Little progress on boat tour tender

Month after province orders competitive bids, it’s not clear who’s in charge of process

Posted By Corey Larocque

Posted 16 hours ago

A month after the province ordered a competitive bidding process that could replace the Maid of the Mist as provider of Niagara River boat tours, it’s not yet clear how the public tender will work or when it will happen.

And the Niagara Parks Commission and Ontario Tourism Minister have different explanations about who’s in charge.

Commission chairman Jim Williams said his agency is following the Ministry of Tourism’s lead in setting up the competitive bidding process.

“The Ministry is really leading the leasing and tendering issue. We’re really not up to speed on the issue other than that,” Williams said this week, after commissioners discussed the issue at last week’s meeting.

But Liberal Tourism Minister Monique Smith describes it as something closer to a partnership between her ministry and the parks commission, the provincial agency responsible for managing public land along the Niagara River.

“I would suggest the ministry is working with the parks commission,” she said in an interview this week. “We’re encouraging them to move forward as quickly as possible with the right checks and balances in place,” she said.

In October, Smith ordered the parks commission to take in bids from companies interested in running boat tours on the Niagara River. But there’s no word yet on when requests for proposals might be issued or what the deadline for bidders would be.

Smith’s decision came after a year of scrutiny for the commission after former commissioner Bob Gale, a local businessman, questioned why commissioners tried in April 2008 to renew a lease that allows the Maid of the Mist Steamboat Co., without seeing how many other companies might be interested. Maid of the Mist uses the provincially owned land for its Canadian operations. That lease ends at the end of November, but has provisions to continue on a temporary basis if a renewal hasn’t been negotiated. At this point, any new tour operator would take over in 2011, not next year, Williams said.

Smith’s order could lead to the end of the Maid of the Mist’s presence on the Canadian side of the Niagara River. The Maid of the Mist still has a similar and lengthy contract with New York State, allowing it to run tours from a landing on state property at the base of the observation tower.

The minister’s order to run a bidding process included the appointment of a “fairness commissioner” who will oversee the bidding process, but that person has not been named, nor the role defined.

There have been concerns from potential bidders and critics of the Niagara Parks Commission that current commissioners shouldn’t be the ones to run the competitive bid because they could be perceived to favour the Maid of the Mist. Commissioners tried twice – in April 2008 and Sept. 2009 – to renew the Maid of the Mist Steamboat Co.,’s lease instead of inviting bids.

At least two other companies are interested in running boat tours on the Niagara River. Ripley’s Entertainment, which owns Great Wolf Lodge, as well as Alcatraz Media, an Atlanta, Ga., company that brokers tickets to North American tourist attractions are potential rivals to the Maid of the Mist.

Gale, whose concerns triggered the tender, Ripley’s manager Tim Parker and Alcatraz spokesman Bill Windsor have said they don’t think parks commissioners should be involved in the decision-making process because they have tried twice to give the lease to the Maid of the Mist.

Preserve Our Parks, a self-appointed watchdog group, echoed that concern.

“We question how the process of tendering can be ‘fair and open’ when a group notorious for secrecy and clandestine operations will be in charge,” Mangoff wrote in a letter to Smith Wednesday.

No shakeup at the Parks

Posted By COREY LAROCQUE , REVIEW STAFF WRITER

There are no plans to shake up the Niagara Parks Commission, Tourism Minister Monique Smith says.

In an interview Tuesday, she brushed off a Conservative critic’s claim that replacing the whole board is the only way to restore public confidence in the government agency.

“We have no intention of replacing the board,” Smith said about how the Liberal government is responding to 11 pages of recommendations in a report she requested looking into

how the parks commission is run.

The Niagara Parks Commission Governance Review called for “fundamental changes” in who is appointed to the parks commission and the process for appointing them.

Smith, however, was not specific about how the Liberal government will handle that recommendation or when.

“We’ll be working with the commission to determine the implementation,” she said.

