McMaster University

[movingtohamilton]

I need to be better informed on this, because all of you are excited by the prospect of Mac's increased presence downtown.

My concern is simple: Mac is spending public money, it's not generating wealth. I understand the multiplier effect when students and staff would be in the core and hopefully spending money at local businesses.

But a university is not private enterprise investing in the core of the city. Condos, for example, pay property taxes. What taxes does Mac pay?

So help me understand how public dollars will be the generator of renewal downtown. In some ways OLG spins a similar line when it promotes casinos.