What Is Really Going on Here?

In reviewing earlier statements pertaining to the Federal Conservative Government's decree that they would not fund the West Harbour Stadium site, it is obvious that we are being lied to, by both the federal and provincial governments.

Allow me to reproduce part of a report carried in the August 07th edition of The Hamilton Spectator:

In a statement released yesterday afternoon, MPPs Sophia Aggelonitis and Ted McMeekin confirmed the province is pulling its funding from the west harbour. Aggelonitis -- who says she got a phone call late Thursday from the premier's office alerting her of the funding change -- said the move was prompted by a federal government decision to choose the east Mountain.

"We have said all along that we respect the decision-making process and we want to make sure that Hamilton gets a Pan Am stadium," Aggelonitis said. "What has now changed, unfortunately, is that the federal government has told the city it will not fund west harbour."

"We didn't make the decision, but at the end of the day, the province does not have the money to fund a whole stadium. We cannot go it alone," Aggelonitis said.
Local MP David Sweet and federal Minister of Sport Gary Lunn didn't reply to calls for comment.

Ted McMeekin said the federal government passed its decision on to the province through Pan Am CEO Ian Troop.

"Apparently the federal minister called Ian Troop and made it clear that they weren't going to come to the table with money for the west harbour," he said.

Troop issued the following statement via e-mail:
"Toronto 2015 will be able to offer some perspective when we know the city's direction. Until then, we don't have anything to add to the discussion."

According to the above excerpt, the message from the federal government was passed on by Ian troop, CEO of HostCo, to the Provincial Liberal Government. Now, especially given the denial of the Harper Government through Federal Minister of Sport Gary Lunn that such a statement was ever made to Troop, isn't there at least one logical question clear thinking demands?

That question: “Is there any credible way, short of concluding massive incompetence on the part of the Liberal McGuinty Government, that there weren't measures in place and employed to confirm the truth of what they were being told by a private citizen, even if he is is the CEO of the 2015 Pan Am Organizing Committee? In other words, are they trying to tell us that they made no inquiries of the feds about this, but based simply on the Troop notification, they drafted a united front with the feds?

One more thing that is also immediately interesting is that, given the chance when the veto story first broke, both area Conservative David Sweet, and Federal Minister Lunn, declined to comment. Would that have not have been the perfect opportunity to comment, to set the record straight?

Yet only silence. Until, of course, the official story was concocted.

A Portrait of Passionate Local Democracy

Having grown up just east of the core, there will always be a special place in my heart for downtown Hamilton and the vivid memories I have of a time that it teemed with people at night, attracted to the wide array of stores ranging from Kresges and Woolworths to Birks Jewelllers and Eatons. I suspect it is the realization of how important a vital downtown is to the health of a community that propels so many people to vocal and passionate support for the inner city, something I suspect might be difficult for those raised in the anesthetic environs of suburbia to really understand.

That passion and love was much in evidence at yesterday's rally for the West Harbour Stadium site held in Hess Village. What follows is a small photo essay that I hope helps to convey a small element of that fervour.

Where Does It Ever End?

Although it is not my intention to have this blog revolve around municipal issues, I find the politics surrounding the location of the new Pan Am Stadium in Hamilton to be fascinating. The latest pronouncement from Federal Sports Minister Gary Lunn is a complete disavowal of the Harper Conservative Government's earlier decree that it would not support the West Harbour site favoured by the City. Perhaps the strong reaction against the decree took the federal government by surprise, but the fact that the Conservatives are now saying that they made no communication with the Provincial Government stipulating the East Mountain site as the only one they would fund strains credulity.

Reminiscent of the worst abuses found in Orwell's 1984, this rewriting of recent 'history' is indicative of a very troubling Government characteristic: its absolute contempt, not only for local democracy, but also for the intellectual capacity of the average Canadian.