After the full report was released last week, Conservative tourism critic Bob Runciman called on the government to “start from scratch” with the Niagara Parks Commission.

“I disagree with a lot of what Bob Runciman says,” Smith said.

The NPC answers to Ontario’s tourism minister. Smith requested a report on its governance structure in March. Her ministry released the full report last week, under a freedom of information request, after publishing only a one-page summary in September.

It contains 11 pages of recommendations focused on three areas -setting the right tone, regaining public confidence and modernizing governance.

Smith said this week she and her ministry are still reviewing them and aren’t sure which ones will be enacted or when, despite the report’s cover page that indicates a draft version was available to government in July.

“We will be looking at which ones to move forward with … There are a lot of recommendations. I’m not going to ‘guesstimate’ as to how many or what percentage we’re going to be moving forward with,” she said.

The report called for the parks commission, government and Public Appointments Secretariat to develop a process for appointing members to the commission.

“Getting the right appointees is paramount and a prerequisite to having effective board governance,” the report states.

It notes the parks commission is “quite political” because appointments have been influenced by local and provincial politics, the report states.

It suggests the government consider what professional backgrounds commissioners should have and where they should come from.

Because the parks commission has a provincial mandate to preserve, promote and enhance the area around the falls, some commissioners should come from other parts of the province, the report suggests. All its members are from Niagara now.

The report suggests they create a process for removing members whose actions “are proven to have a negative impact.” The report notes a “lack of diversity” among commissioners -only one, Italia Gilberti, is a woman and no visible minorities are represented.

“This commission currently does not represent the cultural diversity of its customers, the Niagara region or the province,” the report states.

Ontario’s Liberal government created the Public Appointments Secretariat after they were elected in 2003 to make appointments to government agencies less political and more professional.

KPMG Findings

KPMG_governance

NPC issues

610 CKTB Radio

Rick Fleming

Some believe their ship has come in, while others think it hasn’t even been Christened!

That, due to issues regarding the way the Niagara Parks Commission handled the Maid of the Mist lease.

Tory tourism critic Bob Runicman wants the entire 12-member NPC board to walk the plank.  This follows a complaint by former commissioner Bob Gale, who said the NPC’s decision to award the Maid of the Mist Steamboat Company a 25-year lease extension… was a “dirty” move.

However; NPC chair Jim Williams believes the board can redeem itself, by holding annual general meetings for the public, and by getting the NPC’s side of the story out.

Williams says independent reports gave the NPC a passing grade, while also saying it could do a better job communicating, and keeping records.

Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor doesn’t agree with either Runicman or Williams, adding he believes the public should decide what to do next with the NPC.

 

 

Chairman dismisses Tory criticism of NPC

Posted By COREY LAROCQUE, SUN MEDIA

Holding annual general meetings could help the Niagara Parks Commission regain the public’s confidence, a government report says. It’s an idea chairman Jim Williams said he pitched when consultants prepared the report in the spring.

“That would give the public an opportunity to pose whatever questions they would have. It would also give us a chance to say, ‘Here’s the year in review,’ and the next couple of years in advance,” Williams said Monday in response to the release of two full reports whose summaries had only been made public in September.

“I would love to get in front of an audience and say why we went ahead with the Maid of the Mist lease,” he said, referring to the controversial deal that put the commission under the government’s microscope for a year and a half.

But it’s too late for Williams and the current board to restore confidence, Conservative tourism critic Bob Runciman said. Runciman wants the province to “start from scratch” by replacing the entire 12-member board.

He’s considering calling for a public inquiry into how the Niagara Parks Commission has been run.

“Certainly, on the surface of it, it looks like the board should be replaced,” said Runciman.

Runciman said he had not yet read the reports and had based his opinion on media reports about them.

He said he will decide within the next month whether or not to call for an inquiry.

Ontario’s Ministry of Tourism last week released two reports scrutinizing the way the provincial agency does business.

