. However, these improvements must be linked to a more efficient transportation network.

Thus - everything this Mayor and council are purposefully delaying in the hope of pressuring senior levels of government to adopt Greenlink.

Access roads, inter-modal hubs; investments in rail between major urban centres and policy changes at the border come highly advised in this study.

And some of these policy changes have already been undertaken by the Ambassador Bridge - and were praised by MP Brian Masse on WDET radio.  And when they were implemented or when more customs booths were constructed, border delays virtually disappeared for the most part.

So after reading this study; I have to ask, will building a 3rd border crossing resolve any of the issues highlighted in this study?

The answer is simply no.

While the study urges federal leaders on both sides of the border to facilitate the economic integration of the region - I would also add that municipal leaders could pave the way as they are able.  Improving municipal infrastructure (such as Huron Church Road, Lauzon Road); investing in research and innovation (regardless of where the building is built) to name but a few.

And with our much hyped budgetary surpluses after 2012 - there is no reason why we cannot.

However, reading the Windsor Star story, we would not have realised that the border issue is about more than building a bridge; it’s about investing in and capitalizing upon all of our strengths - some of which our own city could play a major role in with the right leadership.

Blog of Confusion

I’ve been away since Friday when I wrote this, and just noted Mr. Fischer meant to say something else.  According to Saturday’s Star, Mr. Fischer meant to say:

Fischer said he meant that Windsor is not likely to attract another large assembly operation to the city, despite having an estimated 5,000 employees of Detroit’s Big Three on layoff.

“It’s not that Windsor isn’t capable of tackling a new plant. But we already have a saturation level, as far as the companies are concerned, with three of the OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers, as automakers are known) already here.”

OEMs searching for a new site would not likely want to locate in a city that already had plants owned by three other major automakers. “Volkswagen wouldn’t want to compete against them for labour - they’d go somewhere else.”

Interesting - unless the big three are going to be on hiring spree sometime soon - I don’t see how Volkswagen could compete against them for labour.

Just a thought.  

Windsor has shortage of workers

In Thursday’s Star we read that Ontario is being urged to after a new VW assembly plant. 

A perfect fit for Windsor considering in the Edmonton Journal on Thursday, Alex Keeney, Windsor area director for the CAW stated that there are about 3,000 CAW members laid off.

But according to the AM800 website, Windsor-Essex is not considered a possibility for the plant because according to development commission CEO Matthew Fischer, there’s a lack of available workers.

Ontario is being urged to go after a new Volkswagen assembly plant.  The German automaker is searching North America for a site for a new plant.  But, Windsor-Essex is not considered a possibility.   Development commission C-E-O Matt Fischer says there’s a lack of available workers.

This statement by Mr. Fischer comes on the heels of Mayor Eddie Francis’ five-point plan to stimulate the local economy.   Now I”m not sure what exactly Mr. Fischer said, but am only highlighting what our media outlets report on their website.

Part of Francis’ plan was to develop a worker commuter program to fly unemployed local residents out of Windsor to jobs in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Except, I’m very confused - what happened to the 3,000 CAW members who are laid off?  Did these autoworkers move?  Were they abducted by an extra-terrestrial being? 

Additionally, Statistics Canada has documented on several occasions the Windsor unemployment rate as ranging between 8.7 and 10.1%.  Where did these people go?

Whom do I believe?  Mayor Eddie Francis who is formulating a plan to find employment for the unemployed or the CEO of the Economic Development Commission who is claiming there are no available workers for a potential new assembly plant?

Wow - if we’re going to change the conversation, how about having the same conversation?

Bid Withdrawn for the Junior Championships

Remember back on February 2, 2008 the Windsor Star reported:

“The challenge will be ticket sales. That will drive a successful bid process. If (interest) is not there, it poses a challenge.”

Francis said the fact that both arenas will be run by Global- Spectrum Facility Management will help the bid.

“It’s part of the advantage that Global brought to the table,” Francis said. “It’s a great advantage to have them running both places.”

Mayor Francis led residents to believe that Global-Spectrum and ticket sales were the keys to a successful bid process.  Easy as pie.

But to get the full story, you had to read the London Free Press.  In their story you would have found out that the success of the bidding process was not ticket sales alone, but finding a guarantor.  A London-Kitchener bid in 2006 made the short list:

“We’re focusing all our energies on 2012,” Winston said. “This is the way to go. It’s not in our fiscal best interests to try to do both. We’ve been through this process before (a London-Kitchener bid made the short list for the 2006 event that went to Vancouver) and it would be presumptuous of us to think anybody knows what the deciding factor will be.

