The following presentation was made by Lorne Cutler, P.Eng., MBA on August 18, 2011 to the City of Ottawa Finance and Economic Development Committee.

Previous Involvement with Lansdowne

• In 2009, I was engaged by Councillor Leadman to do a financial review of the Lansdowne Live Project (LLP), including review of accepted criteria for entering into PPPs

• In 2010, I was engaged by Sack Goldblatt Mitchell to assist in the financial review of the project for the court case

• I was the person who found the $60 million error in the equity formula and identified that the City’s Funding Equity could drop precipitously if interest rates were to decrease.

The blogosphere continues with comments on the financials of the Lansdowne revelopment. Here's a response to the city mananger's rebuttal of the scathing denunciation of the city finances.

From the Ottawa Citizen, a critique on how the City of Ottawa approached the finances related to the Lansdowne redevelopment: http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2011/08/09/lansdowne-and-city-finances-a-scathing-denunciation/.

There has been an outpouring of support for Friends of Lansdowne since news of the legal decision was released. Read some of the emails here:

Thanks for all the updates. I agree that this is disapointing but were still here supporting each other in what we feel is right and lawful. Thanks for your hard work. Don't get discouraged, the friends of lansdown are making a big difference. Stay hopeful and lets keep doing everything in our power to be heard and shape the outcome of this in the best way we can. DC.

Thanks for the ( very disappointing) update. I would fully support ( and contribute more money) to further legal action from your part. MG.

Well you guys have done a phenomenal job with this bad situation. Although this disappointing news, it's not the end yet. Thanks for keeping us informed and all of your hard work. L.

I have been following your case and appreciated your email updates. I am VERY sorry to receive this latest email. On behalf of all of us, please keep up the "good fight"! KWG.

Thank you so much for working so hard on this. Even if the decision didn't go in your (our) favour, as you say, it has helped us see some of the less than savoury behind the scenes operations of our City, particularly the incompetence at the level of Kirkpatrick's office. It seems that our little city has made the same mistake as so many other places in the world, in taking on major projects without being about to pay for them, using future taxes on new commercial and residential development to finance them. Only, the new developments cost money that isn't necessarily recuperated down the road with subsequent increasing debt loads. It seems Lansdowne is caught up in that cycle. All the best in your ongoing fight. HD.

Actually I feel the City of Ottawa has not won but rather lost Lansdowne as the great public greenspace it could be. Thank you for fighting for a better vision for this great public space - one of the last remaining possible green-spaces in the core of Ottawa. Ottawa deserves better than another shopping mall and condo stretch on public land. HC.