HOORAY FOR THE COMMUNITY! Friends of Lansdowne ramped things up this weekend with a successful fundraiser just days before the legal challenge against the City of Ottawa goes courtroom stylez.
Sunday, I had the pleasure of attending the FOL fundraiser, Lansdowne Follies 2, at the proud-to-be-local Mayfair Theatre. FOL is a city-wide grassroots coalition for the ethical revitalization of Lansdowne Park. The group is fighting (against the City of Ottawa) for a sustainable public space that is accessible to all.
As promised, the afternoon followed the original Follies event (held in February) with a "unique blend of entertainment and information." The entertainers, Kellylee Evans and Terry Tufts, were absolutely soul warming and the FOL lawyer, Steven Shrybman (whom I admire big time for being so active in the Ottawa community and for speaking publicly about his work on human rights, access to water and cultural diversity), updated the crowd on the upcoming court date.
Lansdowne Follies, indeed. FOL contends that the city acted unlawfully (against city bylaws) when closing a design competition to accept a sole-sourced public private scheme with the OSEG. According to Shrybman's talk on Sunday, the City has made it hell for the community group to access records on the whole 3-year catastrophe. From what I've seen of Mayor/dictator Jim Watson, I'm not at all surprised. Shrybman prepared us for the propaganda that will no doubt be circulating through the Ottawa Citizen this week and encouraged us to set the record straight with letters to the editor and other public outcry.
From what I can tell, the City doesn't have a leg to stand on in this legal battle. This isn't just a bunch of nimbys protecting a quiet street. It's a community group (that happen to be mostly wealthy retired professionals attracting prominent lawyers, no doubt hugely responsible for its success thus far) that is fighting against political corruption. As my hero, Maude Barlow, so eloquently illuminated, this battle by FOL is an important local fight over public space against the corruption of a municipal government, but it needs to be situated in the global battle for the commons against the commodification/privatization of nature. I put my cynicism about the demographic of the Glebeites aside as their fight is worth supporting.
No matter our cynicism about a pretty public park when there are more dire battles to be fought in our neighbourhoods, I think we should embrace the work of FOL as this case is setting new legal precedents for grassroots groups to challenge municipal government. This is privilege being put to good use, perhaps paving the way for future legal fights. I wish FOL luck this week and congratulate them on their success thus far.
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