“It could hinge on one or many different things.”

Knights governor Trevor Whiffen, who chaired the 2005 Memorial Cup tournament, will head London’s bid. This time the bid committee won’t ask the city to provide a financial guarantee for the event, instead calling on the private sector to put up the cash.

“It’s too early to name names, but we have already had initial discussions with some interested parties and we’re not worried about that part at all,” Whiffen said.

What was interesting, is that London did not seem to be worried about finding a guarantor - I wonder what happened?

But as per usual with the Windsor Star, the facts come out long after the initial cheer-leading, as witnessed in Thursday’s on-line story:

Orr said the City of Windsor “certainly agreed with London’s premise” that if no guarantor has been found, “there was no point in going forward. So we decided this week jointly that we should cease operations and we should notify Hockey Canada.”

However, Mr. Orr stated in the Star that for confidentiality reasons, the amount of the guarantee could not be disclosed:

Asked how much money the minimum financial obligation entails, Orr said it’s a confidential number worked out between the bidders and Hockey Canada. “I can tell you it’s a significant amount,” Orr said.

But on the AM800 website we learn that the guarantee was for $12 million.  I wonder who disclosed this “confidential” information?

Except I don’t understand - why couldn’t the City of Windsor guarantee the event?  After-all, the games aren’t until 2012 and according to Gord Henderson in Tuesday’s Star:

Because the city is in relatively good financial shape, courtesy of its debt-reduction plan, it will have an extra $20 million available in 2011-12 and tens of millions more at its disposal in subsequent years. That’s the bizarre thing about Windsor’s current plight. The economy is on the ropes. And yet the city’s financial books haven’t been this healthy in years.

Come on!  Think BIG! 

We’re going to have oodles of cash after 2012 - what’s a measly $12-million to guarantee an event that will bring “more than 300 players and coaches, 500 media members and fans from around the world attending the tournament, the event would have a significant impact on the area economy?”

Heck, if we could “bridge-finance” $65-million to build an arena, why not $12-million to attract a world-class event?  This is our “premier” facility and with Global Spectrum anything is possible, isn’t it?

My goodness, I’m even more confused.

Free Advice for Mayor Francis

And you don’t have to pay me $218,000 a year either. 

With all respect, I can appreciate the difficult situation the Mayor is in - but do not empathise one iota for his self created crisis. 

I’ll admit, it’s not easy balancing competing interests given the state of the economy, but with all respect, Mayor Francis, the State of the City Address was an embarrassment.

Remember your speech in 2006?  Remember when you said:

“Those who know me, know that I’m not a fan of quick-fixes. Knee-jerk reactions. Or band-aid solutions to fundamental problems.

I believe in understanding the big picture. Taking a strategic approach. And focusing relentlessly, on achieving our goals. “

That was admirable.  Realistic and passionate.  You also talked about the economic challenges facing Windsor: 

“We know what’s coming. We’re getting ready. And we will meet this challenge head-on. That’s the way we’re thinking and acting in Windsor today!”

If you knew what was coming, why the knee-jerk announcement of a fund that may not see the light of day?  The idea may not be bad - but the delivery and presumptions were. 

Now I’ll admit I do not have all the answers.  All I can do is “troll” the internet as well to seek out  ideas and information; highlighting the successes of other jurisdictions who have faced similar circumstances in the past.  And yes, fact checking the messages and information emanating from your office.

I do not know if your advisers wrote that speech for you, or if you did but could you not have said something along the lines of recognizing these challenges but to move forward, the county, senior levels of government and the city must come together to hash out ideas and develop strategies to address this situation we find ourselves in rather than creating an “us” versus “them” environment?

Could you not empower the economic development commission by allowing them to accompany you to Germany or “troll” the internet for investment opportunities?  Why are you doing this? That is not collaborative thinking, in my humble opinion.  This is why we hired Matthew Fischer and Remo Mancini. 

Let them do this job.  And if they are not, you need to ask why.  I’m almost positive they were not hired to simply produce brochures.

From my understanding the role of a Mayor is to bring together various parties - both residents and community partners to chart out a path; exchange information and ideas and put it all together into a comprehensive plan of action - not a plan for a plan of action.

And why, with all respect, do you continuously make announcements before all the ‘i’s’ are dotted and the ‘t’s’ are crossed?  Why does the city continuously over-state or embellish fact, as one commenter here wrote? 

