Toronto Voters Face Tough Decision

With Municipal elections taking place tomorrow, I am glad I don't have to live with the consequences of choosing the new Mayor. While David Miller has taken himself out of the race, each of the remaining candidates have major flaws that put into question their ability to lead.

Rob Ford - Ford has been a tremendous assest to City Council. He has been a thorn in the side to many in the old boys networks of patronage and privilege. He has recieved rath and scorn from councillors who were not happy with his boat rocking. He was even investigated for not spending enough money from his office budget. He has fought and lost many times to put a cap on spending or to reduce the perks councilors are entitled to. His fiscally responsible approach is what has put him within range of this election. However their is more to being a Mayor then cutting spending. The city also needs to be allocate funds wisely in order to grow and prosper. I just don't see Ford being able to grow beyond his rebel image to fill the shoes necessary for the job.

George Smitherman - The last provincial election predominantly factored into our decision to leave Canada. The government campaigned on the principle that all Ontario students are entitled to the same secular public education. Catholics can also have their own education but funding any other religion is an attack on public education. Smitherman was a prominent member of the government and the election campaign.

Joe Pantalone - Pantalone was the unions only pick to run for Mayor. As Mayor he would be as close to David Miller as it is possible to get. The city needs to take control of it's finances, instead of trying to find more creative ways to tax the same people.

There is a plus side. A bunch of councillors have stepped down leaving the arena open to fresh blood with fresh ideas. Although Ford may not make it to council there are a number of fiscally responsible councilors (Doug Holyday, Karen Stintz, Denzil Minnan-Wong etc.) who should be returned to serve another term. Hopfully the fresh faces in Council and the Mayor's office combined with the reelection of deserving councilors will be a huge leap forward for the City of Toronto.

The fallout from this election is going to filter into the next Provincial election and possibly Federal election. Most people are billing it up as Ford (Hudak) vs Smitherman (McGuinty). A number of scenarios have been proposed as to who to cheer for. When McGuinty was elected Premier for his first term he campaigned that as a Liberal he would be better suited to deal with PM Paul Martin. In the end they didn't get along and Martin was kicked out of office a short time later. McGuinty is hoping a Smitherman win would bring in an era of like minded leaders that would help him in the election. The flip side is if Smitherman fails the demand for change will sweep through Queen's Park and knock the Liberals out of power.

The same analysis could play out in reverse. Ford falling flat on his face in his first year could be an anchor on Hudak, allowing McGuinty to win for a 3rd time. Win or lose Ford has a lot of political capital. If he doesn't become Mayor he will find himself a seat in Queen's Park or Ottawa. His reputation for shaking things up to help the Conservatives come election time. Which ever direction voters send his political career, he will remain a force to be reckoned with.

Israel Bashing Returns to Toronto Gay Pride Parade

The Queers Against Israeli Apartheid (QuAIA) have been a thorn in the side of the Toronto Gay Pride Parade for a number of years. They change the nature of the parade from an expression of unity and celebration of values, to a medium for decisiveness and controversy.

Acting out of self interest and political pressure the organizers of the parade banned the term Israel Apartheid from this years parade effectively banning QuAIA. This caused a grass roots backlash sighting an attack on free speech. In order to keep both sides happy the parade organizers have changed policy again leaving it to the City of Toronto to determine if their parade participants are behaving appropriately. It is a technical loophole that gets the parade off the hook. An ironic decision considering other parades this year, across the country have fallen to heavy criticism for not keeping out unwanted elements.

Putting aside the technical issues, does QuAIA belong in the parade? This can be answered by examining two simple questions. Is the parade an appropriate venue for political protest? Do they represent the values of the community under whose banner they choose to protest?

QuAIA sights two examples as proof that the parade is an appropriate form of protest. The parade originally started as a form of political protest and the Gay community was instrumental in the protest against Apartheid South Africa. While these may be important history lessons, they might as well be ancient history. As Gay rights have changed over the decades, so has the nature of the parade.

The second question takes the form of why single out Israel. Their response is that there are no gay rights without universal human rights. They envision, Israel as a secular democratic state stripped of it's Jewish identity. Any of their criticism of Israel are universal values that would apply anywhere in the world.