Tourism Minister Monique Smith commissioned them in March, after Ontario’s integrity commissioner, Lynn Morrison, handled a complaint from then-commissioner Bob Gale, who called the parks commission’s decision to award the Maid of the Mist Steamboat Co. a 25-year lease extension “dirty.”

When the reports were completed in September, only one-page summaries were posted on the parks commission’s website. Smith cited privacy concerns for not releasing the full versions of the 51-page governance review and 24-page audit of purchasing and leasing policies.

But Ontario’s Ministry of Tourism released the reports last week in response to a freedom of information request.

Williams said the reports give the commission a “pretty clean bill of health,” but suggest areas for improvement like communicating with the public, record-keeping and doing business with the public.

“Neither report — this has been our position all along — says there was any wrongdoing, illegalities, improprieties or anything the taxpayers or government should be concerned about,” Williams said.

He dismissed Runciman’s criticism of the commission as an attack by an Opposition MPP going after a government stinging from recent scandals at other agencies.

“He feels he’s got the government on the run on all these other issues,” Williams said.

Smith’s meeting schedule did not permit time Monday to comment on the reports and which recommendations she might act on, ministry staff said.

Smith said in October she had confidence in Williams and the commissioners, despite overturning their decision and ordering a competitive bidding process to run boat tours on the Niagara River.

Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor said he doesn’t yet agree with Runciman’s assessment that the commission needs to be replaced, nor with Williams that the reports give it a clean bill of health.

“It would be best to let the public decide,” Craitor said, adding the reports are available at his Montrose Road office.

“Before I jump in and say yes or no, I’d like the reports out there,” he said, adding he’ll wait a couple weeks to gauge public reaction.

The governance review concluded the parks commission is “not generally well understood” by the public. “Despite the many successes over the years, public confidence in NPC has fallen,” according to the Niagara Parks Commission Governance Review, prepared by KPMG consultants.

Its 11-page summary of recommendations suggests it can work better by:

holding a public annual general meeting;

delivering audited financial statements and annual reports in a timely manner;

publishing minutes on its website;

clarifying the commission’s and management’s roles;

ensuring commissioners receive the necessary level of information required to make informed and educated decisions.

A second report, an audit of the parks commission’s purchasing and leasing policies, was conducted by the Ministry of Finance’s audit division.

“In general, NPC’s procurement polices and controls are consistent with best practices,” that reports states.

NPC comes under fire

Posted By COREY LAROCQUE , REVIEW STAFF WRITER

Holding annual general meetings could help the Niagara Parks Commission regain the public’s confidence, a government report says. It’s an idea chairman Jim Williams said he pitched when consultants prepared the report in the spring.

“That would give the public an opportunity to pose whatever questions they would have. It would also give us a chance to say, ‘Here’s the year in review’ and the next couple of years in advance,” Williams said Monday, responding to the release of two full reports whose summaries had only been made public in September.

“I would love to get in front of an audience and say why we went ahead with the Maid of the Mist lease,” he said, referring to the controversial deal that put the commission under the government’s microscope for a year and a half.

But it’s too late for Williams and the current board to restore confidence, says Conservative tourism critic Bob Runciman, who wants the province to “start from scratch” by replacing the entire 12-member board.

He’s considering calling for a public inquiry into how the Niagara Parks Commission has been run.

“Certainly, on the surface of it, it looks like the board should be replaced,” said Runciman, a Tory MPP and former cabinet minister.

Runciman said he had not yet read the reports and had based his opinion on media reports about them.

He said he will decide within the next month whether to call for an inquiry or not.

Ontario’s Ministry of Tourism last week released two reports scrutinizing the way the provincial agency does business.

Tourism Minister Monique Smith commissioned them in March, after Ontario’s Integrity Commissioner Lynn Morrison handled a complaint from then-commissioner Bob Gale, who called the parks commission’s decision to award the Maid of the Mist Steamboat Co. a 25-year lease extension “dirty.”