As someone on the outside looking in,  I’m concerned with the message this sends to outside investors who may be looking at Windsor.  In fact, Mr. Francis, you yourself refuse to disclose information to the province for competitive reasons; and yet it is somehow alright to do this for businesses looking at Windsor?

Sometimes the greatest leaders admit their own weaknesses and are able to galvanize others to work with them.  That is how I view leadership.  Sure, do research, seek ideas but involve all the stakeholders in the decision before making fait accompli announcements.

Mayor Francis, the point I really want to make to you and some of your council friends is it is perfectly acceptable to admit you do not have all the answers.  It is perfectly acceptable to say the challenges appear to be overwhelming, but we will get through this through collaborative action with our community partners - all of them.

That too includes the bridge company.  You have claimed their plan “does not work” and yet it has worked for the last 80 years. 

Making it work better can be your role. 

What can the city do to help make it better; and what can the company do better to improve the quality of life of residents?  Those are 3,400 jobs waiting to happen and an influx of hundreds of millions of dollars into our community.  

You proved it can be done with Greenlink; it can be done with their enhancement project too.

The same applies with the DRIC and the city’s last minute effort with Greenlink.  Do you honestly believe that threatening lawsuits will resolve anything?  How would outside investors and developers view this action?  People criticize union militancy, but what about political militancy?  I believe these actions speak louder than any blog, comment or statement made by a resident.

From what I’ve read on blogs and comments across the city, people are looking for leadership.  Honesty.  Strength. 

And a little humility wouldn’t hurt.

It’s about accepting responsibility for actions taken or not taken - such as the interim control bylaw which has ghettoized parts of the city with abandoned and dilapidated buildings.  That didn’t just happen.  That happened because under your leadership council passed the destructive bylaw.

Or about spending $65-million on an arena, knowing full well what “was coming,” in your own words.   The excess $50-million would have gone a long way to improving our infrastructure, our water mains or making your investment fund a reality two years ago. 

While planning for the future is important; it is the “now” people are struggling with.  And it is the “now” that appears to have been ignored in decisions of the past.

No one expects perfection; but they do if you create the illusion of such.

And please do not insult the intelligence of residents again with lecturing and a “father” knows best attitude.  There are many intelligent and caring residents who stand up for our city, but disagree with city hall decisions, proclamations or political gamesmanship.

Providing hope is much more than making announcements or lofty speeches - it’s about making  believable, tangible and realistic announcements that the community can willingly rally behind. 

It’s demonstrating collaborative action rather than talking about it.

The Investment Fund Charade

“The jobs and economic growth we need, cannot wait until five years from now… Or ten years from now… We need jobs and economic growth …today!”

Mayor Eddie Francis, State of the City Address 2008

__________________________________________________

Last evening Mayor Eddie Francis laid out a five point plan to stimulate the local economy.  The basis of which is a proposed $100-million investment fund modelled after Kitchener’s Economic Development Investment Fund.  The fund would see the City of Windsor contribute $30-million, Essex County $30-million with the province and the federal government, through it’s Community Development Trust , covering the remaining $40-million.  Ontario is expected to see about $350-million of this fund.

But as always, the devil is in the details with any plan emanating from the Mayor’s Office.

First is the grand presumption that Ontario will provide Windsor with about 11.5% of their total fund.  And according to Dalton McGuinty in today’s Windsor Star, in response to NDP Leader Howard Hampton, that does not seem likely:

Premier Dalton McGuinty responded by pointing out the “close to $1.5 billion” the province has invested in the city of Windsor in the last four years in various projects, including the Casino Windsor expansion and the new satellite medical school.

Add in the new border route and we’re talking about over $2-billion of investment into the City of Windsor alone.  Not bad for a city of about 200,000.

The second detail is the issue of how Windsor will fund this.  Council’s “fiscal prudence” was to have seen dividends of over $40-million per year starting in 2010, but in two short years this has shrunk to $20-million starting in 2012. 

So - the question that needs to be asked is has the mayor been sitting on $30-million all this time; or will this investment fund not see the light of day for another 5 years - even though we need “jobs today”?

