Are there any Standards at the Windsor Star?

Boy, super snooper Dave Battegello really outdid himself in this past Saturday's October 3, 2009 edition of the Windsor Star. He went a long way to make my point--that standards at the Windsor Star are not what they should be. You wonder just how much embarrassment Chief Honcho and publisher Jim Venney and assistant chief  honcho Marty Beneteau can take.

Super snooper Dave Battegello and whoever runs the Saturday edition dedicated almost the entire front page, and, if you can believe it, all of page 5, to a story regarding professional staff, who have left Windsor city employment. This story, or maybe fairytale, titled "The Revolving Door" with a sub-headline "High turnover costs city hall money and reputations, critics say" deserves to be looked at closely, at least in my opinion.

You guessed it, this is another one of those stories where Star reporters appear to want to be opinion writers. They go out and find "critics" to fit nicely into their story line, gosh how convenient. By the way, is it true that super snoop Battegello no longer covers the municipal scene? And if so, why? Maybe in the interest of transparency, management will tell us why?

Anyway, back to the story, or fairytale. On the front pages of the Star, there are photographs, lots of them, 27 in fact, mine included. My post of today for Fair Play blog will focus on comments made about me and the Windsor Essex Development Commission (WED,C) since I am familiar with the facts and details about the Commission. As my readers will know, I served as Chairman of the WEDC for more than two and a half years and as acting CEO of the Commission for about one year. I was initially appointed to the WEDC by the then Essex County Warden and Mayor of LaSalle Mike Raymond. Mike did a top notch job during his time.

Others talked about in the Battegello story-fairytale will have to speak for themselves, since I, unlike Battegello, don't know their facts or circumstances. But I do know super snoop Dave did not call me for this story.

This is how the story-fairytale is framed for the readers:

• "Since November 2003, when Mayor Eddie Francis was first elected, more than 30 senior managers have either been terminated, taken other jobs or disappeared into the sunset."

Then our super snooper goes on to say:

• "Nearly every municipal department, from public works to economic development, has been affected by a steady stream of departures among its highest-ranking bureaucrats."

The above is a serious mistake, in fact. The Windsor Essex Development Commission (WEDC) is not a municipal department. Far from it. It is a corporation and has a legislative framework to follow as a corporation to satisfy the law of the land. Wow, that this important fact was misrepresented to Windsor Star readers is unbelievable.

Super snoop Dave goes on to write about the WEDC as follows:

• Both Paul Bondy and Roman Dzus were shown the door before Fischer arrived. After Fischer was fired, board chairman Remo Mancini took over, but he was eventually forced out as well.

Another serious factual mistake. I was not forced out as Board Chairman, nor in my role as acting CEO of the Commission. I and my 9 colleagues on the Board all resigned at the same time. We did so because City Council and Essex County Council indicated they wanted elected officials on the Board. This was contrary to policy they established for the WEDC, and totally inconsistent with how we had been recruited. Super snoop Dave obviously doesn't know this and it looks like he never read our resignation letters. The letters were made public and given wide circulation by the Board. Maybe snoop just forgot about them. Hey, he had a story to write, and I am sure time was limited...

At the same meeting where the entire WEDC Board resigned, I informed the Board that my company, Sandstone Strategies, would be concluding my contract as CEO effective with my and all our resignations. Again we all resigned together, and we resigned because the elected officials indicated they wanted Board seats. No problem for us if that is what they wanted, but we certainly did not sign up for a political Board. As a matter of fact, we signed up for exactly the opposite, and I am proud that we, the whole Board, stuck to our guns. I believe time will prove us right.

By the way, if super snoop Dave has any documents that proves I was forced out, he should make them public. Ok Dave, let's have it.

If the Battegello story-fairytale has this many factual errors about the WEDC alone, then I wonder how many other mistakes, misrepresentations, or errors there must be?

Let me say, to the best of my knowledge, neither Mayor Fancis nor Warden Santos interfered with the work of the WEDC. Other elected officials certainly did. I may write more about that in the future.