There are so many human rights issues around the world including; Arab countries denying Palestinians the rights to livelihood, property and citizenship. President of the Islamic Republic of Iran denies there are gays in his country and violently put down protests of election results, genocide in Darfur, spread of Sharia law in Asia and Africa, Hamas murder of political opponents, 2 cities in Saudi Arabia are banned to non-Muslim visitors, China's human rights record, Turkey's oppression of Armenians, Canadian issues with it's aboriginal population and many more. There are so many issues that no one individual or organization can devote resources to every issue.

Based on QuAIA, criteria in choosing Israel one would expect at least some of these issue to reverberate in the gay community, never mind manifesting into protests at the Gay Pride Parade.

For an activist who has already won their battles at home, Israel represents a low hanging fruit. It is far enough away to limit the damage from the fall out of a social engineering experiment gone wrong. Israel doesn't have the economic or political power to punish it's detractors.

By hooking on to the Gay Pride Parade, QuAIA generates more publicity than their cause could ever generate on it's own merits. They alienate people, who have a as much right to be considered part of the community the parade represents. They don't deserve the privilege of participating.

Strike Aftermath. Will the Stench Dissapear with the Garbage

The 39 day Toronto inside and outside worker strike has been over for almost a week. The clean up has become as residents try to salvage the rest of the summer from services that were unavailable for the first part of the summer. When the garbage is all cleaned up and life is back tomorrow how long will the stench remain?

There are a number of interesting questions that will be forgotten in the next few weeks. At the start of the strike sources on both sides predicted a 6 week strike. The City found a way to allow the Gay Pride Parade to go on despite the strike. The strike was settled on the eve of Carribana. Both events are major money makers for the City. Did the strike really prove anything for either side or were workers and citizens just pawns in a game with a mostly predetermined outcome?

Voters will forget the stench of the strike when the garbage is gone. If they could only remember the frustration of the last 6 weeks, when it comes to election day. It would be great news for the City. History has shown that it is unlikely to happen. Perhaps that is what the major players in the strike were counting on.

Toronto - More than the Garbage Smells

The City of Toronto strike continues to drag on. There are reports that both side are prepared for a 6 week strike. As always the losers are the citizens who are unable to access community services. CUPE and City Council seem to be clueless at the anger felt by residents about the strike.

On Wednesday, CUPE Ontario President Sid Ryan wrote about the strike in the Toronto Star. He talked about the historical importance of unions and their goal to provide every worker with a 'liveable' wage. He does not feel it is fair to publish workers for an economy collapse caused by risks taken by the rich in attempts to further line their pockets. Rank and file union members have claimed they can relate to the economic suffering of others because they had to live with Rae days or 8 years without a raise under Mel Lastman.

Union demands have hurt the economy, especially in the auto sector. There is a reasons aside from nationality why companies like Honda and Toyota were not jumping in line for government handouts. Unreasonable labour rates, plus union red tape can cut into the pofitability of a company. If a company can't make money then they are not going to have any employees. The fact that the union doesn't flinch at complaining about reduced sick benefits to people who have lost their jobs or live in fear of losing their jobs during the economic colapse.

City council is doing their fair share of not connecting to tax payers. Call from an emergency council meeting to slash roll back this year's raise. An oppurtunity to take action didn't make it to the floor for consideration, when the decision was made to freeze union salaries. Excuses from councillors range from their portion gets donated, to the meeting would cost too much, to it is a 'cost of living' increase and not a raise. Mayor Miller's excuse is that the city stopped the practise of tying their salaries to contracts the city negotiates, recognizing it was a conflict of interest.

Over the years City Council has called on taxpayers to tighten their builts. Tax increases and new taxes have been standard to help with city finances. City Council has still not managed to roll back a single perk to show that they are prepared to stand with residents and tighten their built. The overall savings to the city budget would be minimal. An act of do as I do, instead of do as I say would go a long way to gaining respect from residents.

The Gay Pride Parade was too important to allow the strike to allow it to be cancelled. The same effort and care was not placed on Canada Day celebrations. City Council and it's unionized employees are out of sink with the needs of the community. They are willing to allow everyone else to suffer in order to stick to their ideoligical guns. In Toronto voters are consistent in re re-electing the same politicians over and over again. If they continue to be treated like garbage and taken for granted, there is a slim chance that will not be true for the next election.That seems like a risk all the important players are willing to take.

