Larry's Corner

Out with The Old, In With The New

By Larry Di Ianni
(posted December 31, 2007)  

Year-end is always a nostalgic time. A ritual of these waning days is to spend some time contemplating the previous year’s disappointments and successes. Thankfully this task usually finds that when the tally is done, there is more to be thankful for than to complain about. It is this optimistic assessment that allows us to conjure up aspirations which rise phoenix-like from the ashes of the sometimes harsh reality gone by.

And so what kind of year has it been for our community? My vantage point is interesting these days. Even though, I am currently a nominated Federal candidate, for the first year in 25, I have not been an elected official intimately involved in the day-to-day operations of city government. I have been an interested observer of ‘governments’ at all three levels. I have also found pleasure in offering political punditry when called upon and even when not. I have found the joy of volunteering for worthwhile causes. I have also had the fortune of providing some occasional strategic advice when called upon to do so. Mostly, I have discovered that civilian life offers great advantages to do the simple things in life away from the public glare; and I have found the time to enjoy an ever expanding family unit.

With this as context, let me ask again what kind of year has it been for us; and what trend lines from 2007 will influence events in 2008?

Let me begin with the Federal government. I invite you to judge these comments from my perspective as a nominated candidate, even though I will try to be excruciatingly non-partisan in this article. It is fair to say that the Harper government has enjoyed some success in 2007. Mr. Harper has controlled the agenda of his government very tightly. He has been able to shift gears whenever he sensed trouble. I offer the demotion of Mr. O’Connor in defense and the change to Mr. McKay, as well as the dumping of Rhona Ambrose in Environment and the change to Mr. Baird. Similarly, the P.M. ditched a troubled Brian Mulroney, described by Harper as a trusted confidante months earlier, when Karlheinz Schreiber began his media circus. All were pre-emptive moves by Harper sensing that he needed to make a change to pacify his detractors in the case of the two ministers, and provided some distance for his government in the case of the former Prime Minister. Rather than change policies, the PM decided to change the players, and it seemed to work for him, at least in the short term. In the case of the environment the PM might have to do it again because of Baird’s embarrassing performance in Bali. I predict that both Afghanistan and the Environment will be big issues for Canadians and the Harper government will be judged on how it handles these files. Credibility, as well as performance will be the key issue. As for the Mulroney saga, the longer it stays in the public glare, the more damaging it will be to the Tory brand, and that is not good news for a Prime Minister looking to solidify his gains.

The biggest failure of the Federal government has been its handling of the urban agenda, or Cities’ file. Unlike Mr. Martin’s government which embraced a ‘New Deal For Cities’, Mr. Harper has actually signalled, through his Minister of Finance, that cities are on their own. They will not get any help from the Feds even though Federal budget surpluses are burgeoning. This has caught the ire of municipal leaders across the country. Hazel McCallion has Mr. Flaherty within her sights, and Mr. Miller, Mayor of the country’s biggest city, Toronto, is no friend of the Federal policies as they relate to communities. For Hamilton, this lack of attention in Ottawa means that we do not have a friend there. Other than some recycled Liberal programs on CanMet and Randle’s Reef, and a continuation of the Liberal gas tax contribution to cities, there is no new innovative program that I have heard of to help older cities like Hamilton. No wonder that our Mayor only got 15 minutes with the Prime Minister when he was in Ottawa. The two really didn’t have anything to talk about. As for our Federal representatives and their effectiveness, I think that the talented Spectator editorial cartoonist Graeme McKay nailed it with his tribute to Brian Melo. He introduced Melo as Hamilton’s Canadian idol. The same cartoon also featured our other ‘national voices’ in Ottawa, our four MP’s. Each was standing there with blank words coming out of their mouths. The message is clear, other than Melo, we have no other national voice currently in Ottawa. Fair or not, this was Mr. McKay’s assessment. Please write letters to him, not me. Just for the record, I worked well with Mr. Sweet and Mr. Allison.

On the Provincial front we have a more promising 2008 for Hamilton. We have our own Minister in the hard-working Ted McMeekin, and the very bright and entrepreneurial Sophia Aggelonitis as Parliamentary Assistant to the minister of Small Business. I am sure the two of them will provide assistance to Hamilton and its Social Services/Welfare programs, as the government promised it would. I am convinced the NDP members will remind the government of this commitment in the Legislature.

I am worried on two other fronts, though. I am not sure how committed our Minister is to the employment lands process around our airport; and I am not sure how committed the government is on the Mid Peninsula Corridor connections with Niagara. Both are important to Hamilton. I am looking forward to some sort of signal on both in the early New Year.

Municipally, we have had a typical Hamilton year filled with ups and downs. I won’t comment negatively on the performance of individuals on Council because I vowed not to criticize publicly when I left office. However, the litany of community concerns is well-known: Council decorum, the brain-drain of senior staff, confused votes on major issues, lack of clarity on a strategic plan, being business-unfriendly, the unresolved Lister Block development, uncontrolled tax and service charge hikes, perceptions of questionable leadership by the community, lack of support for our leaders (both appointed and elected) are just some of the issues the local media has highlighted.

There were some positives too. The Red Hill Valley Parkway finally opened after a fifty year delay. I still get praises wherever I go for my role in this road’s construction. More money has been put into economic development in order to address our need for employment for our citizens. More police have been hired. The Spectator seems to be more positive and balanced in its reporting. The professional influence of the new Editor-in-Chief is obvious, as is the more balanced approach by the city editor. Local reportage and commentating is sharp as ever, with an added blog feature to whet all political junkies’ appetites. I have contributed on occasion as has one or three councillors determined to clarify (or maybe spin) events being talked about.

The defining issue for Council, I believe, will continue to be balancing the service delivery for our citizens with the money it costs to deliver those services. Right now the costs are becoming prohibitively high. My last budget as Mayor delivered, I believe, a 2.6% overall tax increase. I was criticized for this by residents and political opponents during the election campaign. This reasonable increase was not matched last year, and it seems will not be matched this year. Residents rightly feel they are at the end of the road when it comes to taxes. What are the options? Cut services? This won’t happen. Find money from the province? This will happen in part, but it won’t be enough. Raise taxes? There will be a tax increase, you can be sure of that. Bring in more assessment dollars from industry? This is where the sustainable answer lies. But this won’t happen unless Council gets serious with the employment land expansion being studied at the airport.

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