David Miller’s problems are closing in on several fronts. The garbage strike and the street car fiasco are only the two latest crises to plague the Toronto mayor who seems to think that he and his city are “special”. Dalton McGuinty is certainly one of the enablers of this egocentric behaviour.
Just as wise parents realize that they do their child no favour by encouraging irresponsibility, the higher levels of government need to stand firm against Miller’s whining. At least the Federal Government knows that tough love is the only answer.
Today Toronto City Council will meet at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in an 11th hour effort to try to figure out what to do about the street car dilemma. (City Hall is no longer an option because then they’d have to cross the picket line, and that would never do. Leave picket lines for the citizens of Toronto to deal with where they have to stand in long lines to drop off garbage and face the evil eye of bylaw officers when they idle their cars or try to leave their garbage in the wrong place.)
David Miler thought Toronto was ‘special‘ and didn’t have to adhere to the rules of the stimulus funding. He figured that John Baird would give in for political reasons just as Dalton McGuinty does time and time again because that is where the votes lie. But the Feds didn’t play the game and now Miller is in trouble.
The Globe’s Marcus Gee compares the City of Toronto to the General Motors situation both in terms of past generous labour settlements and incompetent, over-paid management. I also see a common thread of arrogance, but GM was finally humbled.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, Dalton McGuinty’s Liberal Government is one of the enablers that is allowing Toronto to act like a petulant child, but the true enablers are the Toronto taxpayers and voters who grumble but then reelect this type of incompetence. And by extension, Ontario taxpayers are also enabling Toronto to act irresponsibly when they elect a union-pandering provincial party to power.
Time for a reality check and some tough-love, or we’re all going down with them.
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Update: Mary T is first out of the gate with a very practical suggestion for David Miller:
Perhaps Miller could ask all the stores to donate the nickle/bag to the city to pay for the trains.
Maybe that’s the kind of thinking that Terence Corcoran was referring to this morning – Transit needs ideas, not money.
And on that column about dysfunctional public transit systems as noted by Corcoran, no wonder the union finally declared it would not picket the Metro Toronto Convention Centre because the streetcar deal creates “good jobs.”
Afternoon Update:
David Miller, under attack at emergency meeting, urges council to fund streetcars – Post:
…Councillor Doug Holyday wanted to know why the meeting was being held at the convention centre “at great cost” instead of at Nathan Phillips Square.
“I think the tax payers are owed an explanation,” he said. The clerk said not enough staff at city hall were around to run a meeting.
Good grief!
It gets worse. The Globe has a lengthy report. The relevant information is near the end:
“The mayor stood up and described it as a victory for the city,” said councillor Karen Stintz (Ward 16, Eglinton-Lawrence). “I don’t think we are looking at a victory. I think we are looking at a mess that we now have to be cleaned up.”
The hastily-called meeting – coming on day five of a city workers’ strike – is being held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre instead of the usual council chambers at city hall, being picketed by locals 79 and 416 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.
“If they had the staff to run the electronics…and do the things that are necessary to run this meeting, why couldn’t they do it at city hall,” asked councillor Doug Holyday (Ward 3, Etobicoke Centre). “I think it is obvious that some of them don’t want to cross the picket line.”
The session, held in a cavernous room on the main floor of the convention centre, has been set up to mimic the seating layout at city hall. But the sessions are not being televised, with most of the audience made up of non-union city officials, councillor aides, and several federal Toronto-based members of Parliament…
New Democrat Olivia Chow and Liberals Gerard Kennedy and Mario Silva issued press releases denouncing the Harper government’s refusal to provide direct aid to the streetcar project.
During this morning’s debate, the strategies in place by the mayor and his allies on one side – and his opponents on the other – quickly emerged.
At first through procedural wrangling, and later through questions of the mayor and city and TTC staff, Mr. Miller’s critics hammered away at the wisdom of expecting the federal government would cough up short-term stimulus money (for projects to be largely completed by Mar. 31, 2011) for a streetcar project that would roll out between 2012 and 2018.