When the reports were completed in September, only one-page summaries were posted on the parks commission’s website. Smith cited privacy concerns for not releasing the full versions of the 51-page governance review and 24-page audit of purchasing and leasing policies.

But Ontario’s Ministry of Tourism released the reports last week in response to a Freedom of Information request.

Williams said the reports give the commission a “pretty clean bill of health,” but suggest areas for improvement like communicating with the public, record-keeping and doing business with the public.

“Neither report -this has been our position all along -says there was any wrongdoing, illegalities, improprieties or anything the taxpayers or government should be concerned about,” Williams said.

He dismissed Runciman’s criticism of the NPC as an attack by an Opposition MPP going after a government stinging from recent scandals at other agencies.

“He feels he’s got the government on the run on all these other issues,” Williams said.

Smith’s meeting schedule did not permit time Monday to comment on the reports and which recommendations she might act on, ministry staff said.

Smith said in October she had confidence in Williams and the commissioners, despite overturning their decision and ordering a competitive bidding process to run boat tours on the Niagara River.

Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor said he doesn’t yet agree with Runciman’s assessment that the commission needs to be replaced, nor does he agree with Williams’ that the reports give it a clean bill of health.

“It would be best to let the public decide,” Craitor said, adding the reports are available in his Montrose Road office.

“Before I jump in and say yes or no, I’d like the reports out there,” he said, adding he’ll wait a few weeks to gauge public reaction.

An annual general meeting could lead to the parks commission publicly explaining more of its decisions, but that doesn’t go far enough, said Craitor.

“At this point, it’s not enough. It’s an agency that has done a great job, but it was set up 100 years ago. It’s got to come into the 21st century,” Craitor said.

The governance review hints at that, saying the public sees the Oak Hall headquarters as “a stately manor where decisions are made by the commission in isolation.”

The governance review concluded the parks commission is “not generally well understood” by the public. “Despite the many successes over the years, public confidence in NPC has fallen,” according to the Niagara Parks Commission Governance Review, prepared by KPMG consultants.

Under the heading, “setting and maintaining the tone,” it notes there have been breaches of board confidence, leaking of confidential documents, and “potential perceived conflicts.”

The report does not describe in detail those situations, saying investigators learned about them through confidential interviews.

Its 11-page summary of recommendations suggests it can work better by:

* Holding a public annual general meeting;

* Delivering audited financial statements and annual reports in a timely manner;

* Publishing minutes on its website;

* Clarifying the commission’s and management’s roles;

* Ensuring commissioners receive the necessary level of information required to make informed and educated decisions.

A second report, an audit of the parks commission’s purchasing and leasing policies, was conducted by the Ministry of Finance’s audit division.

“In general, NPC’s procurement polices and controls are consistent with best practices,” that reports states.

The gig may be up for Niagara Parks commissioners’ cosy existence

Posted By DOUG HEROD

Interesting story in the Globe and Mail over the weekend.

It was based on the findings of two government-ordered investigations of the Niagara Parks Commission.

One report dealt with governance, the other with procurement policies. Both were obtained through a freedom of information request.

The governance study, conducted by auditing firm KPMG, makes for interesting reading, shining a light on a government agency whose inner workings have largely taken place outside the public’s view.

It made a number of recommendations for improved governance, many of which spoke to the commission’s cosy composition and closed-door mentality.

Of particular interest were comments that alluded to the commission’s reputation as depository of old, fossilized, white guys from Niagara.

“There is minimal diversity represented on the commission with only one female and no other minorities,” stated the report. “This commission currently does not represent the cultural diversity of its customers, the Niagara region or the province.”

It added that limiting the number of terms a commissioner can serve “may help to decrease public perception of NPC as an ‘old boys club.’ “

And because the “NPC is an asset of provincial significance,” the report also expressed surprise that all commission members are from Niagara.

Commissioners interviewed by KPMG were split on the question of broader geographic membership.

“Interestingly,” stated the report, “the municipal  appointees advocated for local representation only.”

