A Lakehead University political science professor says it appears local politicians and those at City Hall had unrealistic hopes about event centre funding.
Laure Paquette finds it interesting that the city, the feds, or both, misread each other over the criteria for the federal government’s contribution.
Paquette believes the city may have been caught flatfooted by the federal government which claims it never wavered from insisting the project would only be funded if an arena was not included.
She notes the mayor said he was hoping for leeway in the process.
Paquette says federal minister Greg Rickford may have seen that as the city making a request that an exception be made, and ministers aren’t usually fond of making exceptions. (File photo)
