What’s At Lansdowne For Taxpayers?

06/08/2023

Here’s what taxpayers should be asking their councillors about Lansdowne 2.0.

What’s in it for taxpayers?

We know what’s in it for Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group. We know what’s in it for local construction companies. We know what’s in it for developers.

Now … what’s in it for you beyond a $330-million bill or about a half-billion in total taxpayer spending on a so-called partnership that was never designed to make the city but a small amount of money. We scribes here at Bulldog World Headquarters have called the so-called (no-called) waterfall of money to taxpayers a tricklefall. In reality, it’s not even that. The city has got nothing from this project.

The Auditor General Must Probe Lansdowne, Now

Now the starving mainstream media likes it because it’s good for business and that is good for advertising and that is good for the mainstream media. Look if the Lansdowne plan consisted in total of shredding $100 bills in an old parking lot, the traditional media in town would back it if it meant more advertising.

As well, there are a lot of rookie pols and hangers-on who are afraid to alienate the development community because that cabal of developers will run a candidate against you in the next election if you don’t tow the line. Or they won’t donate to your campaign. Now they’re not allowed to corporately, but there’s nothing stopping them and their friends from donating individually … and they do and so do their friends, employees, executives and relatives.

Look developers, if you want to build apartments and towers that are assets to our community and not eyesores and shade-creators, fill your boots. Just don’t do it with my money.

Here’s what works right-thinking citizens. You didn’t like the stupid tag-a-bag garbage program so you pressured your councillors and they are buckling under your good pressure. Councillors like to get re-elected. You hold the power over that.

It works. Honest. It’s working right now.

Auditor Should Probe Lansdowne Analysis: BENN

So ask your councillor what he or she is doing with your tax money at Lansdowne. See if they even know.

Look, private enterprise fuels the machine that raises taxes. Good. Private enterprise usually believes in rugged individualism and right-wing values. So why does private enterprise need welfare money from the civic government. Here’s one more thing in which private enterprise believes … getting free government money for rich guys.

If the people at Lansdowne want to be private enterprisers, pay your own bills. Be private enterprisers.

So taxpayers, what are you getting for your money at Lansdowne? Bills, bafflegab and a paved park.

There is an alternative.

If the arena roof leaks, fix the roof. If the stands need repairs, repair the stands. But $330 million for nothing? That’s a new definition for revenue neutral.

Instead Ottawa taxpayers are building castles for minor league football, minor league soccer and junior hockey. They don’t build castles for the Peterborough Petes or the Soo Greyhounds. Furthermore, people in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto don’t give a sweet flying whatever about the CFL. Ottawa is treating it like it’s the NFL. It’s not. Oh yes, the NFL pays its own bills. How serious is the NFL about that? They have a team called the Buffalo Bills.

What might have been nice at Lansdowne would have been Major League Soccer that the late Ottawa Senators’ owner Eugene Melnyk rightly touted. An MLS franchise would have looked good there in a right-sized stadium. Tomorrow’s sport rather than yesterday’s sport and/or minor league sport.

And please, please, please don’t tell me that Lansdowne now is better than what was there before. A bordello would be better than that old parking lot and no doubt there’d be a waterfall of money from that.

Then you could put in a park around it that could benefit taxpayers and wouldn’t cost a half-billion bucks.

Ask your councillor … what’s in the new Lansdowne that benefits taxpayers? They’ll be scratching their heads on that one.