And here you thought the insularity and parochialism often exhibited by our municipal politicians were figments of your imagination.

The report then noted the recent restructuring of the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority board (also known as Metrolinx). Municipal politicians can no longer serve on it.

“Clearly, the directional thrust here is a move towards competency and skills-based appointments in the areas of governance, planning and project management, and keeping local politics outside.”

Ouch! That’s gotta hurt our municipal appointees — Fort Erie Mayor Doug Martin, Niagara-on-the-Lake Lord Mayor Gary Burroughs, Niagara Falls city Coun. Vince Kerrio and Port Colborne regional Coun. Bob Saracino — don’t you think?

Too bad. Sounds like they had a nice gig going.

KPMG felt compelled to include as one of its recommendations that “commissioners should receive no special treatment (i. e. they should be treated as regular visitors).”

That’s because, we’re told, “many employees treat commissioners as if they are royalty.”

Royalty? Parks commissioners?

Now, that’s funny.

The royal life might help explain the frenzy that often accompanies Niagara Region’s appointment process to the commission.

In 2000, it took five — count ‘em, five! — ballots for 29 councillors to appoint one of their confreres (Saracino) to the parks board.

Sheesh, it took only four ballots for Peter Partington to win the regional chairman’s job in 2003.

Apparently, Saracino was busy lobbying behind the scenes to make sure he retained his coveted parks appointment in 2006, too.

Hey, why not? Until now, the perks were good, nobody knew or paid attention to what you did and, apparently, you wore a crown and robe to meetings.

The gig may be up, though.

KPMG’s report states that despite the many successes over the years, “public confidence in NPC has fallen” because of its real or perceived institutional arrogance.

We await two signs that people are listening.

First and foremost, local Liberal strongman Jim Bradley hints at real change rather than issuing some bland non-statement.

Secondly, regional council doesn’t reappoint Saracino.

In fairness to Saracino and the other named municipal representatives, here are the commission’s provincial appointees: Jim Williams (chairman), Archie Katzman (vice-chairman and member since 1971), Italia Gilberti, David Howes, Fred Louws, David Strathern and Ed Werner.

Probes uncover ethical breaches at Niagara Parks Commission

Numerous failings include untendered 25-year lease for Maid of the Mist boat tours