TDSB pools running on empty

Once upon a time there was a home owner who loved having a swimming pool. They moved and could not have a swimming pool in the new home. They were comforted by a friend who told them if they ever missed the swimming pool they could fill up their bathtub with water and toss money in it.

TDSB has been facing this dilemma for many years as they tried to operate their 78 swimming pools. They did not have a mandate to offer this community service so they would not receive funding from the Ministry of Education. The City of Toronto provided limited funding to help pay for the maintenance of the pools. On Friday TDSB faced reality and announced the closing of 23 pools this year and 16 pools next summer for a total annual savings of $4 million.

This is simply a case of bureaucratic red tape. The pools provided an important community service by providing the skills to prevent drownings. It also provided healthy recreation in an era where child obesity appears to be a primary concern. The big question is what is going to happen
on a hot summer day when the city realizes that there are not enough swimming pools. Will they try to build more or simply shrug their shoulders and blame a different level of government. Somebody should have stepped up and acted in the best interest of the citizens of Toronto, instead of the best interests of their individual bureaucratic department. Such short sightedness will only cause harm in the future.

Banning cars, one crime at a time

Yesterday, David Miller launched a Youtube/facebook campaign for the federal government to ban handguns. The provincial Liberals have also been long time supporters on a ban on hand guns.

Liberal MPP Mike Colle decided to take action by introducing a private members bill. The bill calls for drivers license suspension as well as impounding cars found with illegal handguns. The focus on banning handguns has been used as an excuse for different levels of government not to deal with issues that result in kids turning to a life of crime. This bill does nothing to make the streets safer.

Cars are impounded if a driver is caught without a valid license. The onus is on the owner of the vehicle to verify that someone using their car has a valid license. The government has recently implemented racing laws where speeding 50 km/h over the speed limit results in a car being automatically being impounded for a week. Despite the risk police are still impounding cars. If a person has no fear in carrying and presumably using an illegal gun, why would they fear the loss of driving privileges. They should be afraid of facing the justice system. The police should be focusing having these offenders put in jail.

A few weeks ago there was a shooting on the TTC. Will the government consider taking away metropasses for criminals who do not commit their crimes in cars? The government will be introducing a ban on smoking in cars with children present. Will the punishment also be to have license suspension and cars impounded?

Punishments must fit the crime. This trend to solve the worlds problems by simply punishing drivers and car owners is short sighted. There are times when such action is appropriate. This does not make it the solution to every problem.

Where to put the snow

The normal plan for snow removal in Toronto involves plowing streets then waiting for it to melt within a few days. This year has resulted then larger then usual snow falls. The weather has also been colder resulting in large, icy accumulations everywhere. The city spent the early part of the week blaming residents for the poor snow removal efforts. Joe Mihevc called on immediately ticketing those unable to clear snow even though the same residents needed to wait 3 to 4 days to have their street plowed. Some city employees blamed the snow accumulation on residents, shovelling snow back onto the streets. Travelling through the streets shows this excuse was unfounded.

A city has finally abandoned their plan of simply waiting for spring for the snow to go away. On Friday a plan was announced for actual snow removal. Over a 10 to 14 day period the city would truck away snow that is blocking streets and making the city difficult to navigate. Citizens are being asked to cooperate and is some circumstances 'friendly tows' will be done to make the job easier for work crews. Parking officers are to be lenient in some cases and Green P lots will be made available to help crews clear the snow. While a little late, it seems like a well thought out plan to deal with this problem.

The city is only clearing out a very small portion of the city. There will be no snow removal anywhere north of the 401. Either residents of these areas are not entitled to the same snow clearing as the rest of the city or their snow clearing is better in the first the first. Either scenario begs the question of why the cities snow removal services is not equal across the city. At least according to all the Canadian groundhogs, spring is not that far away.

The Budget Magic Show

A month ago a rumour began to circulate that their would be huge user fee increases for rent of recreational facilities, especially hockey rinks. Councillor Joe Mihevc was sent out to reassure the public. He promised that hockey rinks in particular would be subjected at most to a cost increase directly related to inflation.

