There's no reason to bail out OSEG

I'm one of those “ghosts of Friends of Lansdowne” observing the predictable debacle of the OSEG sweetheart deal from my refuge in Alta Vista. My thoughts:

1. We told you so. But our voices didn't hold a candle to Jeff Hunt's and Roger Greenberg's, abetted by preening city management and staff and mayors Larry O'Brien and Jim Watson.

2. The pattern repeats. Why are city staff being assigned to work on saving this arrangement? I pay my fair share of taxes and years ago I strongly objected when city staff were assigned on an ongoing basis to craft the OSEG agreement. I say “defund the OSEG file.” Faced with coronavirus challenges, housing and climate crises, and an opioid epidemic, I see other, more important files for city staff to work on.

3. In the early 2000s, it cost the city annually about $4 million net to run Lansdowne Park, according to Mayor O'Brien; that the ticket is now down to $1.9 million is an excellent outcome.

Such a small expenditure for running a major public space should be celebrated; no need to pare it down more.

4. The creation of OSEG was always a failure of governance. A few influential businessmen essentially took control of a hugely valuable public asset with almost no transparency and accountability.

To my knowledge OSEG has not returned money to the city since its debut. In a normal contractual arrangement, egregious non-performance is grounds for termination. I say, let the chips fall where they may. This is capitalism, folks. There is no legitimate reason why taxpayers should bail out a very wealthy elite who engineered this deal in the first place, have obviously not delivered, and now have to face the consequences.

Nancy Lawand, Ottawa