TEDCO gets sliced and diced

How will creating even more city bureaucracy lead to any real jobs, Mr. Mayor?

By SUE-ANN LEVY, TORONTO SUN

Last Updated: 30th September 2008, 3:06am

Mayor David Miller unveiled his latest scheme to enhance Toronto's presence on the world economic stage yesterday -- one that will take $10 million in precious city cash to get off the ground.

And while the mayor and his senior officials tried to soft-pedal the scheme's major outcome, the new plan will essentially lead to the dismantling of the Toronto Economic Development Corporation (TEDCO), a self-financing, arm's-length agency of the city with about 35 employees that has been operating since 1986.

In its place, the mayor intends to create two new corporations -- Build Toronto and Invest Toronto -- each with a board on which, no surprises here, King David will sit as chairman.

To do this, the plan suggests city council allocate $10 million in "seed money" from one of the city's bare-bones reserve funds to complete a "hiring process."

"The $10 million is for start-up funds we believe both corporations will need in order to ensure they're on sound financial footing ... we don't want to set up a corporation that won't be viable,"

That doesn't include $103,948 paid to consultants to get the project up and running or the as yet unconfirmed price for legal advice from Borden, Ladner, Gervais LLP.

The purpose of Build Toronto, according to the mayor, will be to "maximize the opportunities" and "unlock the value" in some of the city's 7,000 properties and lands valued at more than $18 billion -- as was suggested, he argued, by his blue-ribbon panel on fiscal sustainability.

"We will partner with business to develop city assets to meet city objectives ... we will attract targeted industry, stimulate desirable job creation (as opposed to undesirable?) and rejuvenate neighbourhoods," Miller enthused.

Geesh! I won't suggest the mayor's constant use of double-speak is directly related to his lack of any concrete idea of what he's doing.

But after some questioning, it became pretty clear that Build Toronto has creative guru Richard Florida's finger prints all over it, not those of the blue-ribbon panel members.

It appears few surplus city properties or pieces of land will ever be sold off to the private sector (to raise much-needed cash) by this new entity and if any are, they'd better be for those "targeted industries" that are considered trendy in Florida's creative economy.

I asked the mayor what he meant by "targeted." He offered up the pharmaceutical, bio, film, food manufacturing and "arts and thinking" industries.

As for Invest Toronto, Miller said it will "engage" the private sector in marketing and promotion to increase foreign investment and promote "desirable" jobs in Toronto, plus organize trade missions.

When asked whether the new entity will adopt specific strategies to stem the flow of businesses to the GTA, the mayor responded he's not sure the statement that Toronto is losing business to the 905 is "correct." Okay then.

"Invest Toronto is about welcoming inbound foreign investment, recognizing that we're competing with Frankfurt, Beijing, New York, Chicago and cities like that ... it's about competing on the world stage," proclaimed Miller.

I hate to break it to the mayor but Toronto is not a world-class city. Even Tel Aviv has us beat by a long shot. I was absolutely amazed at how cosmopolitan that city has become during my recent trip to Israel. Istanbul, Turkey, as I discovered, is also open around the clock.

I have a strong feeling Miller's new scheme will not do much more than build more socialist fiefdoms and further consolidate the mayor's stranglehold over all aspects of city operations and what industries get to flourish in this city, the latter being a pretty scary thought.

As proof, consider the case of TEDCO. It was pretty darn clear that TEDCO will be reduced to a non-entity and its 420 acres of land transferred to Build Toronto by the time the two new corporations are up and running.

Yet this is the same agency that was lauded a few months ago by the mayor for being the force behind the creation of the new Filmport -- ultimately a $700-million film production facility -- on the Port Lands,

Yesterday the mayor claimed TEDCO is merely a "small development company" that doesn't have the necessary powers to "act independently of the city" or those needed for "large-scale development activities."

Huh? The stories change weekly at City Hall and get more creative by the day.