Comment 43207

By Pigskin PPP (anonymous) | Posted July 13, 2010 at 12:11:02

Honestly, next to the agonizing press profile this slapstick adventure has produced, for me it’s probably the unflattering appearance of corporate subsidy that grates the most. More so because of the insistence that this is simply the way this particular industry operates.

The Ticats franchise, it seems to me as a spectator, is a dubious performer that has been run by otherwise successful, large-hearted businessmen with love of the city (Mr. DeGroote and Mr. Braley probably gave around $150 million combined to McMaster and Hamilton Health Sciences from 1995-2010), but which has real difficulty competing in a free market environment.

I would stop short of suggesting that we’ve taken pro football and made it a wing of the civil service, but I wonder if we should not extend the same courtesy for other troubled businesses that operate 365 days a year. Or here’s a thought: McMaster initially seemed willing to entertain the notion of a downtown investment when Mr. Braley dangled a $10 million carrot. Maybe we could get a bona fide downtown university campus if we threw in a $45 million incentive.

Blue-sky, I know, but then that’s the flavour of the month.

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