The Forest City Capitalist: 50 Years Of Socialism Failure
Fifty years of failure has been the record of the increasing socialist municipal government. Once a city of prosperity, London, Ontario, has been dragged down into a spiral towards economic ruin. The 2014 municipal election brought one of the most socialist City Councils the Forest City (as London, Ontario, is known) has ever seen.
Gone are the days when the Forest City, having a population of only about 60,000 people, employed approximately 13,000 of its population in manufacturing. When there were no less than 250 manufactures in the Forest City from the smallest to the largest producing more than 70 distinct products that were sold all over Canada. London, Ontario, was once the financial centre of Western Ontario with 2 major insurance companies, 9 trust and loan companies, and 11 chartered banks. With its many railways, easy access to Great Lakes shipping by rail, and being on the major highway from Windsor, Ontario, to Quebec (King's Highway 2), the Forest City had a transportation centre that was unsurpassed in the whole country. Today, the Forest City is far from the prosperity it once had. Let us take a very brief look at the approximately 50 years record of City Hall's "Master Plan" of meddling in the Forest City:
"While the idea of subsidization is generally repugnant to City Council, it merits further consideration." - London, Ontario, Mayor Gordon Stronach, 1961.
Centennial Hall (1967). Built as a live performance venue for the downtown core, Centennial Hall is owned by the municipality and leased to a private company. Donald Jones Management Services has operated the venue since 1986, with the municipality taking a cut of the revenue. Centennial Hall has long been criticized as being inadequate for its designed purpose, and has an unprofitable history now costing about $100,000 per year in tax money to cover its annual losses.
Talbot Square (1972-1977). The municipality expropriated an entire downtown city block (Talbot Street, Queens Avenue, Ridout Street North, Dundas Street), and made a deal with developers to construct a hotel and office building on the property.
Project C - Carling Street Commercial Development (1970 -1971)
The proposed development for this area consists of a major office building combined with a minor amount of retail space adjacent to Dundas Street, a motor hotel on the west side adjacent to the open space of the Thames River valley and a parking garage accessible from Queens Avenue.
The present uses of this site include commercial, residential, warehouse and open parking. The buildings are virtually all old and in substandard condition.
Source: Central London Urban Renewal Scheme, Map 25: Proposed Land Acquisition, January, 1967
Soon after the ground was broken for construction, the developers discovered that the municipality had sold the land to them for more than its fair market value. Construction ceased, and lawsuits began. After five years, and a cost of approximately $8 million, the municipality sold the land to Bell Canada at an approximately $2.5 million loss.
East London Business Area Busway Mall (1974). As a scheme to reverse the rapid downward economic trend of this area, Dundas Street from Adelaide Street to Elizabeth Street was turned into a "busway mall" restricting vehicle traffic. Dundas Street was modified from a straight road into a curvy road as part of this plan. This curve in the road lasted for many years longer than the busway mall before the road was restored to being straight. The busway mall was an absolute failure costing about $500,000, half of this amount was taxed from all municipal citizens, and the area merchants were taxed by the London East B.I.A. (Business Improvement Area) to cover the other half. The merchants were forced to pay twice. By 1980, the East London Business Area Busway Mall was gone.
Museum London (1980). Formerly called London Regional Art Gallery and constructed along the river this was another scheme of renewal for the downtown core. Today more a sparse 'modern art' gallery than museum this failure costs taxpayers every year in municipal subsidies. The museum does not charge admission, and has had a problem of low attendance for many years.
London Convention Centre (1990). Ignoring the failure of Centennial Hall 23 years earlier, the municipality acquired the massive London Convention Centre in downtown. Like Centennial Hall, the London Convention Centre is not a profitable operation, and it is subsidized each year by the municipal taxpayer.
Budweiser Gardens (2002). Formerly called the John Labatt Centre as a tribute to the Forest City's history, this large sport and entertainment facility was constructed after the municipality illegally demolished the historic Talbot Inn at the site. The Central London Urban Renewal Scheme of January, 1967, proposed a "Court House" (1967-1968), a "Provincial Building" (1971), and an Office Site" (1972) be constructed on the property in what was called "Project B. Court House Redevelopment". The municipality owns the Budweiser Gardens building. The operators of the facility lease it from the municipality and do not pay property taxes. The operators are able to write off most of their expenses through prior negotiated deals with the municipality. Almost all performances at the facility are out of country acts that take their money with them when they leave giving very little economic benefit to the municipality. It is estimated municipal taxpayers pay $4.5 million per year on the debt created by the municipality for this facility.
This is just a small sample of what socialism has brought the Forest City over the past five decades. None of it has brought prosperity for the Forest City as the politicians and their special interest supporters have promised. It has brought economic destruction. Not only do the socialist politicians refused to change course, but they also repeat the same disastrous mistakes denying their socialist ways do not work. One example of this is the reoccurring pedestrian mall.