By Anthony Reinhart
From Saturday’s Globe and Mail

November 20, 2009

The Ontario government must act “decisively” to restore public confidence and rectify problems at the
Niagara Parks Commission, according to a governance review that uncovered ethical breaches,
perceived conflicts of interest and other questionable practices at the provincial agency.
A second, parallel probe of the commission’s procurement and leasing activities revealed further
problems, including gaps in record-keeping, inconsistent tendering of contracts and opaque decisionmaking.
Detailed findings of the two investigations were obtained by The Globe and Mail through a Freedom of
Information request, after they were initially withheld by the Ministry of Tourism.
KPMG governance review of the Niagara Parks Commission
The ministry ordered the probes earlier this year amid growing complaints about the commission,
including its decision to grant an untendered new 25-year lease to the Maid of the Mist tour-boat
operation.
The documents refer to failings more numerous and serious than the government has previously
acknowledged and they are more pointed in tone than recent government statements about the
commission.
Auditing firm KPMG, which conducted the governance review, found that violations of the
commission’s code of conduct – including confidentiality breaches, leaking of documents and “potential
perceived conflicts” among commissioners, staff and suppliers – have led to a drop in public confidence
in the agency.
This has been exacerbated, the authors wrote, by “less than timely transparency and accountability”
from a group whose members sometimes discuss business privately with each other or with outside
parties, and who, unlike boards of public companies, do not hold an annual public meeting.
The commissioners, all of them political appointees, are seen by many as part of an aloof and
imperious “old boys club” who gather at the agency’s stately Oak Hall administrative offices, where
employees treat them “as if they are royalty,” the authors wrote. In turn, some commissioners meddle in
“employee-related matters” beyond their mandate as governors.
All but one of the 11 commissioners are men, there are no limits on their terms (one has served since
1971), and all are from the Niagara area, despite the commission’s provincial mandate.
Among dozens of recommendations, KPMG calls on the province to tighten the appointments process.
“Commissioner appointments are the responsibility of the minister” and should follow “a strictly
competency-based” screening process instead of a political or geographical one, the authors wrote.
“As a result of our analysis and extensive experience with board governance, the Province, Ministry
and NPC must act to change NPC – the status quo is not a satisfactory long-term option,” they wrote.
“Tinkering or maintaining the status quo is unlikely to lead to a satisfactory resolution. …”
The report from the second probe, conducted by the government’s internal audit division, is worded
more gently, but nonetheless points out serious problems.
When auditors pulled files related to procurement, leasing and revenue-generating contracts, key
paperwork was missing, leaving the commission officials “at risk that they will not be able to fully
support the rationale behind their business decisions.”
They found some records had gone missing when employees left the commission. Also, unsolicited
proposals from people wanting to do business with the commission went undocumented.
Despite the tens of millions of dollars involved in leases such as Maid of the Mist’s to use commission
property, “a specific policy for leasing/revenue generating opportunities does not exist at NPC,” the
auditors wrote.
When buying goods and services, the commission rarely invites proposals through advertising. Instead,
it seeks out suppliers and gives them tender information, which “may be limiting its opportunities to
improve services at better returns,” the report says. “NPC may also be perceived as not being open to
competitive bidding – which should be a regular part of their business as an agency of the Province.”
The audit’s two dozen recommendations are all aimed at the commission and make no suggestions for
improvements in government oversight of the agency.

Alcatraz Media and William M. Windsor Take Legal Action in Attempt to Obtain Billion Dollar Contract for Boat Rides under Niagara Falls

Atlanta-based Alcatraz Media and businessman William M. Windsor are jointly attempting to obtain the billion dollar contract for boat rides under Niagara Falls. The boat rides began in 1846, and there has never been an opportunity for anyone to bid to offer the service until Windsor took legal action against the Province of Ontario and the State of New York. This case is currently being handled by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice under case number DC 09-105JR.

The governments of Ontario and New York lease the park land on each side of the Niagara River to a third party so that boat rides can be offered. These rights in Ontario, Canada are granted by The Niagara Parks Commission, and these rights in New York are granted by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

The boat rides at Niagara Falls are one of the biggest tourist attractions in North America. Hundreds of millions of people have taken rides on the “Maid of the Mist” since 1846 and 2,500,000 people currently ride the boat each year. When Alcatraz Media discovered in October that the rights to operate these services on government-owned land had been given to profit-making companies for 163 years without ever giving anyone the opportunity to bid, Alcatraz and Windsor cried foul.

Windsor and Alcatraz Media originally asked for the opportunity to bid in 2005, but attempts were quickly rejected. Ripley’s Entertainment asked for the opportunity to bid in 2008, and their efforts were similarly dismissed. One of the Niagara Parks Commissioners, Bob Gale, filed a complaint about the secret process with the Ontario government. When Alcatraz and Windsor learned of this, they began working full-time to build public support against secret practices such as this since governments are expected to be fair, open, and to allow competition for such lucrative opportunities.

Windsor says, “Our calculations showed that these contracts will generate over $1 billion in revenues at a very high margin of profit for the lucky operator given this exclusive monopoly at one of the wonders of the world. I asked ‘how in the world does one company get the rights to such a pot of gold from two governments in two states in two countries with no competition and no concerns about competitive bidding?’ This simply isn’t the way governments are supposed to operate.”

When turned away again in October, Windsor launched a campaign using his web site www.NiagaraFallsBid.com. He has campaigned for openness in government dealings and adherence to the law ever since.

