The Oakville Perspective On Windsor

Oh my goodness. The shorts of one of the Windsor Star Editorial writers must be in a knot these days. First they had to rough up Councillor Halberstadt, the Library Chair, about the Brian Bell matter. Since Alan seems to be the People’s favourite, that took a bit of courage.

Then it was time to take a shot at the Mayor again. How else would one explain this nasty little dig at our Mayor the other day:

• “While it was a bit rich for the uber-secretive Mayor Eddie Francis to condemn the murkiness surrounding Bell's departure…”

The corporate nose of the Windsor Star is out of joint for some reason. Did the Mayor do something wrong that got them so upset?

The Star has been so supportive of the Mayor, more supportive than this Mayor should ever have expected. There are a myriad of reasons why this happened, none of which need to be discussed again in this BLOG. You, dear reader, are well aware of them by now.

Why, the Star even bought into the Boost Windsor campaign of the Mayor. Remember how teary-eyed I got when I saw the Publisher’s Message that was printed in the Star. Put on a happy face. Counter those nasty whiners and naysayers. In fact, the Star wanted everyone to join its Believe Windsor-Essex Movement! All you had to do was call Ray in Star Advertising.

But nothing surprises me about anything coming out of Windsor anymore.

If you happened to get the Globe and Mail the other day, you would have seen an advertising insert called Perspective Windsor. Such an insert has been running periodically for a number of years now.

In it were advertisements from the University of Windsor (lots of them), the airport, the Convention and Visitors Bureau, St. Clair College, ERCA, the Development Commission as the public sector advertisers. Wow, I did not think that they had this much cash to throw around.

Oh yes there were a few non-public sector ads: a back page by the Rosati Group, a half page one by the local winery Association and a less than a half page one by Windsor Crossing.

I was surprised that there was no Casino Windsor advertisement nor one from the WFCU. They did get a freebie article about them both.

This concept was produced by some company out of Oakville, not Windsor, called Perspective Marketing Inc. That Company stated that the insert was “produced independently of the City of Windsor.” I’m not sure that I understand what that means but it really doesn’t matter.

I would be pretty upset if I was the Publisher of the Star and saw all those advertising dollars go to a nonlocal company. It almost makes a mockery of a Boost Windsor campaign doesn’t it.

However, that is not reason why I’m writing this BLOG. It is what is disclosed in this advertising insert that I found shocking. Why, I did not even see some of the information disclosed in the news pages of the Windsor Star and you know how close City Hall is to the Star and how often the Star gets scoops. Perhaps this is why the Publisher, the Editorial writer and even now the Star News Department must be furious.

Here are some of the shocking revelations:

• There is actually no need for a canal feasibility study. The Mayor did not say that we are studying whether we should do this or not but “that’s why we are planning a new canal and urban Village development that will expand our spectacular waterfront into the downtown core.” Poor Dave Cooke who is wasting his time and effort in his study. Perhaps he could help out the University now instead. And the companies that poured in all of that cash, they ought to be angry, especially the WFCU members. The decision has been made and by the Mayor alone! Who needs pesky Councillors or even tame ones.
  
• Get ready to spend big taxpayer bucks so those shovel-ready lands will be available. The Mayor is telling us that there will be “major investments in infrastructure that will enhance our airport… creating stronger connections to world markets.” All that for onions to deal with some startup company in Germany.
  
• Good thing that the Mayor forgot to mention his opposition to the University Engineering Complex location when he was promoting that it was going to keep us on the “cutting edge of innovation and research.”
  
• Thank goodness that Council passed the hybrid bus purchase before the insert's publication date or else the Mayor could not have mentioned that.
  
• I am sure that the Investors from around the world are going to be impressed with YQG’s “one-stop connection to any place you want to go” using the services of Air Canada Jazz and Sunwing.
  
• The Mould Makers better get moving. I don’t think that the 50 investors that they expect to attend their show will be all that interested in seeing the exhibits prepared by the Development Commission, the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program and St. Clair College. They might want to talk to Delcam or Platinum Tool Technologies Inc. Would you come to Windsor to talk only to 2 outfits?
  
• Did you know that it was the failure so far of the “governments in Canada and the US to build a better gateway between their countries [that] have hindered business and put future investment at risk.” Fortunately the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association forgot to mention about Windsor threatening lawsuits against the Governments and their “Enemy” or fighting over the DRIC road with Greenlink.
  
• It is incredible, it is the “cities of Detroit and Windsor who are teaming up on a large-scale endeavour to increase economic competitiveness throughout the region.” Silly me. All this time I thought that it was the function of the Senior Level Governments on both sides of the river to come up with the billions of dollars necessary to make this project move forward. All these stories about Detroit being in financial hardship are clearly incorrect. No wonder our Mayor can afford canals and arenas and shovel-ready lands if we can build this project.
  
• Not a word in this section of the insert about lawsuits or disagreements over the border road. Obviously those issues must have been resolved without us knowing about it.
  
• I am so happy that Windsor International Airport “has embarked on a mission to become a leader for global travel and trade.” How pretentious and how silly given Aerotropolis. In reality, YQG is not about an airport but it is about “2000 acres of development potential for aviation, distribution, manufacturing, office and retail developments and future cargo facilities at the airport and 4000 acres of greenfield development abutting the airport lands.”

There is certainly more in the insert but you should take a look at it for yourself. After all, the Windsor advertisers have paid big dollars to put their name into this publication frpm Oakville for the Globe readers. And in case you were wondering:

• "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
  A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON WINDSOR
  
  OAKVILLE, Ontario, August 19, 2008 – Today, Perspective Marketing Inc. announced the release of Perspective™ Windsor 2008. The publication promotes Windsor as an ideal investment destination, and was distributed throughout the Greater Toronto Area and the Windsor-Essex Region in subscriptions of the Globe and Mail, and to select households in Windsor via Canada Post...
  
  Perspective™ Windsor 2008 is part of a series of 17 Perspective Marketing Inc. publications reporting on municipalities in Ontario."

I am disappointed that the WEDC did not have the up-to-date publication for distribution for their London, England trip. Such poor timing. Think of all the extra new business it would have generated.

Amazing. I learned so much from an advertising publication prepared by an outsider. At least someone has come into the area to tell me what is really going on!