Last week it was uncovered that the budget included a 21.5% fee increase across the board for recreational activities including hockey arenas. This fee was on top of the built in 3% increase due to inflation. Mayor Miller claimed he did not know about the hike and promised to come to the rescue. The city has settled for a 5% increase on top of the 3% inflationary rate hike. It is unclear how many more user fee hikes have been buried deep into the budget.

This move left the city with a challenge of finding the $2 million they would have made from the fee hike. They have suspended the program of raising user fees to help subsidize those that are less fortunate. They have also reduced the projected number of welfare recipients per month from 79,000 to 77,000. Even with fears of a recession looming they have managed to reduce the poverty rate by 2.6% by simply declaring it so. If only the rest of the cities problems could be solved so easily.

Swimming, Swimming, who will pay for the swimming pool?

Once upon a time conventional wisdom was that swimming pools should be built in schools. This trend has stopped as pools are now part of the new trend towards multi purpose community centres. There are currently 78 swimming pools in schools in Toronto run by TDSB. The pools carry an annual operation budget of $45 million. The city currently pitches in $5 million and TDSB has been skimming money off of the funding formula that is supposed to be directed to ESL students to help keep the pools open.

With TDSB facing another cash crunch they are once again threatening to close down the pools. Education Minister Kathleen Wynn has said it is not her departments problem because Toronto is the only jurisdiction where schools operate swimming pools. The city is proposing increasing the budget for the swimming pools by a mere $300, 000. They don't want to take over the responsibility for operating cost of a TDSB (Provincial) asset.

The bottom line is that swimming pools provide a valuable service to the city. Child obesity and lack of physical activity is a big concern. They also provide a place for people to cool off during heat alerts without the high costs of air conditioning.

The fact the pools happen to be located in schools does not reduce their importance. Building new pools when perfectly good ones are already in use, is a waste of taxpayers money. Someone, anyone needs to step to the plate and recognize that these are valuable assets for the city and must remain open. Failure to do so, would be just another example of how out of touch our politicians are.

TDSB approves 'Afrocentric' School

Less than 6 months ago Premier McGuinty declared that non-Catholic religous schools posed a threat to society. His position was endorsed across the board by the public school board system, from unions to school boards.

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has approved the opening of an 'Afrocentric' school. The high school drop out rate amongst black students is around 40%. It is believed that by making school more relevant, students will stay in school and have hope for a better future.

The cookie cutter approach to education does not work. Students have different learning styles and interests. The schools need to be flexible enough to adapt the curriculum. In some cases this does require alternative schools based on a special interest.

The Black community does have problems with poverty, violence, single parent families, teenage pregnancy that severely hamper a students ability to be successful in school. These problems need to be dealt with head on. Setting up a school based on skin colour will not make these issues go away.

The City of Toronto offers a healthy lunch program. This highly subsidized program allows a child to have a hot healthy lunch at school a number of days per week for a very reasonable cost. Children are given a head start on learning about nutrition and healthy eating habits. This program is so important that it is even offered in the non-Catholic religious schools.

The problems in 'disadvantaged' communities need to be faced head on. More programs need to be developed to help kids succeed in school and not be lured by gang culture. These programs can range from sports to arts to any number of after school programs. Parents need to be encouraged to get involved in their kids education. The funding formula needs to be fixed so schools have enough councillors and other support staff the kids can turn to for help. University needs to be accessible to students coming from impoverished homes to give hope of a post secondary education. A school focused on skin colour does not address any of these issues.

The sad thing is that the 3 year pilot project is going to be a success. Not because they are fundamentally sound but because they will get the best students, extra funding plus extra parent and community volunteer support. These are all key ingredients for a successful school, irrelevant of the colour of the students skin.

While expressing discomfort for the proposal Premier McGuinty said he would allow the TDSB to make their own decision. Education Minister Kathleen Wynn has expressed her support for this project. These are the same people who argued against funding non-Catholic religious schools because it would create 'segregation'.

City of Toronto Balances Budget

Yesterday, Mayor Miller announced that for the first time since amalgamation in 1998 the City of Toronto has a balanced budget for the 2008 year. The budget still needs to go to council for approval and amendments. No extra money can be added to the budget.

This is a landmark accomplishment. After last year's tax revolt the city managed to find $116 million inefficiencies. They also received some handout money from the Provincial government for transportation and some social programming costs were uploaded. Miller has been ignoring the significant contribution of the average tax payer.