The lawsuit in Canada asks the court to void the lease and mandate a public tender because the policies of government entity The Niagara Parks Commission require advertising and a public invitation for anyone to bid on all contracts over $100,000. Maid of the Mist Steamboat Company Limited was awarded a 25-year contract in April under very secret, controversial circumstances, which goes against the aforementioned policy.

Last week, the Ontario Integrity Commissioner, Lynn Morrison, issued a ruling that indicates the bid of Alcatraz Media and Windsor is to be considered.

The legal action in New York is based on a similar New York State Finance Law that requires advertising and a public invitation for anyone to bid on all contracts such as this. Maid of the Mist Corporation was given a 40-year contract in 2002. “No bids were taken and no public hearing was held because the Canadian agreement gives the company exclusive access to the river below the Falls, making it a ‘sole source’ provider,” said Angela Berti, a spokeswoman for Niagara Falls State Park in a statement to the Buffalo News in 2008.

When Windsor became aware of this statement in a newspaper article, he began investigating. He first contacted all government authorities in Canada and the United States to determine if there could be any validity to a claim that Canada controls the water beneath the Falls. The response was unanimous: The waters of the Niagara River are jointly used by both Canada and the United States by a long-established agreement. Windsor then obtained a copy of the lease between The Niagara Parks Commission and Maid of the Mist Steamboat Company Limited, the Canadian legal entity owned by James V. Glynn of Lewiston, New York. The Canadian lease contains no such provision.

Windsor feels his legal action should result in a cancellation of the 40-year contract that Maid of the Mist Corporation obtained in 2002, and that the contract should be tendered for bids. A decision in the New York action could come any day.

While Alcatraz Media is the largest business in North America, selling destination tours and activities including over 800 boat tours of various types, this is a David and Goliath story with relatively tiny Alcatraz Media and Windsor suing two governments in two countries.

Ryan Windsor, CEO of Alcatraz Media, said, “When we started this effort, everyone said there was absolutely no chance that we would succeed. Those people don’t know my Dad. When he grabs a hold of something, he doesn’t let go. His efforts have resulted in hundreds of newspaper stories about this. The union of the government employees in Ontario has publicly demanded that competitive bids be taken and that the group of people who approved this secret deal be removed. The three members of Parliament from the Niagara Falls, Ontario area have all made public statements supporting our attempts. Dad has rallied the troops in Niagara Falls with a never-ending barrage of emails, faxes, and letters. Dad has become kind of a folk hero in Niagara Falls. It has truly been a grassroots effort. Alcatraz Media is overjoyed that we have a real shot at winning this billion dollar business.”

Because of the secrecy of The Niagara Parks Commission, including a secrecy oath taken by the government employee Commissioners, one of the battles has been that absolutely no information on the dealings has been made publicly available. Windsor reports, “Our attempts to obtain the documents needed were ignored. Employees of The Niagara Parks Commission were afraid to speak out over fear of losing their jobs. Then I received an anonymous email with a copy of the Procurement Policy of The Niagara Parks Commission with a note about other alleged violations. I believe I am now up to five ‘Deep Throats’ who have anonymously sent me government records that have enabled us to expose what has happened. The Globe and Mail in Canada, comparable to The New 1b70 York Times, hired a forensic accountant to review the terms of the secret new deal, and he reported that the government would receive substantially less from this deal. I publicly announced that we will pay double what the current operator pays.” Ryan Windsor said, “We believe The Niagara Parks Commission will realize as much as $100 million more by accepting competitive bids. Since they lost $4.3 million last year, competitive bids on this contract should erase the losses.”

For more details on this story, visit www.NiagaraFallsBid.com.

Alcatraz Media is the world’s largest provider of tours and activities, welcoming over a million visitors per month. They provide reservations for more than 10,000 tours, attractions and activities in over 400 destinations and 60 countries. The business was formed in 1999 in San Francisco, California and is now headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

William M. Windsor is an entrepreneur who has started over 50 companies during his career.

For more information, please contact Bill Windsor by phone at 770-578-1094 or email.

