Scandals Spread Like Cockroaches: THE VOTER

I have the feeling that these memorandum-of-understanding documents will be like cockroaches. You see one, you’re concerned but if you see a second one, you know you have an infestation.

Remember that they were exposed almost by accident, somewhat like moving something in your kitchen that might expose the cockroaches.

This brings me to wonder how many more nests of cockroaches there are around the development community. Where you have one or two, you most likely have many more. How many developers, city planners and others are not sleeping well these days knowing that once the house of cards begins to fall, it’s only a matter of time until they too are exposed?

Don’t kid yourself that this is an isolated incident. The fact that just one developer has two well-hidden MOUs related to just one project is not a coincidence. The fact that they were so well-hidden and involved sign-offs by such highly placed officials tells me that these are more than likely part of a wider practice at Ottawa City Hall. I mean, embedded in the Official Plan, for heaven’s sakes. The result might not be an MOU structure and might take another form with other projects/developers but it will be there.

Ask yourself how many different projects Taggart has worked on around the city in the last 10 to 15 years and then ask yourself how many have these “special considerations” hidden in them. Is it 10 per cent? 40 per cent? 60 per cent? More? Then multiply that by the number of development projects that have been brought forward by other developers over that time period.

It’s just a matter of time before they are discovered. Maybe some current or former city or developer’s employee will spill the beans. Maybe a developer will decide it’s better to get out ahead of this and admit to deals they’ve made. Better to confess than be found out.

Do you have a transom, Ken, over which a person could drop a plain, brown envelope? Not sure how you do that in these days of electronic (and traceable) connections.

The Voter is a respected community activist and long-time Bulldog commenter who prefers to keep her identity private.