Bill Windsor has been mentioned in WWW before (here and here) in connection with his role in exposing the sleaze and corruption at the Niagara (Ontario) Parks Commission, particularly in connection with a sweetheart deal on the Maid of the Mist tour boat facility.
That deal was set aside through the efforts of Mr. Windsor, a whistle-blowing commissioner by the name of Bob Gale, and a citizens action group called Preserve Our Parks. But "Mr. Bill" wasn't a one-trick pony. The corruption and disregard of the public weal at NPC -- and its counterpart on the US side of the river -- is just one example, he feels, of a culture of corruption and lawlessness which infects America's government and judiciary at every level in virtually every state.
So, being an American who believes in speaking out (unlike your typically timid Canuck) Mr. Windsor has started a campaign. It's called Lawless America, and here's the link.
What's Lawless America doing to fight corruption? Making a movie exposé, for one thing -- funding permitting. And there's an online petition you can sign, if you support honesty in government and the rights you were granted under the American Constitution and Bill of Rights. Such as the right to speak out in public. And the right to petition for redress!
Lawless America is worth checking out. There's no partisan agenda, as nearly as I can tell. Mr. Bill's attitude seems to be "a pox on all their houses". I can relate to that!
Showing posts with label Bill Windsor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bill Windsor. Show all posts
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Niagara Parks gets a GRIP on Maid of the Mist
Way back in 2009, Walt wrote "Power to the people of Niagara Falls", about the sleaze and corruption surrounding the decision of the Niagara Parks Commission to renew its lease contract with the Maid of the Mist Steamboat Company.
The company, owned by the Glynn family of Niagara Falls NY, had managed, by hook or by crook -- mostly crook -- to secure a sweetheart deal for the continued operation of the famous "Maid of the Mist", while sharing less of the revenue with the NPC, which depends on revenue from that and other attractions to keep its magnificent parks open without government (meaning "taxpayer") funding.
The whistle was blown by an NPC commissioner, Bob Gale, who quit in disgust, and by William Windsor, who thought than an open competition for the right to operate the boat tour would have been a better idea than nailing the puck to the Glynns' stick.
In the aftermath, the provincially-appointed commissioners were sacked, and two very senior managers were either fired or quit in disgrace. A proper -- open and transparent -- competition was then ordered by the Ontario government. Today the result was at long last announced.
And the winner is -- envelope, please! -- not the Glynns! The Niagara Parks Commission announced this afternoon that Hornblower Canada -- their American parent runs boat tourst to Alcatraz and the Statue of Liberty -- gets the new 30-year lease. Visitors to Niagara Falls get a new and improved boat ride, and the NPC gets an estimated $500,000,000 in revenue.
Everybody wins, except those who sought to give and get corrupt benefits to line their own pockets.
Bribery, corruption and sleaze happen to be the subjects of Bill Windsor's website "Lawless America", to which Walt's attention has just been drawn. Check it out for Windsor's crowing comments on today's decision. Hey, he has a right to crow!
And while you're there, read about GRIP, the Government Reform & Integrity Platform. Think it can't work? It worked at Niagara Parks in Canada. Are Americans not at least as committed to honesty in openness in government as their neighbours to the north?!
The company, owned by the Glynn family of Niagara Falls NY, had managed, by hook or by crook -- mostly crook -- to secure a sweetheart deal for the continued operation of the famous "Maid of the Mist", while sharing less of the revenue with the NPC, which depends on revenue from that and other attractions to keep its magnificent parks open without government (meaning "taxpayer") funding.
The whistle was blown by an NPC commissioner, Bob Gale, who quit in disgust, and by William Windsor, who thought than an open competition for the right to operate the boat tour would have been a better idea than nailing the puck to the Glynns' stick.
In the aftermath, the provincially-appointed commissioners were sacked, and two very senior managers were either fired or quit in disgrace. A proper -- open and transparent -- competition was then ordered by the Ontario government. Today the result was at long last announced.
And the winner is -- envelope, please! -- not the Glynns! The Niagara Parks Commission announced this afternoon that Hornblower Canada -- their American parent runs boat tourst to Alcatraz and the Statue of Liberty -- gets the new 30-year lease. Visitors to Niagara Falls get a new and improved boat ride, and the NPC gets an estimated $500,000,000 in revenue.
Everybody wins, except those who sought to give and get corrupt benefits to line their own pockets.
Bribery, corruption and sleaze happen to be the subjects of Bill Windsor's website "Lawless America", to which Walt's attention has just been drawn. Check it out for Windsor's crowing comments on today's decision. Hey, he has a right to crow!