The third issue is that a government simply cannot throw money at private corporations because of WTO rules regarding subsidies and NAFTA.  This could explain why Kitchener’s investment fund has been primarily handed out to public institutions and for municipal capital projects:

Some of the downtown projects supported by the Economic Development Investment Fund include:

• $30 million, University of Waterloo School of Pharmacy, opening Jan. 2008
• $6.5 million, Wilfrid Laurier Faculty of Social Work, opened Sept. 2006
• $5.5 million, downtown parking solutions
• $3.3 million, for major streetscape improvements downtown 
• $2.7 million, improvements to downtown’s Victoria Park
• $1.7 million, for Downtown Community Centre, opened in 2005
• $12 million committed to funding industrial employment lands

This leads me to believe that this “investment” fund is nothing more than political posturing to buy some time.  Council has several future capital projects such as streetscaping; parks; community improvement plans such as Sandwich Towne’s - is this nothing more than re-announcing funding commitments in the future under a flashy new title?

Matthew Fischer has stated repeatedly that Windsor requires “shovel ready lands” specifically at Windsor’s airport.  In order to convert Windsor airport into a cargo distribution centre, millions upon millions of dollars need to be invested to make that dream a reality and would take years to complete. 

Infrastructure projects such as tunnel plaza improvements, EC ROW improvements, Huron Church Road as well as the Lauzon/Manning Rd. extensions will require major cash infusions from the City and County.

The point - these projects alone have already been anticipated and planned for (hopefully) in the city’s long-term budget.  What I fear is that all these projects have all been repackaged under the auspice’s of an investment fund - they are not new nor unexpected.

The Federal and Provincial dollars will come with strings attached earmarked primarily for job retraining and investments in emerging industries such as bio-fuels as witnessed by the Federal announcement in New Brunswick.

Is this why the development commission re-announced the old news of a bio-fuel operation locating to Windsor - on the condition that investors could be found - to gain support for the Mayor’s announcement? 

In looking at Kitchener, what was ignored was the Waterloo Tech Capital Partners Fund valued at over $100-million.

We manage over $95 million in venture capital funds, and more than two-thirds of this money is available for future investments. Typically, we invest $500,000 to $2 million in a company’s seed round, and then continue to support the company through follow-on investments. We have the ability to invest up to $9 million in each of our portfolio companies.

Industry Canada and private investment firms all contribute to this fund to support those emerging ”gazelle” industries.   But gee whiz - that require working with private enterprise to start-up and support such a fund.  Imagine what the Ambassador Bridge Company could contribute - either financially or expertise wise to facilitate Windsor’s transition to a cargo distribution centre.

In my opinion, all this announcement was, was a pre-budget announcement for the years after 2012.  There are big ticket items that the city has to spend money - regardless of the existence of an “investment” fund or not.

This investment fund will not create jobs today or tomorrow - and not likely until well past 2015 - despite the Mayor stating otherwise.

It’s a starting point for discussion - in other words, the Mayor has no idea what else to do. 

But sadly, the answer is staring our Mayor right in the face.

__________________________________________

UPDATE:  County says I don’t think so

But then we learn - that’s ok - just a funding commitment will do.  According to county warden Nelson Santos:

Santos said Francis did not ask for the county’s input on the regional fund before delivering the state of the city address.

“It’s never been presented to myself or any county council members that I’m aware of,” he said.  “The county hasn’t received any information about what the total terms of the fund are.”

Francis said Tuesday he didn’t sit down with Santos prior to the speech because he wanted to share his ideas with the public first. 

One of the problems with this announcement is that no homework was done - and why?  Take the announcement out of the State of the City Address and what are you left with?

Criticizing naysayers and the DRIC process. 

But no worries - even though Mayor Francis claims companies are already calling him about the fund - only a simple commitment for funding is required. 

Wonderful - what kind of message does that send to companies?  Sorry - you’re a few years too early - can you come back later when we’re ready?  Say 2012? 

Furthermore, what doesn’t Mayor Francis understand about Santos’ statement:

“We don’t have any funding built in in our current budget that accommodates that type of funding. Any attempt to try to put funds toward this initiative would have a significant impact on the county budget…”

…”Coming from a region that’s suffering from manufacturing losses, suffering from job losses, to ask the people facing difficult times to come up with an additional $75 a year just in property taxes … in my line of thinking, it’s not realistic for our community and our residents to have to try to pay that bill.”

Come now Mr. Santos - think BIG. Don’t worry about the details or how residents will come up with the extra cash.  It’s not about the cost, remember?  As the Mayor described Greenlink:

We should not focus on the cost today, but on the purpose tomorrow.

This investment will transform our city, and transform our region.