But almost none of the mayor’s allies asked any questions, so as not to prolong the eventual decision.
This sounds like a three ring circus! And leave it to Chow, Kennedy and Silva to jump on Miller’s bandwagon.
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Evening Update: “This is probably my proudest moment as mayor of Toronto…” (Post).
Mayor Miller, if this is your proudest moment I wouldn’t brag about it.
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Saturday Update: Thanks to Jack’s Newswatch for featuring this post today.
Don’t do as T.O. does – National Post editorial
Perhaps Miller could ask all the stores to donate the nickle/bag to the city to pay for the trains.
Oh, that’s good Mary T.
I wish I had thought of that. And it’s environmentally-friendly to boot!
Yeah, environmentally friendly, right up Miller’s ally.
It appears some of the heavy Socialist balm has seeped into McGuinty’s hide since he’s been hanging out in Millerville as King of Queen’s Park.
McGuinty and Miller, what a team to pave the road to destruction of anything that resembles common sense. The nanny state rules.
Baird is to be thanked for his “profane truth”.
“John Baird’s profane truth
With so much stimulus money sloshing around, the danger is that politicians will use it for pet projects. That is precisely what Mayor Miller is doing and Ottawa is right to call him on it.”
Marcus Gee.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/john-bairds-profane-truth/article1190304/
Baird did the same thing here in Ottawa. There was money for transit and Baird demanded to see the details. Well, you’d think that he had declared war on our fair city. Imagine, wanting to know details before handing over the money. The nerve of that Baird. It didn’t occur to the loudmouths that Baird was protecting not only Canadian taxpayers’ investment but also wanting to ensure that we would get what we need and get value for the money.
Well, the project was cancelled and now our city is being sued by the contractor for breach. It seems that a deal had been reached before the money was in the bank.
Kudos to John Baird for standing on the side of what is right for us Canadians.
East, sounds like the big cities have a problem with arrogance and entitlement.
No kidding, Joanne. Sometimes I wonder what they’re smoking around the Council table, the boneheaded decisions they make.
TO is a third-world city.
Spare no tears for TO.
The end result of socialism here:
“Toronto’s Canada Day celebrations cancelled
It’s appears Canada Day is going to be a big fizzle in many parts of Toronto, with festivals, celebrations — even the city-sponsored fireworks display — cancelled.”
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2009/06/26/toronto-cancellations.html
I wonder what Toronto will do with that money that was supposed to go towards Canada Day festivities? I imagine some of it would have been from the Feds.
OT,but just visited NNW and see that there will be an all out effort to elect Lizzie when an election is called. Does she not realize that getting into the HofC means she has to shut her mouth. (hey maybe a reason to elect her). She will not be allowed to speak or ask questions every day. She will not be recognized as a member of an official party. What good would she do there, we already have 2 parties that vote against everything without reading it. Maybe she is counting on a lib minority and a cabinet seat.
Well, Canada Day could never rank up there with Gay Pride or Carribana or some other ethnic celebration. Canada is merely the place to come and create divisions thanks to our multicultural policies. Canada is the teat to suck from to fund and enable all comers to live as they did in the lands from whence, in many cases, they fled.
Our Charter of rights is the perfect tool to ensure they can do so. It’s another reason we’re hearing yet again complaints about women being able to vote wearing burkas with full facial covering. The Charter grants them that right under “freedom of religion” even though that is disputed even among those who espouse that doctrine.
This country did quite well before the Trudeau Charter. It needs to be revisited and modified.
The insult to injury added with the CHRC’s is an example of how the Charter can spur socialistic doctrine to points beyond reason in a democratic society.
BTW, maybe Toronto will need to buy masks with any spare cash to quell the stench of the garbage smoldering in the summer heat.
Lizzie is still hoping for a handout from a friendly Liberal party.
Dang, that woman is horrible.
