The City of Ottawa has become a volleyball in the battle between Capitalists and Socialists over the Lansdowne Live proposal.
The left wing councilors have started lining up against the PPP put forward and they have been backed by Dippers Paul Dewar and past NDP leader Ed Broadbent. Even CUPE is running ads against the redevelopment of the decrepit Frank Clair Stadium and the surrounding area.
They say it has to do with transit. They say it has to do with local residents not wanting the traffic. They say we need more green space.
But let’s call a spade a spade. If a PPP (private public partnership) was to go forward, the majority of jobs in the Lansdowne Live end product would be private sector jobs. Jobs that are typically NON Union.
But if we let the city take control and build their own stadium (or museum or park) the jobs that will maintain it will all be … wait for it … Union jobs.
So in a nut shell. A vote for Lansdowne Live will employ people who put money INTO the municipality via taxes. And a vote against Lansdowne Live will take money OUT of the municipality via a) wages and b) typical city union benefits which exceed by miles the benefits the average private sector worker gets.
This should be interesting.