And don’t worry - it’s just an idea to talk about.  Except that is not how it was presented at the State of the City Address.  It was a plan to create jobs - not in five years, or ten but today:

That’s why today, I’m proposing a five-point plan that will help create the jobs we need.

I call it our Jobs Today Program.

We cannot wait for the economic stimulus polices of other levels of government to bear fruit.

The jobs and economic growth we need, cannot wait until five years from now…

Or ten years from now…

We need jobs and economic growth …today!

But this is a regular problem with communications from the Mayor’s office.  Things are announced long before they are ready to be for nothing more than “political” reasons.  We saw this with the Germans.  We saw this with the biofuel plant. 

And the Mayor wonders why there are naysayers?  Surely he jests. 

However, Warden Santos’ statement only confirmed my worst fears - the State of the City Address was nothing more than a political exercise; a reaction to growing criticism of the Mayor and council’s inaction.

And I now fear, if what the Mayor says is correct about the phone calls, is that Windsor now looks foolish in the eyes of investors.

The Mayor’s Address and The Audacity of Hope and Daring to Dream

 Update:  Read the Mayor’s State of the City Address here.  

The Mayor’s Address

I will have more thoughts on this tomorrow, but here are my initial reactions. 

I do have to say, after listening to the Mayor’s address, other than the announcement of a potential $30-million economic development fund, the address was, in a word, predictable.

The address is loaded with dreams and ideas, but short on any type of committment.

And where exactly has the city been stashing this $30-million? 

Oh but wait - Gord Henderson gave us a clue - and what had been a $40 million windfall after 2010 (as per the 2006 State of the City Address, page 8) is now a $20-million one after 2012.

The fund envisioned by Francis wouldn’t require an annual levy or taking on new debt. Because the city is in relatively good financial shape, courtesy of its debt reduction plan, it will have an extra $20 million available in 2011-2012 and tens of millions more at its disposal in subsequent years. 

So this economic incentive plan will not bring jobs today or even tomorrow.  But it is a start - albeit a long overdue one.

And I’m very glad the Mayor recognised the need over Christmas for incentives while “trolling” websites” and “business publications”:

He decided to “cold call” a firm in Tennessee that was having trouble finding a site for a plant that would build solar panels. All went well until Francis was asked about local incentives. He had zip to offer. And the conversation was effectively over at that point. “We’re sitting here trying to attract development and we have no tools,” fumed the mayor, pointing out that southern U.S. jurisdictions boast toolkits loaded with eye-popping incentives to attract investors.

So what exactly has the economic development commission been doing all this time?   If the Mayor only realised this over Christmas, I believe we’re in bigger trouble than I thought considering other municipalities have been doing this for years.

What happened to the 500 jobs at the airport?  The biodiesel plant?  Strangely absent from this address.  Also, if we’re using this $30 million to offer incentives, how exactly are we going to pay for shovel ready lands at the airport?  Upgrades to EC ROW, Lauzon Rd. and Huron Church north of the EC ROW?

I also expect the city will then come forward to invest in the new engineering research complex to some extent.  Afterall, research is what has driven some of the economic success of the tri-city area of Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge, mentioned numerous times on this blog and in the Mayor’s speech this evening. 

Bah, but I’m a naysayer - our opinions and examples of success elsewhere do not matter because we dare ask questions.  We dare challenge.  We dare demand action.

Out of all the Mayor’s announcements - nearly everyone one of them are contingent upon the full co-operation of other levels of government.  Can our Mayor do it?  I’d like to hope so - but if past behaviour is a predictor of future behaviour I’m not so sure.

And the Mayor continued to equate criticisms of city hall with that of the city.  Don McCarthur wrote awhile back in his blog:

The city and the mayor are two separate and distinct entities. You can criticize one without criticizing the other. The interests of leaders and the jurisdictions they govern often coincide but the interests of each are not one and the same. Leaders tend to forget that every now and again. 

“Men in authority will always think that criticism of their policies is dangerous. They will always equate their policies with patriotism, and find criticism subversive,” said American historian Henry Steele Commager.

Yes Mayor Francis - we “naysayers” love our city - it’s the politics we hate. 

A particularly interesting part of the speech was the Mayor’s statement:

These abandoned buildings are a blight on our city. That’s why we need to take action.

Does this mean that city council will now allow the bridge company to tear down their homes and/or recind the interim control bylaw that this council implemented?

The Mayor also stated:

Do you know about businesses or other entrepreneurs looking for a world-class location in which to succeed and thrive? I’ll call them.