And finally, nobody did a greater disservice to the WEDC than the Windsor Star; please take full credit for what you have done. Saturday's fairytale effort to put all the blame on the shoulders of Mayor Francis would be laughable if the damage done to the community by the Windsor Star were not so great. To put it bluntly, the Windsor Star is the most negative and harmful institution in our entire region.

China to Pass Japan

It has been predicted for some time, but it appears China will pass Japan as the world's second largest economy sometime next year.

Yesterday, October 1, 2009 was the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. My congratulations to the people of China. I attended celebrations at Queen's Park, seat of the Provincial Parliament for Ontario in Toronto. The event was hosted by Premier Dalton McGuinty, and several cabinet ministers were present including Minister of Trade and Economic Development Sandra Pupatello. A number of Chinese dignitaries and business people were present.

Twenty years ago, such an occasion would probably have passed without notice. Things have changed. Today China is a powerhouse, with a huge population, 1.4 billion. Militarily, it is modernizing its forces and increasing defense spending, and economically it is big, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of 4.4 trillion U.S. dollars for 2008.

Below is the best broad definition I can give you for GDP:

"Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the broadest measure of a nation's total economic activity. More specifically, GDP represents the monetary value of all goods and services produced within a nation's geographic borders over a specified period of time.

GDP includes all personal consumption, all government expenditures, all investments in plants, equipment, inventories all residential investments, all exports, minus all imports."

Also remember that technically when the GDP declines for two consecutive quarters or more, by definition the economy is in a recession. And of course, we here in the West are currently in the "Great Recession".

I guess the big question is "why is China growing so fast"?

In 1978, after decades of strict state control over all productive assets, the government of China embarked on a major program of economic reform. As a matter of fact, it was a revolution in thought and practice. This revolution awoke a sleeping economic giant. It fostered rural enterprises and the formation of private business. This rewarded human ingenuity, hard work, and entrepreneurship. The Chinese government liberalized foreign trade and investment, relaxed state control over some prices, invested in industrial infrastructure, and made the education of its workforce a priority. Last but not least, a significant increase in worker efficiency has played a big role.

A very informative story in the New York Times (read below) shows there is lots to celebrate in China.

Chinese Economic Juggernaut Is Gaining on Japan
By HIROKO TABUCHI
Published: October 1, 2009

TOKYO — For years, Japan has been readying itself for the day that it is eclipsed economically by China. But as a result of the global slowdown, Japan’s difficulty in managing its economy and China’s rise — on vivid display Thursday as Beijing celebrated the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic — that day may come sooner than anyone predicted.

Read more, click here.

Cell Phone Numbers go public October 31, 2009

Just a reminder, and a big one.

Cell phone Numbers go public October 31, 2009

All cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing

companies and you will start to receive sales calls.

       I am told - YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS

Use the Canadian Radio Television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) "Do Not Call List Canada" website, and register your phone there to block these unwanted calls. The National Do Not Call List (DNCL) is great for consumers who want some privacy.

The address below should take you to the government site so you can register. Pass this information on to family and friends.

•  https://www.lnnte-dncl.gc.ca/index-eng

•  or you can always google "crtc do not call list"
  

A Billion Dollars is a Lot of Money

I have written numerous stories about the "eHealth" scandal. This sad story  just keeps getting worse as more details are made public.

An important update from the Toronto Star.

EHealth operation bled $1B

Auditor's report slams
Ontario's bungled push
for e-records and cash
it threw at the problem
Sep 30, 2009

Tanya Talaga
Rob Ferguson
Robert Benzie
Queen's Park Bureau

The cost of Ontario's bungled push toward electronic health records for every patient ballooned to more than $1 billion as successive Liberal and Progressive Conservative governments scrambled to bring the system online, says a critical new auditor general's report into the eHealth Ontario spending scandal.

The Star has learned Auditor General Jim McCarter's probe, slated for release next week, blasts Premier Dalton McGuinty's Liberal government for exacerbating problems that began under the previous Conservative administration and continuing a legacy of failure to modernize health records.