Author Information

Bill Windsor
Alcatraz Media

Controversy is great, but that’s just my opinion

Posted By COREY LAROCQUE

 

It’s important that newspaper readers don’t confuse opinion columnists with Moses.

Writing a column isn’t exactly coming down from the mountain with stone tablets. It’s often the ramblings of someone who knows a little about a lot of things.

Last week’s column about the risks of the province’s plan to hold a competitive bid to run Niagara River boat tours touched a nerve with a lot of readers. Reaction ranged from “common sense” to “rubbish,” with an equal number on each side.

Some critics went straight to the boss, Review publisher Dave Martineau, to plead their case – “How dare he write that! Dave, you’ve got to rein him in.”

They grossly underestimated how much Martineau likes to stir things up.

As a veteran newspaperman, he understands the value of a little bit of controversy.

Last year, he suggested I write a column on reasons not to visit St. Catharines. It was a parody of a news story about Australia putting Canada on a list of countries where Aussies should exercise caution.

It irked St. Catharines Mayor Brian McMullan enough to lash out during a council meeting.

Martineau treated me to dinner at the posh St. Catharines Club, in the heart of enemy territory, as a reward.

Some suggested the boat-tour column took a “pro-Glynn” (the family that owns the Maid of the Mist company) or “pro-Niagara Parks Commission” stance, an idea that is simply laughable.

For those who divide the world, like Karl Marx, “into two great classes directly facing each other,” it’s an easy, closed-minded conclusion. A closer read shows it was critical of Premier Dalton McGuinty’s government for ordering a bidding process that could lead to a new company replacing the storied Maid of the Mist.

If the government screws it up, it could put Niagara’s tourism industry in jeopardy.

(A letter to the editor suggested it was so supportive of the Maid of the Mist I must have taken a job in their public relations department. Fear not -like Mark Twain, rumours of my demise are greatly exaggerated.)

Readers don’t have to agree with a newspaper columnist. In fact, it’s better when they don’t. An opinion column is supposed to stimulate debate about public issues.

The city’s chief librarian, Monika Seymour, said she agrees with about 75 per cent of what she reads in this space. That’s a pretty good batting average.

How boring would life be if everyone always agreed? Thank goodness, there’s room for dissent.

My column began about five years ago when The Review changed both its appearance and its content. Overall, reader response has been fantastic.

In 2004, a local opinion columnist was something The Review was missing.

Lou Clancy, then a vice-president of Osprey Media, the company that owned the paper at the time, suggested we add one.

A highly regarded veteran of Toronto’s newspaper wars, he advised writing it would be like wearing two different hats. One day, it would be a reporter’s hat. The next, a columnist’s.

It’s kind of like a lawyer who gets a client out on bail, writes a will and closes a real estate deal in the afternoon. It’s all legal work. Just different aspects of the profession.

Same thing with news writing and column writing.

When Martineau became publisher, he increased the frequency to twice a week and gave the green light to be controversial. To press readers’ buttons. To occasionally piss them off.

There are different types of columns. Opinion writing is a well-established part of Canadian journalism. Tony Ricciuto writes a column, too, where he tries to fix problems readers have. Advocacy journalism is another tradition in newspapers.

The Review has a stable of columnists. Some are staff writers. Others are freelancers like historian Sherman Zavtiz, or Rev. John James, who writes a religion column, Nancy Reynolds a retired reporter who writes her own observations about people in the community, or financial adviser John Beyer who writes about financial issues.

Our editors differentiate columns from news stories by using the writer’s picture. It symbolizes the fact the writers are bringing something personal to what you’re about to read, like when Zavitz draws on his own knowledge of the city’s past or Beyer applies his professional experience to a subject.

Because a column is a more personal type of writing, there are going to be people who disagree with it. But as long as it’s an opinion a reasonable person could reach based on the facts available, everything’s good. Disagreement comes with the territory. After all, it’s just one guy’s point of view.