Royson's take from the Star:
T.O. needs Harper for world's fair bid
Apr. 10, 2006. 08:32 AM
ROYSON JAMES
You are going to hear a lot about Expo 2015, the world's fair that seems so unfamiliar, so distant, so amorphous that it's easy to miss it or wonder why the fuss.
But by June Toronto could be starting another bid to host this international event. And within two years, a world's fair could be awarded to this city.
A lot must happen between now and then. For one, Torontonians and their political and business and civic leaders must want this event, paint a picture to inspire the public, and drive towards it with creativity and verve.
To win, the city will need a lot of friends. The pessimists among us are saying, about now: "Game over. We've lost before we start."
But Toronto's friends and enemies can be found in the unlikeliest of places —sometimes in the same person, as it was with former Ontario Premier Mike Harris.
Harris, the North Bay golfer who often teed off on Toronto in the early days of his reign at Queen's Park, was quite fond of Toronto near the end. He often said his eyes were opened on trips abroad. When he mentioned Ontario to his hosts, only a few people knew where he was talking about. But when he said Toronto, eyes lit up.
Harris told that story often. And it seems the more it became clear that Toronto is the straw that stirs the Ontario drink, the more helpful Harris became.
Of course, by then it was too late. The man who amalgamated the city, downloaded huge costs, and dismantled many of the social safety nets and structures that helped the complex city function is remembered for the evil he did, not the good.
But it was Harris who approved the Super Build fund that was used as seed money to start the cultural rebirth everyone is now recognizing as a historical and significant moment.
When Toronto bid for the 2008 Olympics, a bid it lost badly as Beijing won, it was Harris who did the heavy lifting on the bid day in Moscow.
If you recall, Mayor Mel Lastman was rendered impotent when he offended the African contingent by suggesting he didn't really want to go to Mombasa to drum up votes — so terrified he was of ending up in the pot of a cannibal.
With Mel gagged by the bid team, left in his hotel room, away from the media, Harris carried the ball. It was Harris, not the mayor, who addressed the delegates of the International Olympic Committee.
By contrast, when Toronto tried for the 1996 Olympics, neither outgoing Premier David Peterson nor incoming Premier Bob Rae gave the city its due. Peeved that he'd just been upset by Rae, Petersen backed out of any official role, saying Rae should be the one to travel with the bid team. Neither did.
When it comes to bids for world fairs, it is national governments that must rise to the challenge. That means Stephen Harper and the Conservatives.
It will be a while yet before we get to know our new Prime Minister, providing he lasts long enough to get past the introductions. So, it's highly speculative to say what Harper will do on the Toronto file. But, so far the signals are not good.
Just last week a front page headline in the Star read: "Don't need Toronto, Tory strategist says." Quebec, not Toronto, is the focus of the new government, as it attempts to turn a minority government into a majority winner over the next year, a Tory insider told business executives.
What's particularly damaging about this is that Toronto needs Harper's attention now, leading up to a June meeting in Paris where the city's Expo bid team hopes to officially declare it is in the running for Expo 2015. There is little time to hold his hands and slowly develop a lasting relationship with Harper.
"Expo 2015 is a chance for Harper to show he cares about Toronto," says Councillor Brian Ashton, who is pushing the Toronto bid. "He needs to demonstrate a commitment to Toronto as Canada's premier urban centre."
So far, Izmir, Turkey seems the only sure competition. But Moscow and Rio de Janeiro are considering bids as well. As soon as one city officially files a bid, the clock starts ticking and all other bidders must apply within six months. The host city will be chosen in February 2008.
Public consultation sessions on Toronto's bid are set for North York's Memorial Hall in the civic centre, below the library, on Thursday April 20. A second is set for Harbourfront April 24. Both sessions are 6 p.m. to 9.30 p.m.
The matter goes to city council May 23. If approved, and if the Harper chooses to surprise, he may find the energy to lift a finger for the city of Toronto.
It wouldn't be the first time help arrived from the unlikeliest of sources.
AoD