Great!  I expect then the Mayor will be on the phone first thing in the morning to figure out how to expedite the Ambassador Bridge’s billion dollar enhancement project.

The speech is rather long, but what I’ve written above is the gist of it.  I’ll have more thoughts tomorrow.  But as I thought - it was full of passion, dreams and hope but very short on something tangible.

The Audacity of Hope and Daring to Dream

Democratic senator Barrack Obama made many headlines with his book “The Audacity of Hope.”  Recently, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick made reference to the presidential contender’s book in his State of the City Address.Not to be outdone, Mayor Francis’ State of the City Address has all the makings of the audacity of hope, but in Windsor’s style of “daring to dream.”

I don’t know what to believe about the front page news story today - but one thing is for certain - whoever is advising Mayor Francis really had better write a new speech if this “new” initiative forms the basis of the Mayor’s annual State of the City address tonight:

“We’re looking at a regional fund on a scale much bigger than anyone has ever discussed, either locally or from senior levels of government. It would require the co-operation of the City of Windsor, County of Essex, Province of Ontario, the Government of Canada … but the driving force would be the regional economic development commission,” the source said.

How convenient then that the State of the City Address, usually held in May, was pushed ahead to March 17 - just in time for the provincial budget announcement on March 25.  Even more convenient is that if the province should announce yet another economic development fund - such as the Rural Ontario Economic Development Fund - Mayor Francis can take the credit all the way to the bank.

If no funds are announced by the provincial government - then it is yet another opportunity for our Mayor and council to lash out at senior levels of government - either way the Mayor and council are heroes or martyrs - depending upon the outcome.

Except - this idea of an economic development fund is nothing new nor hardly surprising.

No more surprising then the Windsor Star finally acknowledging that “Thomas and Michael” of Germany are a start-up company (already reported here and here weeks ago on local blogs) that is also looking at other jurisdictions to invest in:

Two German food cargo officials who came to Windsor recently were from a start-up airline company that began in 2007 and appears to be in the early stages of scouting for business prospects, not just in Windsor, but across Southwestern Ontario and southeast Michigan.

So much for the 50-500 jobs Mayor Francis initially claimed were coming.  As well, if rumours are to be believed, word is that another major employer in Windsor could be pulling the plug soon and those phantom 500 jobs could have come in very handy.

Although Mayor Francis is also expected to reveal plans to establish regular flights between Windsor Airport and western Canada, WestJet claims that there are “no formal talks at this time” and that the company plans to increase the number of planes to 116 by 2013.  When that happens, “Windsor would certainly be in there.” 

Wonderful.  Another plan for some point in the distant future that hasn’t been confirmed.  

 Ontario’s focus is on the knowledge-based economy, and even though our city will presumably have millions of dollars to throw at the regional economic development commission, not a single dime is earmarked towards a research centre if it is not located downtown (See 2007’s State of the City Address).

But this economic development fund sounds a little familiar - almost too familiar.

Oh my gosh - could it be that Huron County just announced a similar type of investment in conjunction with the province?

At the Huron Community Matters Conference on May 30, 2007, MPP Carol Mitchell made the long awaited announcement that funding from the province’s Rural Economic Development Program (RED), in the amount of $675,000, will come to the County-wide Huron Economic Development Matters Initiative.

The funding will be used to expand on and assist in the three key areas of economic growth, community revitalization, and youth engagement.

Furthermore, somehow some way the city and the county, who have been at odds over just about everything from infrastructure to regional tourism, will come together for regional economic development, spearheaded by a Windsor Mayor who has threatened economic development in the county with potential lawsuits against the Manning Road/Lauzon Rd connection to Highway 401?

What happens if the province and county don’t or can’t follow through with funds?  Will Windsor demonstrate true leadership and forge ahead or cry foul, shrug their collective shoulders and say oh well, we tried?

Don’t get me wrong - a regional economic development fund is a good idea five years too late.  Meanwhile economic development stimuli within the Mayor and council’s control - such as research facilities or massive infrastructure projects - get delayed or outright rejected.

And how much do senior levels of government want to invest in the Windsor area but are called “cheap” at every turn with a project that could create upwards of 7,500 jobs sooner rather than later?

As I stated in a previous blog - this State of the City Address has all the makings of a “political” speech designed to demonstrate that the Mayor and council are on the right path, when in fact the ideas they present are nothing more than plans - and plans that should have been unveiled some five years ago when this “economic storm” began.

