The province is taking its money and is going home

The on-going saga of the downtown conference centre expansion took another twist this morning. The Ontario government has taken the $30 million it had allocated to the project off the table, citing that the time and work put into getting it off the ground had gone on way too long.

The Ottawa Citizen reported today that the Ottawa Congress Centre is about 70,000 square feet and compared it with the new convention centre in Pittsburgh that measures 345,000 square feet. That's huge - think about 3-4 of those big Loblaws superstores.

I suppose that the good news is that had we completed this project after sixteen or so years of planning and squabbling (this has been going on since the early 1990's), we still would have only ended up with a 204,000 square foot facility that doesn't quite measure up to other such buildings in our corner of the continent. We would likely still be left on the outside looking in when conventions look for a home.

The National Hockey League has long promised us that our turn would come to host the All Star Game. For half a decade, I have eagerly anticipated an announcement, only to hear that yet another city is being given the week of festivities. Media in our town sadly report every time that we don't quite qualify due to a lack of space to hold the various events associated with the big game.

So what's the solution? I'm almost certain that the Federal government's $30 million commitment was contingent on the Province and the City providing their share. If that ends up being the case, kiss that $30 million bye bye too.

What's the bottom line? The Ontario Minister of Tourism assures us that the $30 million won't simply disappear, it will still be invested in the City of Ottawa somewhere, for a "tourism project". Will the Congress Centre expand on its current premises? It doesn't seem likely, because Viking Rideau, the owner of the land on which it sits (and shares with the Rideau Centre) doesn't want its parking spaces taken away from its shoppers. They contend that a huge parking garage that could cost $12 million would be required. Investors also have had serious doubts about whether or not this project was viable in the first place. The Congress Centre consequently will continue to operate in its tiny quarters and we'll keep missing out on the big dollars that come with big conventions.

Can we build one somewhere else? Will the City of Ottawa attempt to embark on another of its PPP projects? Maybe, but then you'll have a fight with all those NIMBY people who won't want a massive conference centre built in their backyards. Can't increase traffic, let's put another environmental assessment into motion... let's delay another 5 years. Let's put it there. No, we can't - how about there?

Isn't this fun? In the meantime, we remain on the outside, longingly looking in. What's the next move, Ottawa?

An introduction of sorts

It's been almost four years since I last had the opportunity to submit my monthly column to the West End Chronicle. Unfortunately, it has been about five years since "traditional" community newspapers started disappearing one by one. Newspapers that had been started by individuals or community associations have been replaced by publications run by corporations (some bigger than others) whose goal is to make as much money as they possibly can.

The effect? Some local activists, small-time journalists or columnists who were lucky enough to have space given to them on a monthly basis lost their "home". I am one of those people!

For-profit community newspapers are not all bad. As someone who helps run a charitable organization that provides services to seniors who live independently in their homes, I certainly have come to appreciate our local editor. We have established a partnership that closely rivals the one we had with the defunct Chronicle. We are one of the lucky ones, though, as one of the "good guys" is the editor of our community paper and he has been and continues to be one of our biggest supporters throughout what was a somewhat lengthy transition period.

What will I be writing about? Usually the topic of the hour in Ottawa's west end. I am not one to beat around the bushes, I try to tell it like it is. My personal philosophy comes from the right, but I do have a big social conscience as well. While I once had fun poking at Glabar Park residents for their incessant fighting against the development of the property at the corner of Carling and Fairlawn, I also have worked very hard on behalf of seniors, and more importantly, veterans. More on that another time - you can read my old columns on my old website - www.ncf.ca/~an956.

That's it for the intro - this will be interesting to see how many, if anyone, starts reading the new incarnation of my old column. What will be even more fascinating, in the new world of instant communication, is what kind of feedback is thrown back at me, now that I don't have a telephone, an office and an editor filtering telephone calls and letters to the editor!!!

Thanks for reading - I'll be back soon!

Michael "BullDog" Mason