"It ain't pretty. This is not a happy tale," a senior official said Tuesday.

For the whole story click here.

Ontario Deficit for 2008-2009 Bigger than Projected

The fiscal year for the Province of Ontario runs from April 1 to March 31st. It then takes a number of months before the Finance Minister is able to close the books and give a final accounting. This year is no different. On Friday, September 25th, Minister Dwight Duncan finally closed the books on the 2008-2009 fiscal year.

Minister Duncan had projected a deficit of around $3.9 billion, but the number came in $2.5 billion higher by the time the books closed on March 31st 2009. The total provincial debt now stands in the neighbourhood of $113 billion. I agree these are all very big numbers.

Projections for the 2009-2010 fiscal year are also out of whack. Earlier this year in his budget statement the minister told Ontarians to expect a $14.1 billion deficit. After the first quarter the minister changed his projections. The following is a statement from the ministry website:

• In the 2009 Ontario Budget, the government projected a $14.1 billion deficit for 2009–10. Since then, a weaker-than-expected economy and further steps to support the automotive industry have increased the deficit projection to $18.5 billion in 2009–10. 

• This $4.4 billion increase to the deficit for 2009–10 is primarily due to an approximately $2.8 billion deterioration in the Province’s revenue outlook as a result of a weaker economy, combined with an increase in total expense of $1.5 billion to support the automotive sector and $0.1 billion in higher interest on debt expense. 
  

A strong political argument can be made to defend these very big deficits, and why minister Duncan has been so wrong with his projections. But I have to admit, the minister is going to have a hard time shaking the "Duncan Deficits" label.

The financial update regarding the 2008-09 deficit, like the TD Bank report on the impact to consumers of the new Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), was conveniently made public after the St Paul's provincial by-election. I know some political adviser or advisers must have thought delaying this information was a stroke of genius. However, in reality, the Liberals would have won the by-election anyway and the political manipulation of this public information needlessly harms their reputation.

German Voters Select Merkel

German voters went to the polls on Sunday, September 22nd 09 and voted to end the "Grand Coalition". For the past 4 years, Germany has been governed by an uneasy coalition made up of the Christian Democrat Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD). The Christian Democrats represent the conservative right of the political spectrum, while the Social Democrats represent the left wing of politics.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has governed very competently and carefully over the past 4 years. She showed herself to be quite astute in dealing with the Social Democrats, who had half the cabinet positions as part of the "Grand Coalition". Voters rewarded Mrs. Merkel and her CDU with a big win; she will be Chancellor for another 4 years.

Germany, with a population of 82 million people, has the richest and largest economy in Europe. Germany is the world's largest exporter and a big investor in Canada, making what happens in Germany important to all of us.

During my time as Chairman of the Windsor Essex Development Commission, we at the Commission made a significant effort to get to know our German investors. In fact, for the very first time ever, the Board of Directors and Commission staff held a "German Investor Day" to acknowledge the importance of  German investors in the Windsor Essex region and our very special relationship.

The makeup of the new Bundestag or Parliament will have a decidedly conservative flavour. Results show the Christian Democrats winning 33.8 percent of the vote. The very pro-business Free Democrats are poised to win almost 15 per cent of the vote. The two parties will be able to form a majority government.

The Social Democrats won only 23 per cent--their worst showing since the second world war. Their political allies, the Left Party (who are very far left, by the way), won 11.9 percent.

Other smaller parties, such as the Green Party, will also be represented in the Bundestag. Voter turnout was just over 70 per cent.

Canadian House of Commons to grow by 34 Seats?

Speculation is rampant that the current 308 seat Canadian House of Commons could grow to 342 seats before the next federal election. Democratic Reform Minister Steven Fletcher, a member of the Harper government, is working on legislation which would greatly increase the number of MP's in Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta.

One would think that allocating constituencies for the House of Commons is a relatively simply task. In theory, in a liberal democracy like Canada, it should be one person one vote, and therefore all constituencies should be of similar size. But the history of Canada and past agreements with Provinces has created a cumbersome mechanism.