A pedestrian mall idea for the downtown core first appeared in 1965 and was rejected. This idea later resurfaced in 1971 and was again rejected. A little less than a decade later, the municipality was pushing hard for a pedestrian mall on Dundas Street between Wellington Road and Richmond Street in 1980 calling it the "Dundas Street Busway". It is obvious the lessons from the East London Business Area Busway Mall in 1974 were discarded by the "master planners" despite the failed East London Busway Mall being on the same street and only a couple of kilometres away from the proposed downtown busway mall location! After fierce opposition to the busway mall by many downtown merchants, the idea was shelved, but it was not forgotten. The name was changed from "busway" to "pedestrian".
In 2008, the pedestrian mall idea again surfaced, this time led by Controller, Gord Hume. Once again, the scheme to close Dundas Street was beat back by opposition from downtown merchants. The pedestrian mall scheme disappeared for a fourth time only to return again a few years later with another new name, "flexible street".
In 2016, the pedestrian mall is back, but this time the name has been changed to "Dundas Place Flexible Street" in a crafty way to fool people, and the size has expanded from Wellington Road to the river. This is nothing more than a deceitful shell game by a socialist City Council that puts its thumbs on its chest behind its braces and arrogantly says it knows what is best for downtown. It looks like this pedestrian mall will happen having been creeping forward for the last couple of years. The East London Business Area Pedestrian Mall was a fiasco, and I predict a similar result for Dundas Place Flexible Street pedestrian mall.
© Trevor Dailey
Just Right - September 18, 2014 (AUDIO)
Yes, but he can't win
Municipal politics - replacing the rules with opinions
BIA agenda - out of bounds
The United Nations - Collectivism's global voice
Just Right - March 28, 2013 (AUDIO)
Municiplan - All Solutions Point To City Hall
Masterplan - All Solutions Point To Taxpayers
Writing To Win Rather Than Inform - From Bob Woodward To Rob Ford
Beyond Media Bias: When The Line Has Been Crossed
Just Right - November, 1, 2012 (AUDIO)
Guest: Orlando Zamprogna - Former Controller,
Past Deputy-Mayor Of The City Of London
'I got out of politics because I saw what was coming.' - The Predictive Wizardry Of OZ
Sadder Budweiser - No Gardens Of Green, Just In The Red
They Were Board Of Control - Now Career Politicians Are Out Of Control
When You're Alone And Life Is Making You Lonely Just Don't Go Downtown
Just Right - February 28, 2008 (AUDIO)
London Municipal Politics: Making Downtown Pedestrian
Business? Or Government? BIAs (Business Improvement Areas) are NOT 'Business Associations'
Official Bilingualism: The Criminalization of Language - Part 1
Conservatives: John Tory No Tory
It's The Economy, Stupid!
Marc Emery on Access 96: BIAs and the Downtown London Metrobulletin (AUDIO)
Years prior to the founding of Freedom Party of Ontario, Marc Emery was a weekly contributor to a program called Access 96, broadcasted on CFPL FM 96 in London, Ontario. In this broadcast, Marc talks about Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) and announces the launch of his new newsletter for London business persons, the Downtown London Metrobulletin.
Downtown London Metrobulletin Issue #2 (June 1, 1981)
Contents of Issue #2:
We’re back; Exclusive interview: the mayor, Al Gleeson; Downtown in 1986: Wow!; B.I.A. Report: Mall experiment delayed until next year; Eyesores; Crime and punishment: Allan Singer has been taken to court for conducting his business in English; Core area sabotage; Manual for starting a “Community Assoc.”; Random notes; Downtown parking: Plenty of it!; Random notes on parking; An interview with the President of Alcor Investments: ‘Bullish on downtown’; Letters; Bids to restrict competing businesses decried.
Downtown London Metrobulletin Bonus Issue #2.5 (July, 2, 1981)
Contents of Issue #2.5:
Socialist hired as B.I.A. Exec Director.
Downtown London Metrobulletin Issue #4 (October, 23, 1981)
Contents of Issue #4:
Editorial: Do we need a 4th level of government?; Windsor’s pedestrian mall: a tour; Random notes; B.I.A. notes; Jack Burghardt: downtown’s MP; David Peterson: downtown’s MPP; Snow removal downtown: We don’t get any. Or do we?; Bob Martin in Western Ontario Business; Gord Walker MPP & deregulation; No English in Quebec?; London Life; Dundas Street pedestrian mall; The MetroBulletin looks at 7 other pedestrian malls; the Free Press tries to tell us 75% support a pedestrian mall – Fanny Goose next day says otherwise; Bill C – 7: Bill Davis and Bob Elgie bring 1984 today; Employers to be fined, searched in new law; Trudeau to resign between December 10-15; God Bless America!: Ronald Reagan may save our bacon yet; Our new movie: How I learned to love the B.I.A., win the war (and stop worrying about the Baliff).
Downtown London Metrobulletin Bonus Issue #4.5 (November 3, 1981)
Contents of Bonus Issue #4.5:
Comrade Bob pulls off a fast one; Just who supports the B.I.A.?: Given a free choice, almost no one; Letters to the editor of the London Free Press.