Miller announced that they there will be 'modest' property tax increase of 3.75%. He claims that he has kept his promise to keep property tax increases in line with the rate of inflation. Stats Can reports that the current rate of inflation is 2.2%. Plus the same tax payers are on the hook for the vehicle registration tax and land transfer tax. The city has also upped the fees for various services, including the recent TTC fare hike.

The freeze on market value assessment for real estate has been lifted. Over the next 4 years the property value used to determine property taxes will rise until it reaches true market value. With a booming real estate market, residents who have lived in their homes for decades may no longer afford to keep them. If the city uses the balanced budget to reduce property taxes in the future they can offset some of the hardship from MVA. If the city continues on their previous path and decides to spend the extra money the city will once again create their own financial crisis.

Mayor Miller tightens public purse

It would be nice if Toronto street vendors could sell other foods besides hot dogs. Food on the street could be healthier and/or better reflect the multicultural diversity of the city. City council set out to make this dream come true in the most costly inefficient means as possible.

They succeeded. The plan called for borrowing $700,000 in order to buy the carts. They would then be leased out to vendors who would also pay a licensing fee. It was argued the city needed to own the carts to control branding as well as health and safety concerns that current plague the hot dog vendors.

The government does not belong in the food service industry. They should focus on regulations and enforcement officers to make sure street vendors are able to offer the best possible product to the standars of health and safety that are expected from all food establishments.

Mayor Miller has pulled the money for this project. Perhaps he will show the same prudence when it comes time to balance the operating budget.

Looking to be offended

This summer demonstrated just how frustrated residents are with Toronto city council financial management abilities. Time and time again there are more examples of council wanting to increase spending while complaining about lack of funds. On Friday, Toronto Star reporter wrote an article outlining some recent examples of city waste. In an effort to express the frustration of citizens he finished his article with "Councillors should be hanged, one a day, at noon, in Nathan Phillips Square. Charge admission. We'll net enough money to pay off most of our civic bills."

Mayor Miller responded in a letter to the editor. Instead of dealing with the criticism of the article he took offence to James humorous expression of frustration. He choose to take this as a literal call for a revolution and condemn everyone involved with publishing the article. It is amazing that he didn't have the same response to having jokes made during the entire Grey Cup week that Miller was looking for ways to tax participation in the event to help the city finances.

James with the support of those he reports to has defended his right to continue to criticize city council while preserving his sense of humour. Now if only the politicians would listen and take to heart concerns of citizens instead of finding ways to attack them.

McGuinty vs Wynn on African (black) schools

Stats have shown that failure rates and drop out rates from school are higher among black students. TDSB is taking under consideration a recommendation to open an elementary school for 'black' students. The school would have more black teachers and a focus on 'black' culture in an attempt to make the educational experience more relevant to the students.

With the rejection of religious school funding, it would seem to be a no-brainer that the provincial government would be quick to come out against this idea.

In an interview Education Minister Kathleen Wynn indicating that she was very concerned about the failure rates among black students and would like to see different solutions. She avoided having an opinion on this solution because it is up to the school board to make the decision and out of her jurisdiction. When asked why her position was different than on the faith based schooling issue she explained that she was concerned about students that are being failed by the system. Based on this answer the reason religious schools should not receive funding is that these communities have stepped up to take care of their own kids. They did not wait for the government to decide that they would benefit from a slightly different learning experience.

Premier Dalton McGuinty was quick on the ball stating that he is not in favour of this idea. He used the same lines from his election campaign that he wants a school system that brings children together. He is in favour of the public education system. It is nice to see that he is being consistent on this point. The problem with his statement is it ignores the fact that if approved this proposal will take place under the umbrella of public education. McGuinty really needs to stop defining his educational policy in terms of who pays for it. A definition based on the student learning experience would be a far better way of defining public policy.

Public consultations will take place next week. If TDSB does go ahead with this plan it is unclear how McGuinty and Wynn will reconcile their differences on this issue.

Making a difference

In July after the City of Toronto voted to postpone bringing in new taxes (that were approved last week) I sent an e-mail to everyone on city council criticizing their response to the tax revolt and what would need to happen for citizens to accept these new taxes.

