Raise the Hammer

Great article Jason! We are in a process of negotiation, and to simply hand the Tiger-Cats Confederation Park and a ton of money to build an out of the way stadium in which the sports consumer can be fleeced while not contributing to city development is ludicrous. Moreover, the creation and continued existence of Confederation Park in its current form represents a triumph of policy by the people for the people over the mugs game of stadium building where a gun is held to our heads - "give us what we want or else". That park and the lands on which it sits, the accessibility to our own waterfront, and the benefits to our entire community of maintaining the park in its present form for uses of recreation, socialization, and exercise, represents our soverignty over the decisions we make in our own city - and in this case, let's approach this from the standpoint of Maitre Chez Nous.

Further, to cave in to their demands now while handing over OUR MONEY would send a signal that we are open to be fleeced by just about any investor who'd be willing to try - that's how we ended up with those wonderful brownfields we've come to know and love, except that the industrialists who build those facilities spent their own money, not ours - they merely left us with the clean up bill, how nice, a fine example of private sector concerns for the people who are left to fix their mess (including our children).

Council must stand its ground on January 14th, push away any remaining notion that Confederation Park is to be given any to any extortionists out there who'd care to try - and let's get a deal that works for everyone, not just a pro sports team. Be it West Harbour, Esat Mountain, or renovation of Ivor Wynne, let's get a deal that works for everyone, or let's save ourselves the Future Fund money and find better way in which to spend what is our money.