With that said I too feel frustration with the secrecy of taxdollars being thrown around in these negotiations. It should all be public for sure! I also don’t buy the threat of him moving the team. Move the team where? The Oilers, despite their lack of wins over the past few years are the 5th most profitable team in the league right now, at least last I heard. They aren’t going anywhere. Katz is blowing smoke!

In my view, every discussion and every contract that involves public funds must be held in the full light of day. If a private corporation wants to keep its business private, it should not seek to do business with the public purse, and should get not one thin dime from the taxpayer. Accountability for public funds demand nothing less.

Whether it be a public-private partnership such as a new arena in Edmonton, or a simple public procurement from a private-sector supplier, once you start doing business with the public sector, your business becomes everybody’s business. If you don’t like that, don’t bid on the project or procurement, or pay for it all yourself out of private funds. I would like to see this principle enshrined in all public purchasing policies at every level of government, from the smallest hamlet to the federal government, and from snowplowing contracts to military purchases.