Former Mayor Larry Di Ianni and Mr. Ecklund's daughter Erika

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LARRY'S CORNER- Hamilton's Former Mayor Speaks

former Mayor of Hamilton, Larry Di IanniFederal NDP Caucus Lets Hamilton Down

By Larry Di Ianni
(posted January 12, 2009)

There are some remarkable items of correspondence in this week’s Council meeting. The letters are noteworthy not because of the information being conveyed, but because of the missed opportunities in the letters, as well as the perfunctory nature and tone of the missives being circulated.

I am referring to a letter that the NDP troika of Christopherson, Charlton and Marston sent to the Mayor and Council regarding the upcoming Federal budget. The letter purports to seek the City’s input on what the budget should contain to assist the city. The impression that the three members are trying to create, of course, is that they will be the conduits and the champions of any federal largesse coming to the city.

What is curious about the letter written by our NDP colleagues is that it is more political in substance than it is solicitous in tone. As much as the three want input from the city to convey to the Federal minister of Finance, they seem more bent on telling us what the NDP platform is and what the NDP solution to the ailing economy might contain. Even more strangely, the letter contains the terms of the ill-fated coalition which was signed by the NDP, Liberals (under Dion) and the Bloc. I am not quite sure what soliciting budget information has to do with a coalition plan which was soundly criticized by Canadians from coast to coast.

The real travesty, of course, is the timing of this exercise. The letter was sent on December 19, just before the Christmas shut-down. It has a timeline of responding by January 9, a date already passed. In his answer the Mayor acknowledges that the timeline cannot be met and indicates that Council’s opinion will be sought in answering the questions. Perhaps the Mayor saw the futility of the exercise and is giving a pro-forma response for the sake of civility.

What is also very telling about the letter is that one of the questions asks the city its opinion on the parties in Parliament ‘working together during this economic downturn.’ A good start by the NDP trio would have been if they had sent a joint letter with the Conservative reps from our city: David Sweet and Dean Allison. This bipartisanship would have told a far more powerful story than the ‘form’ letter sent by the NDP.

For the record, the Mayor did include a document in his response entitled, “Hamilton Priorities: A Partnership, City of Hamilton, Government of Canada”. This document which was prepared for the October federal election and which was sent to me as a candidate running for office, outlines a wish list of everything the city wants to do and spend on capital and other projects. This document is a start. But the problem with this list is that it is too exhaustive. If I were the finance minister, I would be very hard pressed to know what Hamilton’s priority is. Given that everything is listed and not everything, regrettably, will be funded, what is your priority Hamilton, I would ask. One hopes that the Mayor is channeling this kind of information to the right ears in a more discreet and focused way!

So, what is to be made of the NDP’s letter? Is it the wrong thing to do? Absolutely not! It is more smoke than substance but it will remind the community that we have elected three members from the fourth party, and they are on the job. Even if that job is to make the NDP trio seem more relevant than they obviously are!

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