Today I received a thank you from councillor Minnan-Wong. He stated that my e-mail along with thousands of others were instrumental in opening the public debate on how the city should be run. These included compromises on the taxes and the independent review board looking into the cities spending.

It is nice to think that expressing my opinions helped to make a difference at least in a small way.

Only in Toronto

This morning there was a rally in front of city hall before the debate on the cities new taxes. They wore yellow scarves to show their support. Mayor Miller took the time to address the crowd and their concerns. They proceeded to council chambers to visually encourage city council to take up their plight. When Mayor Miller addressed council they had to be silenced when they broke out in applause (which is not permitted in chambers). They were there to support the new taxes.

Taxes are a fundamental aspect of supporting the welfare state. I can understand why some people would (especially with the new concessions) be in favour of the taxes. What other city in the western world would have a rally that their taxes are not high enough?

It is no wonder that the Conservatives are unable to win any seats in Toronto. It is no wonder we keep reelecting politicians that got us into this mess in the first place. There were 8 other taxes that were taken under consideration. Imagine when they start working on next years budget. We will have rallies from different groups in support of their favourite new taxes.

More taxes please

City of Toronto City Council is well known for their making sure the cost of city projects is the least important factor when handling bids for city contracts. Untendered contracts and fair wage rules help the city differ from the normal processes followed in the private sector. Councillors make sure they are rewarded for their job and will not sacrifice any perks when times are tough. This attitude combined with downloading costs of Provincial programing to cities has left Toronto in a financial crisis. Reserve accounts have been raided. At one point in desperation all of the hydro poles were sold to the province for extra funds. The reserve funds are now almost empty and drastic action has to be taken.

Last year David Miller won reelection while campaigning on a platform that included keeping property tax increases to 3%. The Province had so generously passed the City of Toronto Act which gave new taxing powers to the city. While not discussed during the election campaign his plan was to use these new powers to balance the budget.

Early this summer two new taxes were introduced. There was a 1% land transfer tax on property sales to be added on to the 1% already charged by the Province. There would be a $60 annual vehicle registration fee to be added on to the $74 already charged by the Province. There was a huge backlash from residents. While planning the budget councillors failed to give up a single one of their many perks. Council decided to push off the issue until after the provincial election to put pressure on the provincial parties.

Mayor Miller responded by claiming immediate cost cutting measures needed to be introduced. The measures introduced seemed to be designed to hurt as many people as possible than to provide real savings. There was talk about shutting down the Sheppard Subway line to save $5 million dollars. This seemed particularly petty considering the TTC wants $2.6 Billion for LRT all over the city. They also have secured funding to extend the subway to York University and other infrastructure projects. The TTC settled for a fare hike to avoid budget cuts which seemed to be the poison of choice for riders.

The city closed community centres on Mondays. The buildings were still operating with all full time employees reporting to work. The only cost savings was from part time workers laid off. The savings were offset by loss in revenue from denying the public access to programs they normally pay for. Some libraries were closed on Sundays. The union just won a grievance that their staff still have to be paid eliminating the savings from that scheme. Outdoor rinks were going to be delayed opening until January. This included the Nathan Phillip Square a popular tourist attraction during the holiday season. Master Card came up with a $130,000 donation to keep the rinks open.

During the provincial election the financial crunch faced by the city was virtually ignored. Miller expressed support for all 3 parties, although he seemed to express a little more support for the Liberals. When McGuinty was reelected Miller said that it was a green light for his taxes to go through. Citizens are willing to pay more to have services they want. McGuinty raised taxes after he promised not to and was reelected. This ignored the fact that McGuinty promised not to raise taxes this time and the major campaign issue was faith based school funding.

Miller has seemed to have learned from his embarrassing summer. Last week he introduced a panel of elite citizens who have experience running multi million dollar organizations. They are to examine the cities books and provide a report before work starts on next year's budget. It appears he has listened to people concerns and has made amendments to the taxes to make them a little more fair. We will find out tomorrow what they are. He has hinted there may be an exemption on the land transfer tax for first time home buyers.

Tomorrow, the taxes should be approved by council. Hopefully the mayor has learned his lessons and we can expect better leadership in the future. Hopefully next year's budget will include measures with councillor willing to make sacrifices for the greater good as they once again ask residents to do the same. I have my doubts. We will have to wait and see.

