Terry Cooke

September 29, 2007

With news of renewed demands for a new stadium to replace the old Ivor Wynne, I was looking through the archives and came across a story from almost 15 years ago. It could easily be an article written in the present:

It’s an area sorely in need of attention. The stadium search North-end catalyst?
The Hamilton Spectator – February, 03 1993

Hamilton’s search for a potential stadium or “multi-use professional sports complex,” focused on the waterfront, has advanced with city council’s decision to study possible sites in the west harborfront.

Council approved a $300,000 feasibility study, in the capital budget, to examine vacant or under-utilized industrial properties in the bayfront area west of Victoria Avenue. The study will include long-range economic, transportation and leisure plans for what’s being described as the “west harborfront precinct.”

Some eyebrows could be raised with the city’s decision to reject possible stadium sites further east, and the fact that potential alternatives in the suburban municipalities won’t be studied.

Some good arguments, however, can be made for a potential facility in the west harborfront. The area is touted as having the best potential along the bayfront, partly because of proximity to downtown. Together with the waterfront parks and marina complexes now taking shape in the west harbor, a stadium could be a catalyst for investment in a part of the city which sorely needs it.

Industrial properties east and west of Bay and north of Barton are possibilities. That would put the project close to the new Harborfront Park, the impressive new open space on the western shoreline being established on the former Lax property. We trust that in their enthusiasm for a stadium with a waterfront ambience, as developed in some American cities, the politicians don’t get the idea of attempting to put the sports project in the new park.

Alderman Terry Cooke, who first proposed a waterfront sports complex last year, says the Harborfront Park isn’t being considered as a locale. That’s good, but it would be reassuring if the new park is explicitly excluded when the study gets under way.

Any stadium in the North End raises major questions of proper access, adequate parking, and potential problems with the use of industrial lands which could be contaminated. In regard to the latter problem, Mr. Cooke sees a sports complex as one way to tackle the issue of a degraded environment head-on. He believes the future of the entire bayfront will be compromised if the problems of contaminated waste aren’t addressed.

As for an alternative locale in the suburbs, Mr. Cooke doesn’t preclude the idea. However, he suggests that if public money is involved in the project, there’s a stronger case for spending it in the west harborfront than in the suburbs. His perspective could make for interesting debate at the region.

While a new stadium has long been seen as inevitable in ensuring a better future for the Tiger-Cats and other professional sports franchises in Hamilton, the right place for the facility is another question.

September 7, 2007

I’ve always held a soft spot for Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. It’s not easy to admit that when everyone and his dog wretches whenever his name comes up in the news. I gained interest in politics at the age of 14, just as Mulroney was running for the leadership of the PC party. For the first 16 years of my life Pierre Trudeau was my leader (except for the brief time when Clark was in charge.) So my exposure to Canadian politics was limited to listening to my parents and grandparents bicker about Pierre Trudeau. I can’t explain what drove them crazy at the time but I sensed there was quite a bit of fatigue for the man and quite a bit of hope for a new guy who was fresh, younger, less of an egghead, charismatic, polished, without the arrogance of office, and, to be frank, someone who wasn’t francophone. It washed off on me, as well as the millions of Canadian voters who handed Mulroney and his party the biggest majority government in history. I followed his rise and fall, his successes and failures, from beginning to end with great fascination. It was a case study during my years of interest in political science.

Currently Canadians are being served up the biggest exposure of the man’s life since he left office over 15 years ago, on the eve of the release of his political memoirs. The above cartoon pretty much illustrates the sentiment of the population. I don’t think it matters whether he trashing Pierre Trudeau or he’s singing the virtues of doing something about climate change — he’ll always be despised for whatever he says or writes from the vast majority of Canadians. It is therefore not at all surprising that there are very loud howls of outrage that he dare bring up the whole Meech Lake thing and how he thinks it was wrecked by Pierre Trudeau (who happens to be deceased and can’t defend himself, in case you haven’t been reminded about this by Trudeau sympathizers).

Is it really surprising to Canadians that the Meech Lake Accord, Mulroney’s near successful attempt to bring Quebec into the constitutional family wouldn’t remain a thorn in his side for so many years following its death in the late 80’s? Is it really that surprising that Mulroney would feel the need to convey his animosity for Pierre Trudeau, who alone may not have derailed Meech Lake, but may have influenced the Clyde Wells and Elijah Harpers of this country to do the deeds themselves?

Again, let’s remind ourselves that these are Mulroney’s official memoirs. Everybody knows Mulroney and Trudeau’s political adversarial nature extended to their personal relationships, and to not include some insight to that would be unfortunate for historians, and bad for book sales. If Mulroney felt Trudeau was a Nazi sympathizer it’s probably better to read it memoirs and take it for what it’s worth, even if it comes across as the rantings of a bitter man who’s become used to his legacy being overshadowed by his predecessor.

In retrospect it’s hard not to be reminded of the passions which we held in the 80’s. It’s obviously hard for most Canadians to let go of allegiances to which ever Prime Minister one felt more respect for. Either one worships Trudeau and hates Mulroney, or one hates Trudeau and worships Mulroney. Unless you’re a Quebec separatist or an alienated westerner, there really doesn’t seem to be any middle ground… yet. So the debate will continue being “who was the better Prime Minister?” and a generation from now no one will care. What will be agreed upon is that they both left big legacies for the country. Trudeau gave Canada the Charter of Rights, and Mulroney gave the country Free Trade. Both failed on economic fronts, and both did much to damage national unity. One thing that can be said about the two, is that they were both giants in Canadian history, and it’ll be a long time before we ever see their likes again.

* * * * * Update October 15, 2007 * * * * *

I paid $10 to attend a talk and book signing session when Mulroney swung by Burlington last Friday. I coughed up the $53 it cost to purchase the thick memoirs. The old PM looked good. He spoke to the crowd of 300 or so including Lincoln Alexander, newly elected MPP Joyce Savoline, Terry Cooke, and Mayor Cam Jackson. Mulroney spoke about his life from boyhood to leaving 24 Sussex and peppered the talk with his familliar self-depricating humour and blarney. Burlington was the last stop on his cross country tour and over the weekend excerpts of Jean Chretien’s book started making the headlines, especially the stuff about how he really feels about his successor, Paul Martin. I look forward to checking Chretien out if he takes is book on tour and swings by this area.