Selling Guelph Hydro, poor planning and ineffective civil disobedience

(September 23) - I am not sure what is larger, a myriad or a plethora. Whichever it is, that's how many things are happening around town that merit our attention.

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Next Monday, city council will make the big decision about the sale of Guelph Hydro to Horizon Utilities. It is being touted as a merger, but it isn't. It's a buyout, pure and simple.

It has been difficult for citizens to get enough facts about the proposal to know whether or not it's a good deal. Property deals are always concluded behind closed doors, and usually there's nothing wrong with that. We have a good council, and they could normally be trusted to do the right thing.

In this case though, we need a little bit of transparency. Last Friday the city posted some information on its website. A press release said it has received agreement from the consulting firm "to allow it to release a summary of its analysis of a business case concerning the proposed merger."

Unfortunately, the documentation contains next to no information that would help us understand anything.

The only thing we learn from it is that Guelph will come out the other end with about 24 per cent ownership of the merged company. Hamilton will have about 60, and St. Catharines will have 16.

The documents also say "the business case is fair and reasonable from a financial point of view." None of the background information that led to this conclusion is released.

An assertion of a conclusion is not an analysis of a business case.

We should be getting more than we've been given. The Guelph chapter of the Council of Canadians did an extensive analysis that concluded the deal is a bad one.

There is no compelling reason for the city to sell the utility.

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Last week, our council relented on a prior decision and voted to allow an expansion at the Wal-Mart mall. This was not a surprise to anyone. Apparently there was nothing in the city's official plan to prevent it.

Most councillors obviously thought it more prudent to step back from this battle and move forward to other issues. They don't want to take a chance on another Ontario Municipal Board appeal.

It has been said in our other paper that this decision was based on sound planning principles. Nonsense. It wasn't. It was based on a realization that the flawed official plan adopted by the previous council couldn't stop the expansion.

As things stand, commercial development is not driven by the needs and wants of the people in Guelph. It is driven by the corporate interests of the developers.

We are about half way through this council’s four year term. Two years ago, our citizens stood up and tossed out a council that had a blind and misguided allegiance to the developers. It is about time council takes a good hard look at the official plan and the commercial policy review. Our planning processes need to be brought back under our control.

To their credit, Ward 1 councillors Bell and Farrelly appear to understand. They voted against the Wal-Mart proposal because it will further delay development in the east end.

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Speaking of bad planning, there were the kids who blocked the Hanlon on the morning of Sept. 2. A week later they posted an anonymous message on an anarchist website claiming they did it in solidarity with Native land claims.

They actually don't have a clue about anarchism or civil disobedience. Their version of "anarchism" has all the maturity of a self-indulgent libertarian.

Anarchism isn't just rejection of authority. Life isn't that simple.

Ayn Rand was a capitalist anarchist, believing in the triumph of the individual. Emma Goldman was a communist anarchist, believing that collectives flourish best when they are not restrained by central governments. Each had the courage of her convictions. Those who toss burning tires onto the Hanlon and run away do not.

Effective civil disobedience can't be anonymous.

When Mahatma Gandhi challenged British imperialism, he did it openly. He invited arrest so he could challenge unjust laws in court. Martin Luther King was the same way. So was Henry Morgentaler.

They knew you don't change anything by slinking around and breaking laws under cover of darkness and then evading responsibility in the light of day.