All the plans  announced thus far will supposedly bear fruition after 2010, or in some cases after 2013 - just in time for a new Mayor to take the fall should they not pan out or for incumbents to take on the campaign trail in 2010 with cries of “We have a plan!  We have a plan!” much like they did in 2006.

Please tell us this isn’t the “novel” economic approach hinted at two weeks ago in the media?  Please tell us there is a firm commitment on real jobs that pay reasonably well.

While “daring to dream” is commendable, dreams don’t pay the bills or put people back to work.  Otherwise these dreams are nothing more than false hope to buy political time.

Bureaucracy out of control

Forgive me if I seem to ramble on a bit tonight - I’m still not feeling 100% but really wanted to share some thoughts I had in my feverish state. (Okay, a rather feeble attempt at making fun of myself,  but I digress.) 

There are several stories as of late that are causing me concern - notably the power of unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats versus the power of elected representatives.

Take for example Sylvia DeVries, the ovarian cancer survivor, who, because she did not fill in the ”proper forms”, may be unable to have her $60,000 in life-savings recovered through OHIP unless of course she has some extra cash lying around to take the province to court over the matter. 

And note - take the province to a provincial court to challenge the provincially run OHIP plan. 

And Health Minister George Smitherman? According to the Star:

” The minister cannot intervene,” Ostfield said. “These laws are in place in order to protect Ontario’s health care system. If payment was issued for every single circumstance, we wouldn’t be able to sustain the health care system for future generations. So we do have these laws in place for a reason. There are safety nets to make sure that people don’t fall through the cracks and that they do receive compensation if it was necessary or deserved.”

Where have we heard this before?  Why bother having Ministers then?   

Then, we have Mohamad Chams, a landlord who rents a unit to a massage parlour. However, the massage parlour was recently charged - though not convicted and because of this, the government could seize Mr. Chams property under the Civil Remedies Act.  In Friday’s Star, Mr. Chams stated:

“With all due respect, that’s not my responsibility. That’s why I pay my taxes and why they get paid. It’s their job. The way I look at it, they’re in a deadlock and they can’t do anything. So now they come after us. I said if they can show me a guilty conviction, I will lock them out.”

Chams’ case sounds eerily familiar to that of Paul and Ruth Derbacher’s of Connecticut.  The Derbacher’s were in their eighties and had the home they had lived in for over forty years seized by federal authorities because they had no idea their grandson kept weapons and drugs in the house.  And guess where the proceeds of the seizure went?

You guessed it - to the government.

Andrew Falby in Sarnia, Ontario, nearly a decade ago challenged the county’s passing of a smoking bylaw.   When the case went to trial, it was discovered that the smoking bylaw was passed as a result of a presentation of a petition containing over 3,500 signatures - however no such petition existed a Freedom of Information request later revealed.  However, Mr. Falby lost his case because the decision would be “moot” since the province had passed a province wide ban.  And according to the county’s lawyer  - an example of Mr. Falby should be made to prevent future “frivolous” court challenges.  The judge agreed.  The court ordered costs to the county and Mr. Falby was out over $50,000.  I’m told Mr. Falby may appeal.

But what these cases demonstrate to me is a centralization of power in the hands of the unelected and the elected are apparently powerless to stop it.  And should they try - they will pay dearly.

In fact, Windsor city councillors approved a Code of Conduct that could further curtail the powers of the elected, as witnessed by the CAO’s outburst against Councillor Marra two weeks ago.  This isn’t to say there are not some good things in the Code of Conduct - there are.  But when this very code of conduct makes it more difficult to hold bureaucrats accountable - I draw the line.

Now while some sections of the Code of Conduct do apply to all staff - the vast majority of the code applies directly to elected officials and could, I fear, prevent councillors from doing their jobs as mandated by the Municipal Act.

The growing power of unelected bureaucrats causes me great concern.  And to hear the CAO claim there aren’t enough of them gives me a bad case of heart burn.

In my opinion, we already have enough bureaucrats to do the job and I believe that the priority for resources in the city should be the delivery of front-line services that make a real difference in people’s lives, rather than paper-shuffling and report-writing that does not.  The larger the bureaucracy grows, the fewer problems it seems to solve and if the above stories are any indication, the more problems it creates.

There is no reason whatsoever why a report should take five years to complete and this alone does not justify the hiring of more senior bureaucrats. 

