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Smoky Lake Signal Article No. 239 (October 3, 2012) Whispering in the Wind Two political stories are unfolding that in my mind are good examples of how politics works in this country and the need for a lot more clarity and transparency from our elected politicians. First is the arena issue in Edmonton and the obvious dilemma Edmonton’s City Council is facing opposite Katz’s group. Second story is Justin Trudeau and the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada. Daryl Katz Playing Hardball and Wants to Win Big Time – An agreement was reached about a year ago to keep the Edmonton Oilers in Edmonton for a long time – or so everybody thought. All that had to be done; a new arena would have to be built in downtown Edmonton, for an estimated $450 million - $125 million would come from the City of Edmonton; $100 would come from the Katz Group; User Payers would cough up $125 million and the federal and provincial governments would somehow contribute $100 million. Since then things have changed and the question is; has Daryl Katz been caught with his hands in the political cookie jar taking out far too many cookies? Mr. Katz is now asking the City of Edmonton to come up with more money – something like $25 million – he also wants a $6million a year subsidy for his operations in the arena and he wants to locate a casino in the new facility. Mr. Katz is refusing to meet publicly with City Council to answer questions regarding the recommended changes to the 2011 plan – he is also quite secretive about the financial performance of his hockey operations in Edmonton. To add some sweetness to his urgings for more public money, Mr. Katz recently went down to Seattle to talk about their $490 million arena – and to add some icing to his cookie grab he took along hockey icon, Wayne Gretzky – a real pompous threat if I ever heard one. So, as the National Hockey League season dwindles and millionaires continue to fight billionaires; will Daryl Katz stop playing hardball with City of Edmonton politicians and start cooperating with his prime stakeholder partner, or will the councilors draw a line in the sand and say that’s enough, that’s it! Justin Trudeau in the Race, No Meat but a Lot of Sizzle On November 3, 1948 the Chicago Tribune ran the following headline, “Dewey Defeats Truman” and the next day the newspaper had to write a retraction because the paper mistakenly declared Dewey the winner of the Presidency in the United States prior to the votes being counted. Well here I am about 24 hours prior to any announcement so I’m going to declare that Justin Trudeau announces that he is running for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada – tune into next week’s column should I have to print a retraction. I’m also willing to predict that Mr. Justin Trudeau will end up winning the leadership campaign and will be declared leader of the federal Liberals on April 14, 2013. From the bits and pieces of information coming from Trudeau’s handlers here is what’s going to happen over the next few days. On Tuesday, Mr. Trudeau declares his candidacy at a community center rally with about 500 of his closest friends in his Montreal riding of Papineau, then he is off to Richmond B.C. and then to Mississauga Ontario. Not much of an itinerary for someone that wants to follow in his father’s footsteps, but I think there is a lot of calculation in the strategy – for the next few weeks he is just trying to measure the mood of the country’s Liberals (particularly amongst the younger crowd, both Liberals as well as non-Liberals). We are also told that for the moment he is going to express his personal values without going into any meaty issues. That might work for the first few weeks but sooner or later he has got to show some meat and what he stands for.