A Crazy Day in Politics

Today was one of those rare day in politics where something has been going on at every level of government.

Municipal --

When Mayor Miller failed to get his new taxes approved by city council, his followers retaliated by suggesting a whole bunch of cost cutting measures to help balance the books. The proposal to close the Sheppard subway line was replaced by a $0.15/fare increase and $4 metro pass increase to preserve service.

Another cut was to close all 150 community centres on Mondays. In the past week or so there have been attempts to block this plan by various city councillors because it has not been approved by council. Today the plan went into effect and residents learned how this idea seems to be more vengeful for not getting the tax increases, then a practical cost cutting measure.

The buildings are closed. The lights are on and all full time workers are still reporting to work. Only the part time staff are being cut on days when the centres are closed. These savings are off set by the loss of revenue from the programs that are unable to run. I really hope city council can stop acting like children and get the budget under control in a fair and reasonable manor. I have my doubts.

Provincial --

Faith based school funding remained a hot issue in the election. In the early days of the election McGuinty was criticized for attacking faith based schools in a public elementary school down the block from the Catholic high school he attended. Today he went to a Catholic High School and once again declared the 'threat' that funding faith based schools posed. In response to being a hypocrite he said that as Premier he has supported policies (gay marriage, stem cell research, abortion) that goes against Catholic teachings. Once again the Premier demonstrated that he feels Catholics have some special ability to integrate into society that other religious groups don't have.

Federal --

Stephan Dion had been complaining that Stephen Harper waited the full 6 months he was allowed to call by elections in Quebec. He accused the Conservatives of being afraid to face the voters. It appears that the voters are afraid of him.

Two of the ridings are BQ strong holds. The Conservatives have successfully taken one riding while the Bloc has maintained control in the other riding. This is a major victory for the Conservatives.

The most important riding is Outremont. This is considered the safest Liberal riding in the entire country. The Liberals have lost it only once since 1935 prior to tonight. The Liberals ran a high profile star candidate hand picked by Stephane Dion and condemned by B'nai Brith. The NDP have taken this riding rather convincingly. It is only the second time ever the NDP have ever one a seat in Quebec.

This may only be a by election which does not necessarily reflect the outcome if there were to be a general election. The implications are huge. The NDP have now established an outpost where they can try to legitimately win seats in Quebec. It is another stinging blow to Stephane Dion's leadership. There is no way that he will be able to bring down the government in the fall. I am sure Harper will use this to rub some more salt into his wounds as the Liberals will be forced to accept a thrown speech they don't like. It also creates more doubts for the Liberals of their leader's ability to ever win an election. Dion may become only the 3rd Liberal leader since confederation not to become Prime Minister.

Stupid Politicians Part 1 City Council

This week is quickly becoming a week for politicians to be extra stupid (even by government standards)

City counsellors under investigation

Since 2000 the City of Toronto has spent over 1 Billion dollars from various contingency funds to help make ends meet. At one point they even sold the hydro poles to the province to help get some extra cash. The city has almost no reserve funds left. Council has even approved a plan to sue the Ontario Government to try to balance this years budget. In the recent election Mayor Miller got reelected with a campaign that the Provincial and Federal Governments should be kicking in more money to help the city. He would campaign to make this happen and hold property tax increases to the rate of inflation. He was unsuccessful as this years Provincial and Federal budget's did not do very much to help the city. A 3.8% property tax hike has been approved which is higher than the rate of inflation. Council also failed to remove a single one of their many perks that come with the job.

The city's executive committee has asked the integrity commissioner to investigate two councillor for not spending enough money, Rob Ford is known for spending his own personal money on office expenses instead of dipping into the public purse. "You're not supposed to accept gifts, even from yourself," Giorgio Mammoliti said. The investigation will need approval from council next month before it can proceed.
How stupid of a statement is this? I understand that we want to make sure that bribes are not being used to influence city councillors judgement. How do you bribe yourself? It would be one thing if these councillors had maxed out there budget and were using private or 3rd party funds to make up the shortfall. In these cases they are coming in way under budget and could have had the city cover these costs.

If only these politicians spent more time worrying about how to balance the books, we could have a city that wasn't falling apart.