Towhey to give advice on leadership and diplomacy?

5 responses

  1. Brian Iler says:

    Mark, you cite a TPA-paid Ipsos poll to aver that a majority of Torontonians support jets. But that answer came after a host of questions designed to create a favourable impression of the TPA and the Island Airport. Not the way to get a reliable result, I wouldn’t think.
    And if people asctually informed themselves about the issues, by reading the City staff report, for example – found at
    http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2013/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-64318.pdf – they’d be far more likely to agree that the jets proposal at least requires a lot more study, and more likely, like casinos and Doug Ford’s ferris wheel, should just be shelved as another bad idea for our waterfront.
    And maybe the TPA could have offered something of benefit to the City, as Mr. Towhey, rather clumsily, sought. Like paying up its $50M arrears of property taxes, for a start. Particularly when the TPA is entitled to pass that tax cost on to Porter.

    • Mark McQueen says:

      Thanks for stopping by Brian

      As you know, senior City Staff publicly advised Council in July 2013 (http://www.rogerstv.com/page.aspx?lid=237&rid=16&sid=1030&gid=112623) that the $50M figure you refer to was “erroneous”. In the absence of the advice of the most recent 2013 DAP Panel, the TPA has paid 100% of its PILTs on the basis of the advice of the 2009 DAP Panel. A calculation that the City has accepted on account, pending the new advice.

      As for the Ipsos poll, the polling company has separately advised you that their work was statistically valid.

      MRM

  2. Brian Iler says:

    Interesting story about Mr. Twohey, Mark.
    Perhaps the “something in it for the city” Mr. Twohey so crudely sought could have been payment of the massive arrears of property taxes the Toronto Port Authority owes to the City in excess of $50 million, the City advises.
    One does wonder why the TPA is so resistant to paying its fair share of property taxes, since it would just pass along that expense to Porter in any event.
    Perhaps Mr. Twohey was concerned about the wisdom of the pedestrian tunnel finances: the TPA has bound itself to pay $6,583,000 per year for the next 20 years plus periodic Lifecycle Payments – a commitment totaling in excess of $131,660,000.
    Although you say lease payments will be funded by passenger levies, given Porter’s shaky finances (see John Barber, at http://torontoist.com/2013/11/desperately-seeking-jets/), ultimately public assets/taxpayers backstop that liability.
    And you refer to the TPA-paid Ipsos poll. Given that the question on Jets follows a host of suggestions of nice things the TPA says it has done, that poll is certainly an unreliable indicator of Torontonians’ opinions.
    It would be interesting to surmise how the poll results would turn out if those polled had been more fully informed on the issues – perhaps by reading the recent City staff report, at http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2013/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-64318.pdf.

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