The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are an important part of Winnipeg and the province. Yet, unfortunately for Manitoba taxpayers, the discussion about a new Bomber stadium has started in the fourth quarter. Taxpayers deserve a debate on this issue that begins with an opening kick-off, not a debate with ten seconds left on the clock.

Consider the fact that our elected officials still haven't held a public discussion or referendum on the matter. Although tens of millions of tax dollars are being considered for a new stadium, Manitobans still haven't been consulted with by the people they elected. That should be step number one. While some will point to the public meeting that the Bombers held, it's fair to suggest that Bomber fans would be more inclined to attend such a discussion versus a broader cross section of Manitobans.

Second, the Winnipeg football club conducted an extensive expression of interest process that was managed by BDO Dunwoody. This was based on criteria that was determined by the football club and is not the same as the priorities of the broader public. This is demonstrated by the fact that the proposal chosen by the football club has been changed twice in order to achieve interest by all three levels of government. Further, given significant changes to the successful bidder's proposal in terms of location and structure (addition of a large, all-season bubble over the field), it is fair to suggest that a second expression of interest should be held after input from the public has been received.

Given some of the high levels of government contributions that have been floated for this project, it should be noted that many more bidders could come forward with possibly even better proposals. It's fair to ask why only one proposal is being considered

Should public support move a new stadium forward, tax dollars and third party financial contributions should be in plain view for the public to see. This was not the case with the downtown arena process several years ago. To this day, several sections of the agreement are still blacked out when provided to the public. Taxpayers deserve a commitment from our elected officials that all financial details will be disclosed.

If our elected officials consider this transparent and fair approach to be unworkable, perhaps the original solution put forward by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) should be considered. The CTF proposed returning all tax dollars currently set aside for a new stadium, back to Manitobans in the form of rebate cheques. This would allow each and every Manitoban to decide if they consider a new stadium a priority. If enough Manitobans donate their rebates to a new stadium fund, that's their way of showing that this is a priority. If enough funds aren't collected, then perhaps Manitobans are sending a signal that maybe we just need to give the old stadium some tender loving care as other cities are doing.