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.