Flato investments have helped community
Editorial
Tall Poppy Syndrome. That’s what Australians and New Zealanders call the cultural phenomenon that occurs when people who attain prominence face criticism or resentment. The inclination is then to cut the poppy down to size.
If local chatter is to be believed, Shakir Rehmatullah, president of Flato Developments, is the biggest poppy of all that needs trimming.
The biggest complaint is that his name is “everywhere.” And by that people mainly mean the Flato Academy Theatre, and to a lesser extent, the ambulatory care centre at Ross Memorial Hospital and the main foyer at Fleming College’s Frost Campus.
Flato has made significant contributions to the community, especially:
– $3 million to Ross Memorial Hospital for the digital transformation of patient care and the enhancement of services.
– $1.2 million to Fleming College’s Frost Campus in Lindsay.
– $1.375 million over 15 years to the Academy Theatre in Lindsay, which is now called the Flato Academy Theatre.
Gaining naming rights is a normal business practice. Are these complainers aware of Quaker Foods Urban Park in downtown Peterborough? Are they aware of Miskin Law Community Complex on Lansdowne Street in the same city? We can pretend we don’t live in a capitalistic world, but that would be Pollyanna at best.
Does this mean one can’t be in opposition to Flato and other developers for policy-oriented reasons? Of course not. There’s ample concern for lost farmland, for instance. However, Flato can only build where they are permitted to do so, which is a municipal decision.
This builder could have just laid out his plans to build more homes here, and it would certainly have been met with favour from the council of the day. After all, we are desperate for more housing. He didn’t need to invest in this community, shoring up healthcare, education, and the arts through three of our most important institutions. The fact that he did is to our advantage – and to his credit.
Not to be rude, but the advertising in your publication would help with this article on Flato?? They are developers…. for profit. The donations work to their advantage, grease permitting perhaps and more. Anyone who thinks they don’t is a tad naive!!!
You say, “The donations work to their advantage”. On behalf of the FLATO Academy Theatre, their donations also work to our advantage. Our partnership provides an essential annual investment in the theatre; something we desperately need. If you don’t like this developer, or any other developer, investing in the theatre, perhaps you could recommend some other businesses who would step up to support us. There’s always room for more.
You can send personal cheques to any organization you want. Why do you need me and my tax dollars involved?
To be succinct, no. Their advertising is irrelevant. Editorial and advertising are separate, as they should be. They have never once contacted us with any expectation.
I’m not sure it is fair to characterize criticism of Shakir Rehmatullah and his extensive investment in not only our community but communities all over Ontario as “tall poppy syndrome” aka simple envy. The people I hear express concerns, and they are many, are more concerned about what he might expect from the community in terms of influence and quid pro quo returns. Does he expect the City to grant favours regarding policy, to bypass consulting with Indigenous or with environmental committees, or to favour certain residents, businesses, or cultural interests, for example. They also wonder where the huge sums of money donated come from and worry about tales they have heard about foreign investment and political influence. They worry about money laundering by global crime organizations. These are valid concerns that we can only hope the City bureaucrats have engaged due diligence to address. In the past, local organized crime has effectively run out of town, with the help of police, any challenges to their monopoly on local crime business but the corruption of government may be a different ball game. In any event, all of these concerns, while valid, are just concerns, after all, with no smoking gun. So, welcome FLATO!
Who ever has their name slapped on a building can pay to operate it. Period. Leave me, as a tax payer, out of it.