For example, since 1915, the senatorial clause has guaranteed that no province would have fewer members in the House of Commons than it has in the Senate. The Representation Act, 1985, created a new grandfather clause that guaranteed each province no fewer seats than it had in 1976 or during the 33rd Parliament. Legislation like this gives more power to smaller provinces and guarantees Quebec 75 seats.

Let's for a moment assume all federal ridings were equal. If this were the case, each riding would have about 108,000 people. However, this is not the case. For example, as things stand today, the average Ontario riding has about 107,000 people, in British Columbia the number is about 108,000 and in Saskatchewan it is about 69,900. Therefore, the principle of one person one vote is modified for different parts of the country.

The proposed changes to increase the number of MP's will be an attempt to address this issue. However, past agreements will prevent a true one person one vote situation. Using 2001 census figures, if the number of MP's in the House of Commons is increased from its current 308 to 342, you can expect the average riding population to be as follows:

• Ontario 89,800
• British Columbia 90,800
• Alberta 87,500

The numbers for smaller provinces will not change. For example:

• New Brunswick 72,900
• Prince Edward Island 33,800

(All above numbers have been rounded for ease of use.)

The new situation will not be perfect, but it will be better and more fair than it stands today.

New Details about the New Tax

My readers will know that I have written several times about the new Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). Today's online version of the Toronto Star has quite a story.

Take your time; it's worth the read.

Ontario can't drop new tax
Sep 24, 2009
Robert Benzie
Queen's Park Bureau Chief

Ontario's controversial harmonized sales tax is here to stay – no matter who wins the next federal or provincial elections, documents confirm.

Buried in the fine print of the accord signed last March between Ottawa and Queen's Park is a clause that ensures the new 13 per cent tax, which takes effect July 1, remains at that rate until at least 2012.

Premier Dalton McGuinty said yesterday he was not up on the minutiae of the four-page memorandum of agreement, which also stipulates the HST must be in place through 2015.

"I'm actually not familiar with that stuff," McGuinty said. "I'm sure that (Finance Minister Dwight Duncan) will be of help."


For the full story click here.

King of Cheap Politics

Boy oh boy, some people just don't know where bottom is.

In today's Windsor Star a well written article touches on the ongoing feud between the Town of Tecumseh and the City of Windsor. The feud is very wide ranging and in my opinion is constantly stoked by Tecumseh Mayor Gary McNamara and his sidekick Deputy Mayor Tom Burton.

McNamara was crowing about the Dragon Boat Festival being moved to the Tecumseh waterfront from Windsor. Festival organizer Gerry Orum, a very good guy by the way, made the official request to Tecumseh, which of course, was accepted.

What is most disgusting about this article are the comments made by McNamara regarding some recently public news about Sue Whelan, the former Essex MP and cabinet minister. For McNamara to bring attention to himself by talking about Ms. Whelan's health challenges, and somehow inserting her situation into this controversial matter is unspeakable.

Talk about a big mouth and a tiny brain!

Windsor City Council Way too Big

I have written several stories about the recent ward changes approved by Windsor City Council. Just a quick recap for my readers: Windsor has gone from 5 wards with 2 council members each, to 10 wards with 1 council member per ward. In this change, the number of elected officials stayed the same and Council designed most of the wards to be similar in size. The ward system had not been changed for over 30 years, and due to population growth and shifting neighbourhoods, some of the wards were quite large.

Council last week started to reduce the size of its executive management; the number has gone from 5 to 3. This is a big change! Some Council members have also indicated that the size of government for Windsor is too large and not sustainable due to slow population growth and the fundamental change that has taken place in Windsor's economy.

