Saturday 19 October 2013

Your City - Your Voice - Your Solution!

Good afternoon Regina!!!

Well, we are only a little over a week away until Hallowe'en, and you know what that means. We are that much closer to the fluffy white stuff coming down! Some shudder at the thought of this, but I am looking forward to it. Obviously I'll miss my convertible top-down days, but I do enjoy the days where the snow comes down ever so softly and creates a warm feeling inside a house with the one(s) you love. I have been so blessed this year with so many great things that have happened for my wife and I, and we will be celebrating Christmas this year in our first ever brand new home!!!! For anyone out there looking to get into a beautiful new home, built by one of Regina's longest and most reputable home builders, feel free to shoot me an email, and I'll do what I can to help you out! (Disclaimer: I am not a salesperson for said home builder, but I do believe strongly in promoting the product that my amazing employer puts out there!)

A few things on my list today, aside from the packing and getting ready for the big move. I had the pleasure of meeting with a brilliant mind today, Mr. Victor Lau, Leader of the Green Party of Saskatchewan, and we had a great discussion about the political scene in Regina, Saskatchewan and Canada. I know there will be those out there asking themselves: "But, Chad...didn't you JUST announce you were going to seek nomination for the Federal Liberal Party?" And, to those people, I say this: Aaaaannnd? Does that mean I cannot associate with members of other parties or actually work with them in alliance, rather than always competing against them? Everyone knows I am not your "traditional" politician, and Mr. Lau particularly has been an amazing person since the day we first met during the Stadium Petition days. I highly respect him, and I am confident the feeling is mutual. He is a very politically active person, as is his wife, and our ideas are often very well aligned in terms of getting our governments to be more transparent and accountable. The obvious question that comes to mind, I am sure, is "Why, then, aren't you seeking nomination for the Green Party of Saskatchewan?" And, to that, I will only say - who's saying that's not something I have been strongly considering? What's that? A politician supporting two different parties on two different levels? Not quite. I want to make it very clear that I fully support the Saskatchewan Liberals, but I am not so closed minded to ignore other viable alternatives.

Moving onto one of the items of interest that I have been waiting literally months for, and that being the issue of the RECORD DEBT ISSUANCE of $100 MILLION extra by the Regina City Council. Now, while this may not be "news" necessarily, it certainly does open up a communication opportunity to revisit the Regina Revitalization Initiative, and I strongly encourage each and every one of you to do so. Remember - City Council's idea is that if you don't speak up, by default, that means you fully support them. In reality, we know that's not the case, but sadly, that is the mindset of many on our wonderful City Council and Senior City Administration. It is to be considered this Wednesday, October 23, 2013 at the Executive Committee at 11:45AM. If you can make it, great, but most likely you are like many out there, and have this strange thing called a j-o-b, and cannot just take time off of work to attend a middle-of-the-day meeting like this. Trust me, this has been one of my pet peeves for a long time now. The good news is it will also be discussed at the City Council Meeting on November 4, 2013 at City Hall. What's great about this is that it's only two days after the MARCH AGAINST CORRUPTION happening on Saturday, November 2, 2013. I plan to unveil a brief report that day, regarding the corruption that surrounds Regina City Hall, and in particular the most recent debacle, the Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrades. You thought that was over? Not by a long shot! As a bit of a teaser as to what's going to be included in this report, I will provide you the following links for your perusal. You can read into the sites at your discretion. (FYI: If the links "mysteriously" disappear, don't worry, I have all of the information saved on my removable hard drive.)

http://www.communitiesoftomorrow.ca/Home/tabid/55/Default.aspx

http://www.communitiesoftomorrow.ca/About/Partners/tabid/59/Default.aspx

http://www.communitiesoftomorrow.ca/About/StrategicAlliances/tabid/60/Default.aspx

http://www.communitiesoftomorrow.ca/About/Background/tabid/58/Default.aspx

http://www.leaderpost.com/news/Business+incubator+close/9013153/story.html

Of particular note in the above links:




Questions that came to my mind immediately, once I was provided with the above information, were:
  • Where is Larry Hiles moving on to? Given his past close association with the Government of Saskatchewan and the City of Regina, my bet is - not far. Watch for him to pop up in a senior role within the next few months of a City or Provincially funded organization.
  • Why the coincidental timing of the winding down of two organizations with very similar traits, that being the Communities of Tomorrow and Springboard West? What role did the former CEO of Regina Regional Opportunities Commission and Springboard West Board Chair, Mr. Larry Hiles, have in Communities of Tomorrow and their eventual dissolution "due to lack of government funding"?
  • How did Mr. John Lee receive his "appointment" as President/CEO of Regina Regional Opportunities Commission, coincidentally in the same year as his former role and organization are disolved? Was there a fair competition? Was there even a competitive process? What interest did Opportunities of Tomorrow have in the creation and promotion of P3's - most recently steadfastly promoted by the City of Regina during the Wastewater Treatment Plant referendum?
  • For those that are unaware, the City of Regina funded a "research project" at the University of Regina over the past decade. They recently wound that down in 2011-2012, and no longer support that "research project". I really paid little attention to it at the time, but this is something I will investigate further in terms of whether this project is one and the same as the Opportunities Tomorrow (vis a vis another organization I am sure). If so, what ties does that have now to the dissolution of this organization, and why is the City of Regina providing a cushy job for the individual who formerly headed that organization?

There are many, many other questions that spring to mind, but the above are just a few. I encourage you to ask questions. I strongly encourage you. Not just of these organizations, individuals and the provincial government, but of the City of Regina. What has been happening behind the scenes during the past month, year, decade that we have not been privy to, that seems to have played out according to schedule regarding the results of the P3 WWTP Referendum? Maybe nothing. But I am highly skeptical on that.

Oh....and....what about Future P3's?
http://www.mjtimes.sk.ca/News/Local/2013-09-16/article-3392321/No-decision-yet-on-water-treatment-plant/1

CHAD NOVAK FOR TAXPAYERS - CHANGING REGINA FOR THE BETTER - ONE STEP AT A TIME
Your City - Your Voice - Your Solution

2 comments:

  1. Mr. Novak, I read the word corruption on your Twitter feed but when I come to this blog I ask ‘what is the corruption’? If you are going to make such a statement, shouldn’t you present it? That is a pretty powerful statement.

    It appears you are reaching to try and tie two things together. What do you have beyond a gut feeling? It is odd to call out corruption regarding two people who are shutting down their businesses due to a lack of government funding that support their ventures.

    Your reporting is odd and rather unprofessional.

    If you want to talk about ‘coincidental timing of the winding down’ of an organization, is there any link between you shutting down your non-profit soon after admitting to numerous examples of inappropriate behavior?

    If Mr. Lee has no business being employed by a P3 supporting City Hall because he has a P3 back round (sounds logical), what business do you have applying for community non-profit positions after demonstrating your ineptness and corruption?

    J. Terry

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for your comment Joanne. As I've mentioned in my post, the above is only intended as a teaser for the Report that will be unveiled on November 2, 2013 as a part of the Global March Against Corruption. I trust that you are a learned person and can read what I presented and draw the same questions that I have presented, and probably even a few more. I assure you that the questions I present, and more, will be answered in my Report on November 2.

    I am confident you are also learned enough to know that these two companies were not private corporations, nor were they sole proprietorships. They were both (significantly) funded by governments at various levels, and hardly at arms length, at that.

    As for my corporation - I've made it perfectly clear as to the reasons behind wanting to convert it from a non-profit to a for-profit. If you have any further questions on that, you are more than welcome to send me an email and I can try to answer any further questions you may have.

    ReplyDelete