TORONTO LETTING AIR CANADA OFF THE HOOK ON RAPTORS' STADIUM?

     The Toronto City Council is scheduled to vote today on the
Raptors' Air Canada Centre stadium deal, despite some  fears that
Air Canada is being let "off the hook" with regard to its
financial responsibilities.  According to the TORONTO STAR, it
was recently discovered that in addition to naming rights, Air
Canada will take an ownership role in the project.  But Solicitor
Dennis Perlin said he could not recommend the deal to the City
Council because it sets a "dangerous precedent by relieving Air
Canada of its infrastructure responsibilities around the site."
Those obligations include building a road and pedestrian
connections around the facility.  The Raptors are responsible for
the improvements, but Perlin said it was city policy to make all
owners and developers of a project equally liable (Paul Moloney,
TORONTO STAR, 1/12).