And while you're there, read about GRIP, the Government Reform & Integrity Platform. Think it can't work? It worked at Niagara Parks in Canada. Are Americans not at least as committed to honesty in openness in government as their neighbours to the north?!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Power to the people of Niagara Falls
The Niagara Parks Commission has been, for years and years, a notoriously secretive and arrogant agency of the Province of Ontario.
Governed by a law passed in the 19th century which has barely changed since, it is pretty well a law unto itself. Its members, although public officials, are sworn to secrecy and cannot divulge what goes on at its meetings to anyone, even the municipal councils whom some of them represent.
Their books are not open to the public. Audited accounts have not been published in a timely fashion. Management and business decisions have been made on the bases of cronyism, favouritism and, allegedly, corruption.
The allegations have been made by Bob Gale, a Niagara Falls businessman and former NPC member who resigned in disgust, and by Preserve Our Parks, a citizens' action group which has taken on the mission of lobbying for Niagara Parks to be managed in the best interests of all the residents of Niagara.
The most monstrous example of puck-nailed-to-the-stick decision-making was the NPC's decision to renew the lease contract for the famous Maid of the Mist, made in haste and secrecy in April 2008, more than a year before the current lease expired. A sweetheart deal was given to a company controlled by James Glynn, an American with close connections to prominent politicians -- both Liberal and Conservative -- and the supposedly independent Commission.
Under the new lease, the NPC would actually have received less revenue, over the course of the 25-year contract, than it does now. Who would have kept the rest of the money? Glynn, of course. Worse yet, NPC chairman Jim Williams kept hidden from the Commission the fact that at least two other boat tour operators had expressed interest in taking over the operation, providing more modern equipment, enhanced service and increased (and direly needed) revenue for NPC.
In the face of the hue and cry raised by Bob Gale, Preserve Our Parks and Bill Windsor (one of the would-be bidders for a new lease), Ontario's Integrity Commissioner launched an investigation. In her report, Lynn Morrison said she "could not find any evidence of wrongdoing" on the part of Commissioner Williams. It is rumoured that the Integrity Commissioner also has trouble finding a blackberry in her saucer of milk.
However, the Integrity Commissioner suggested that it might be in order for the NPC to "review" its decision to renew the lease with Glynn. This the NPC did. To no-one's surprise, the NPC found it had done nothing wrong, and recommended the same renewal, on the same terms, without any tender or competitive bidding!
Like King Balthasar (Daniel 5), the NPC would not read the handwriting on the wall!
In response, Preserve Our Parks and Messrs Gale and Windsor stepped up the pressure on Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and the feckless Minister of Tourism Monique Smith. (Ms Smith owes her position chiefly to being a pliable woman, appointed to pretty up the cabinet picture.) And, believe it or not, they won!
Yes, Minister Smith (not Chairman Williams) announced yesterday that the Niagara Parks Commission will at last solicit competing bids from companies interested in leasing the property needed to provide the Maid of the Mist tours.
"For once, the taxpayers have won. It's unbelievable," said Bob Gale. Click here to read his statement, published by OPSEU Local 217, the union representing NPC employees. The union has for years complained of the mismanagement and high-handed attitude of the Commission and its chairman, and has been very vocal in calling for reform of the NPC.
In effect, the Liberal government told NPC to get real! How could they just, for the sake of doing a favour for a friend, leave on the table nearly $100 million of potential income from a new boat tour operator, especially when NPC is running deeply in the red, as at present.
After the eHealth scandal, Premier Dalton McGuinty announced a new policy aimed at opening government-issued contracts to competitive bids more regularly. Why a new policy should have been required is a good question, but nevertheless...
"We think that this process aligns itself well with that," Smith said in an interview just hours after she recommended [really? it was her idea? ed.] cabinet not give its approval to the deal the NPC handed on a platter to Glynn's Maid of the Mist Steamboat Co.
"I think this is the appropriate course," Smith said. "It ensures all interested parties get the opportunity to submit proposals in a fair and open competition."
Parks commission chairman Jim Williams said his board will abide by the order. According to the Niagara Falls Review, Williams said, "As a dutiful agency of government, we are not our own masters. We work for the government. They're wanting an open, transparent process. We will certainly follow that recommendation." Snorts of derision were not recorded in the Review account.