But when it came to their own members, Council made sure that 10 equals 10. At the time, my recommendation was 6 council members plus the mayor. The reporting by the Windsor Star on this issue was half-hearted at best. Where was super snoop Dave Battegello when we needed him? He seems to be able to do a lot of important research when it interests him. Just look at his terrific and skilled reporting regarding the recent departure of Windsor CAO John Skorobohacz. As an important side note, Skorobohacz is one of the most capable public servants I have ever worked with and that includes my time as an Ontario cabinet minister, where I worked directly with 3 Deputy Ministers in various portfolios.

Back to the size of council. I wrote about Edmonton, which has a population of almost 800,000. They have 12 council members. I would like to add another comparison a little closer to Windsor and very similar in size. Let's look at Kitchener with a population of 205,000. Guess how many council members there are in Kitchener? Indeed: 6 plus the mayor. They had no trouble dividing Kitchener into 6 wards. The city seems to be well run.

This information was too difficult for the Windsor Star to find. And I don't remember it being talked about at Windsor City Council during the "great ward debate".

Ontario Liberals Win By -Election

Dr. Eric Hoskins, a 48-year-old family physician, easily won the wealthy midtown Toronto riding of St. Paul's. The recent well publicized government spending, contract and expense scandals seemed to play no part in the vote.

Hoskins replaces former cabinet minister Michael Bryant, who left provincial politics in June, to become CEO on INVEST Toronto. Mr. Bryant recently resigned from his new CEO position due to his involvement (and being charged) in a tragic automobile incident.

St. Paul's was supposed to have been a hotly contested race. The Progressive Conservative (PC) candidate Sue-Ann Levy, 52, a columnist at the Toronto Sun, finished second, and NDP candidate Julian Heller, a lawyer, came third. The vote wasn't even close. So much for the pundits!

The standings in the Ontario Legislature now look like this: Liberals have 72 of the 107 seats, PC's 25 and the NDP 10.

What a Difference a Few Months Make

Last year then Liberal leader Stephane Dion took some very bold steps to remove Stephen Harper and his Conservatives from power. Mr. Dion with great fanfare held a media conference where he and the leader of the Bloc Quebecois along with the leader of the New Democratic Party signed an accord to defeat the Conservatives. The accord would have created a Liberal-NDP coalition government supported by the Bloc, but with no Bloc members as part of the government.

The accord included the following:

• Stéphane Dion will be prime minister until May 2, 2009, when a new Liberal leader is chosen. The new Liberal leader will then become PM.
• The Liberal Party and NDP will sit together as a coalition government until June 30, 2011.
• The Bloc will support the new government until June 30, 2010, with an option to renew their support at that time. They will not be part of the government, and will not hold any seats in cabinet. The Bloc’s support is based on economic concerns, not the issue of Québec independence.
• The cabinet will consist of twenty-four members, plus the prime minister. Sixteen ministers will be Liberals, six will be New Democrats.
• The deputy prime minister and finance minister will be Liberals.

Prime Minister Harper and his Conservatives went to work!!

Harper said "the highest principle" of Canadian democracy was to have a mandate to govern via an election. He went on to say anything less was a "betrayal" of our democracy. Boy, pretty strong words. But anyway, Harper and the Conservatives were just warming up.

Time and again Harper accused the Liberals of creating an alliance with the "separatists". And he accused the Liberals of trying to win power "through the back door". Referring to the NDP as "socialists" was about the nicest thing the Prime Minister said.

After a nation wide campaign to vilify the Liberals, Prime Minister Harper realized he was going to be defeated anyway, and took the extraordinary step of asking  the Governor General, Michaëlle Jean, to close down Parliament, in order to avoid a vote. This is truly breathtaking! Parliament had been in session for only 2 weeks. But it happened. Parliament was prorogued or closed, the Harper government survived, Mr. Dion resigned, and the rest is history.

Yet today on Friday, September 18, 2009, there will be a non-confidence vote in the House of Commons. The Liberals will vote to defeat Prime Minister Harper. The "separatist" Bloc Quebecois and "socialist" NDP will vote to keep Harper and the Conservatives in office. I guess we are supposed to believe that there have been no backroom deals between the Conservatives, the "separatists" and the "socialists"...

You can't make this stuff up.

