At the heart of the pending City/ Toronto Port Authority deal is an agreement that the City pay $11,800,000 to the TPA – to bring up to date the instalments required by a settlement of a lawsuit brought by the TPA against the City shortly after it was created in 1999.

With Porter’s apparent success, the TPA is no longer in need of the money – it turned a profit last year, and promises to make more money as Porter continues to expand. It has nothing to spend the City’s money on – save to repay the debt it incurred to buy ferries for Porter.

And there is no accountability for how it spends money – its meetings are secret, and directors are sworn to confidentiality.

By contrast, the City is in desperate financial straits, and deeply concerned as to its ability to provide the basic services its citizens deserve.

He couldn’t be more wrong.

Mark McQueen should be ashamed that he is pursuing this – and so should his masters in the Stephen Harper government.

Notes:

1 CommunityAIR, in a briefing note to City Councillors considering this deal on June 19,2003 stated:

The latest and perhaps the worst scandal of the Mel Lastman regime will be under the spotlight at the city council meeting at 2 pm, on Tuesday June 24, in the Council Chamber of Toronto City Hall.

Unlike the computer leasing scandal, which occurred over three years ago and is only now under judicial review, the Island Airport scandal is still a work in progress and can be averted, but only if City councillors do their sworn duty to protect the public interest….

Community AIR contends that backroom dealing has resulted in a [multi]-million dollar scheme, to rip off Toronto taxpayers, ostensibly in the form of a settlement of a highly questionable lawsuit,…This scandal … is distinguished by the fact that its long-term result will be to damage the health of Torontonians and the economic well being of the city. …

The city's proposed capitulation to the Port Authority will turn over Toronto taxpayer dollars and assets to the TPA to the tune of over $60-million, at a time when the city is begging the feds for financial assistance. This is a complete travesty, to have the feds and their friends rip off $60-million from the city.

The breakdown is:

Cash payments from the city to the TPA over a 10 year period, with a net present value of $48.6-million

City lease concessions to the TPA for 49 years for certain parcels of city land, with a net present value of $5.8-million

Access to 26.8 acres of city land for 20 years for $1 per year., with a net present value of several million dollars (unspecified)