 But here is where our councillors fail us.  Despite having inadequate information at their disposal they continuously approve by a majority most recommendations - and now with the new code of conduct - they dare not criticize administrators either.

The power of the bureaucracy grows because of the ineffectiveness of our elected representatives who seem more interested in conducting line-by-line audits or pretending to be leaders when in fact they are nothing more than a politician.

Democracy is supposed to be about representing the people - not controlling the people or making examples of them.  There’s a word for this form of government and it doesn’t start with the letter ‘d’.

But I fear we are rapidly heading in that direction because some elected officials, on all levels of government, appear more interested in protecting the bureaucracy than in doing their jobs.

No Blog

My cold seems to have gotten the better of me, so therefore, there will be no blog this evening.

Have a good weekend.

Is biodiesel announcement a load of biomass?

There are three things I thoroughly dislike.

One are colds - of which I’m now battling.  Two - nicotine withdrawals - I’m on day one in another attempt at quitting smoking.  The two culminate to form a not so pleasant response to a third thing I thoroughly dislike:  Misleading news.

Still fresh on my mind was the announcement nearly two years ago of the 1,000 “high-tech” jobs locating to Windsor - which turned out to be call centre jobs paying roughly $10 an hour.  Then, it was the 50-500 jobs that some undisclosed investor from Germany (who later turned out to be Michael and Thomas) would bring to Windsor - which turned out to be a start-up export company with one plane that may locate in Windsor a few years from now.

But at first, I thought I was having an attack of dejà-vu.  Back on June 28, 2007, the Windsor Star reported that investors were needed to build a $5-million bio-diesel plant in Windsor:

Plans to build a $5 million biodiesel production plant on the city’s far west side are dependent upon finding investors willing to put up at least 50 per cent as start-up capital, according to the company’s president.

Kelso Sharp, who heads an Ontario numbered company which plans to develop the site on Weaver Street, said the plant could start producing five million gallons of bio-diesel fuel as early as next January once financing falls into place.

“The planning is complete and now it’s a matter of acquiring financing and investors,” Sharp said.

The plant would cover about 8,000 square feet on a half-acre site and could be producing as much as 24 million gallons within a year. Sharp said that initially the plant would employ about a dozen people on three shifts but that would increase as production increases.

So imagine my surprise when I read this morning on the AM800 website that:

The Windsor-Essex Development Commission is hoping to get an unnamed bio-diesel company to set up in the area.  The plant would create hundreds of jobs in operations and construction and would initially process five-million gallons of bio-diesel made from things like soybeans.  The commission’s director of Business Retention and Expansion Tracey Pringle hopes the new plant can be up and running in the next 12 to 18 months.

Two bio-diesel plants for Windsor?  Can it be?

But then I got a little suspicious and started to think all this talk of bio-diesel was nothing more than a load of biomass.

The first clue was the Development Commission’s claim that this newest bio-diesel plant, that would process 5-million gallons of bio-diesel, would create hundreds of jobs.

How could this be when the plant announced in June 2007 would process 5-million gallons of bio-diesel and create 12 jobs?

And then I remembered that the Mayor’s State of the City address was this Monday and that he would need to outdo both the London Mayor and Detroit Mayor in job announcements.

So I got on the internet and contacted Sharp Biofuels to see if I was mistaken in my assumptions.

In response to my inquiry, Mr. Kelso Sharp wrote:

I would guess that I am the one they are talking about however, I was not told about the interview this morning, could you fill me in on who they were talking to and what was said? As for the hundreds of jobs they are way off.

I informed Mr. Sharp that the Economic Development Commission had announced on AM800 that an “unnamed” bio-diesel firm may locate to Windsor.

Mr. Sharp replied ten minutes later:

Yes, it is Sharp Biofuels they are talking about, I just looked up who they were talking to and Tracy is working on some things with Sharp Biofuels. Was there something in particular that you are interested in finding out?

So why on earth would the Economic Development Commission re-announce something that was news from last year?   Were they tired of being upstaged by Mayor Francis in his big onion announcement from two weeks ago?

Or was this all designed to “pad” Mayor Francis’ State of the City address on Monday in an attempt to demonstrate he is creating hundreds and hundreds of jobs in the face of growing criticism?

Don’t get me wrong - these are positive developments - but they are not as they are purported to be.  Why the spin?  Why the overblown hype?  Don’t people yet realise the power of Google?

What about the thousands of infrastructure jobs that this city council is stalling with threats of legal action and political gamesmanship?

As I stated before, that would make a truly magnificent city address.