Interesting Changes at Windsor City Hall

Windsor CAO John Skorobohacz did not renew his contract with the City of Windsor. I understand from media reports that this decision was mutual. Mr. Skorobohacz was quoted as saying "every CAO has a best before date". I believe this to be very true, especially in Windsor, where city officials have to work with people like Councillors Alan Halberstadt and Bill Marra. Halberstadt only throws curve and spit balls. Bill Marra is not reliable when he gives you his word and never knows what he wants.

I have known John Skorobohacz for some time and worked closely with him over the past 3 years as we both served on the Windsor Essex Development Commission Board of Directors. I have seen him in action in other forums as well. My up-close observation is that he did great work and his outstanding leadership will be missed by all in the Windsor Essex region, especially by those who want to get things done.

This week, Windsor City Council also reduced the number of top level administrators from 5 to 3, in an apparent cost-saving effort. The city unions see this as a prelude to job cuts in their ranks. This may or may not be true. Job cuts can also be achieved by attrition or retirement. With an election 12 months away, we will have to wait and see which route this Council takes.

The really interesting thing about reducing the size of government in Windsor is the recent exercise Council went through to alter the ward system for electing councillors. Windsor had 5 wards with 2 councillors in each ward, that makes 10. And after the changes, Windsor ended up with 10 wards and 1 councillor per ward. Gosh, that makes 10.

As I have said in the past, there is no justification for such a large Council.

Messy Details for Duncan Over at OLG

I said in my post of Monday September 14 that the anticipated law suit by Kelly McDougald, the fired CEO of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG), was sure to be messy. Sure enough, details of the 18-page statement of claim have begun pouring out. The alleged conversations between McDougald and Ontario Finance Minister Duncan are messy, to say the least.

The Toronto Star seems very interested in this story. In today's online editions we read:


OLG chief: I'm the scapegoat
Kelly McDougald says she was axed amid scandal
after refusing government order to fire underlings

Sep 16, 2009 04:30 AM
Rob Ferguson
Robert Benzie
Queen's Park Bureau

The Liberal government knew months ago that an expense scandal was brewing at the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., but kept a lid on it while searching for a political scapegoat before settling on lotto boss Kelly McDougald, her $8.85 million lawsuit against the province claims.

For the whole story click here.

As I said on Monday, it is very difficult to prove cause in such a firing. McDougald wanted 400 grand to go away quietly. My prediction is the Ontario government will spend far more than $400,000 just in legal fees.

All Eyes on Ottawa

You can hear the Liberal McGuinty-Duncan government in Ontario breathe a sigh of relief from Queen's Park all the way here in Amherstburg. Liberal political appointments both at eHealth and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation have caused immense damage to the McGuinty and Duncan Liberals.

Why the sigh of relief? Well, federal politics has taken centre stage and all eyes are on Ottawa. Less than 3 weeks ago, federal Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff finally decided to be full-time opposition leader. No more "Mr. Nice Guy" and no more support for Stephen Harper and his very conservative Conservatives.

Ok, now the real political maneuvering begins. The Harper Conservatives have scheduled a non-confidence vote for Friday, September 18th. Will the separatist Bloc Quebecois and the socialist NDP, as Prime Minister Harper calls them, embarrass themselves and support the Conservative government? My money says yes.

It will take the Bloc and NDP leaders weeks to explain how this is possible and in the process eat up all valuable media space. And by the time they explain this vote, they will have to do it again. Oh boy, sore backs and joints for everyone. By the time Christmas rolls around, both the Bloc and NDP members will be signing up for the International Contortion Convention, where they will no doubt ably compete with world famous contortionist Daniel "Rubberboy" Browning Smith.

I know, I know, the Bloc and NDP leaders will say Canadians don't want an election. Then they will trumpet all manner of government announcements (the ones they like) as something they forced on the Harper Conservatives. And then they will conclude by saying, 'You see, it was worth supporting a government we don't support to get these great programmes and policies for Canadians'.

It is enough to make everyone want an election right now.