CUPE Local 503 has launched a TV and radio campaign to oppose plans by Ottawa City Council to hand over Lansdowne Park to private developers rent free to build a shopping mall, along with $129 million of taxpayers’ money interest free to build a new stadium.
Lansdowne Park is a prime public asset of 37 acres with important heritage buildings right beside Ottawa’s Rideau Canal, a UNESCO heritage site. The plan cooked up by Ottawa mayor Larry O’Brien is a sole-source public-private partnership that will cost Ottawa residents over $150 million, equal to over $500 per household, and funnel millions in profits to these private developers.
CUPE 503 President Brian Madden and CUPE Economist Toby Sanger made the following presentation at City Council outlining the costs to Ottawa residents and taxpayers. CUPE 503 also released a briefing paper on the issue.