Speaking for Preserve Our Parks, James Bannister said the group was encouraged that at last a proper and businesslike bidding process -- one that was called for by the government's rules -- would be followed. However, he cautioned, "the NPC is still badly in need of reform. The old boys club that tried to push through the sweetheart deal is still in charge of NPC. Preserve Our Parks won't rest until the rascals are thrown out!"
Governed by a law passed in the 19th century which has barely changed since, it is pretty well a law unto itself. Its members, although public officials, are sworn to secrecy and cannot divulge what goes on at its meetings to anyone, even the municipal councils whom some of them represent.
Their books are not open to the public. Audited accounts have not been published in a timely fashion. Management and business decisions have been made on the bases of cronyism, favouritism and, allegedly, corruption.
The allegations have been made by Bob Gale, a Niagara Falls businessman and former NPC member who resigned in disgust, and by Preserve Our Parks, a citizens' action group which has taken on the mission of lobbying for Niagara Parks to be managed in the best interests of all the residents of Niagara.
The most monstrous example of puck-nailed-to-the-stick decision-making was the NPC's decision to renew the lease contract for the famous Maid of the Mist, made in haste and secrecy in April 2008, more than a year before the current lease expired. A sweetheart deal was given to a company controlled by James Glynn, an American with close connections to prominent politicians -- both Liberal and Conservative -- and the supposedly independent Commission.
Under the new lease, the NPC would actually have received less revenue, over the course of the 25-year contract, than it does now. Who would have kept the rest of the money? Glynn, of course. Worse yet, NPC chairman Jim Williams kept hidden from the Commission the fact that at least two other boat tour operators had expressed interest in taking over the operation, providing more modern equipment, enhanced service and increased (and direly needed) revenue for NPC.
In the face of the hue and cry raised by Bob Gale, Preserve Our Parks and Bill Windsor (one of the would-be bidders for a new lease), Ontario's Integrity Commissioner launched an investigation. In her report, Lynn Morrison said she "could not find any evidence of wrongdoing" on the part of Commissioner Williams. It is rumoured that the Integrity Commissioner also has trouble finding a blackberry in her saucer of milk.
However, the Integrity Commissioner suggested that it might be in order for the NPC to "review" its decision to renew the lease with Glynn. This the NPC did. To no-one's surprise, the NPC found it had done nothing wrong, and recommended the same renewal, on the same terms, without any tender or competitive bidding!
Like King Balthasar (Daniel 5), the NPC would not read the handwriting on the wall!
In response, Preserve Our Parks and Messrs Gale and Windsor stepped up the pressure on Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and the feckless Minister of Tourism Monique Smith. (Ms Smith owes her position chiefly to being a pliable woman, appointed to pretty up the cabinet picture.) And, believe it or not, they won!
Yes, Minister Smith (not Chairman Williams) announced yesterday that the Niagara Parks Commission will at last solicit competing bids from companies interested in leasing the property needed to provide the Maid of the Mist tours.
"For once, the taxpayers have won. It's unbelievable," said Bob Gale. Click here to read his statement, published by OPSEU Local 217, the union representing NPC employees. The union has for years complained of the mismanagement and high-handed attitude of the Commission and its chairman, and has been very vocal in calling for reform of the NPC.
In effect, the Liberal government told NPC to get real! How could they just, for the sake of doing a favour for a friend, leave on the table nearly $100 million of potential income from a new boat tour operator, especially when NPC is running deeply in the red, as at present.
After the eHealth scandal, Premier Dalton McGuinty announced a new policy aimed at opening government-issued contracts to competitive bids more regularly. Why a new policy should have been required is a good question, but nevertheless...
"We think that this process aligns itself well with that," Smith said in an interview just hours after she recommended [really? it was her idea? ed.] cabinet not give its approval to the deal the NPC handed on a platter to Glynn's Maid of the Mist Steamboat Co.
"I think this is the appropriate course," Smith said. "It ensures all interested parties get the opportunity to submit proposals in a fair and open competition."
Parks commission chairman Jim Williams said his board will abide by the order. According to the Niagara Falls Review, Williams said, "As a dutiful agency of government, we are not our own masters. We work for the government. They're wanting an open, transparent process. We will certainly follow that recommendation." Snorts of derision were not recorded in the Review account.
Speaking for Preserve Our Parks, James Bannister said the group was encouraged that at last a proper and businesslike bidding process -- one that was called for by the government's rules -- would be followed. However, he cautioned, "the NPC is still badly in need of reform. The old boys club that tried to push through the sweetheart deal is still in charge of NPC. Preserve Our Parks won't rest until the rascals are thrown out!"
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