Mr. Harper: don’t take part in any more debates with that screecher. She does not deserve to be there.
If she gets one seat, she gets to debate? Do the independents get a seat at the debate table. Hell No!
She’s as pesky as a hungry mosquito and about as welcome.
I may be way off in this, but isn’t Toronto sounding liks QUEBEC?
PM Harper should take this under advisement.
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Joseph C. Ben-Ami writes:
“$400,000 to Toronto Gay Pride a stimulant too far
Last week’s announcement of a $400,000 grant to Toronto’s Gay Pride Week is the latest indication of how detached the Harper Conservatives have become from their key supporters and how incoherent their evolving electoral strategy is as a result.
That the government has not triggered a grassroots revolt by now is remarkable, a testament to the discipline of party members more than their loyalty. A few more announcements like this, however, and it won’t be able to count on that either.”
http://josephbenami.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=93&Itemid=34
Two things I love about this:
a) Southern Ontario and particularly the GTA constantly encourage leftist social engineering crap, and are finally be forced to pay the piper for their assinine demands;
b) Hopefully (but I won’t hold my breath on this one) the GTA will see just how stupid it is to vote for leftwing nutbars like Jack Layton and his wife Olivia Chow. And if they don’t learn, I hope they drown in their garbage.
“I wonder what Toronto will do with that money that was supposed to go towards Canada Day festivities? I imagine some of it would have been from the Feds.”
Well where do you think they found the money for the streetcars, Joanne ????
I think that Lizzie is just looking for a pension. She really reminds me of a former MP who just keeps hanging on. She feeds her own ego and deludes herself into thinking that she is actually relevant. Isn’t she studying to become a clergy person? Wait – gasp – religion in government!!!!! Oh my, a clergy person in the HoC. We can’t have that, can we?
You know, that makes me think of something. I love when the loudmouths screech that religion has no place in government and yet the very laws which protect those same loudmouths are partly based on the Bible.
For example: thou shalt not kill. Uh, we do have laws against murder, do we not? Thou shalt not steal. Hmmm, the last time I checked, robbing a bank was illegal. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Okay, not illegal but it sure can lead to some career-breakers and financial ruin. Thou shalt honour thy mother and thy father. Okay, so that one flew out the window, didn’t it?
Love thy brother as thine own self. Well, the lefties want the government to take care of everybody so they are obviously following that particular law from God.
I could go on but I think I’ve made my point. Take that, all you loudmouths who want God eliminated.
Yeah, that bothered me too, Maz2 @ #14.
I recently read a column in the National Post by a gay reporter who said he doesn’t like the parade for various reasons, but one of them is that it has taken on political overtones. I will try to find that article.
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“I also see a common thread of arrogance, but GM was finally humbled.”
More like:
“I also see a common thread of SOCIALISM, but GM was finally humbled”
Fred – That too.
Wow, $400,000 grant to Gay Pride week in TO in a recession is enough to make any Conservative’s skin crawl. When we get called next for donations they’re in for an earful and they will not get a penny from us.
Let’s hope it’s damned hot and smelly from rotting garbage when they have that spectacle.
Here’s the article I was looking for! Politics getting in way of Pride.
It’s written by a gay Jew who lives in Toronto. After you read it you’ll wonder even more why the Harper government gave that grant to Pride.
I really am interesting in readers’ reactions to this one.
$400,0000 to Gay Pride week? Seriously? I’m incredulous.
No donations from me to the Conservative Party for that. And I will tell them so. That’s nearly half a billion dollars wasted during a recession. That is completely wrong.
Shame on the government for that one.
And Mr. Harper, don’t even think of doing anything like that ridiculous Cap and Tax bill that just got passed in the U.S. There’s only so much a true conservative girl can take. And you’re pushing it right now.
Soccermom, write all that down the next time they send you a donation request.
But I think it’s closer to a half million than billion, no?
Canwest says this is “being done at no cost”.
No cost to whom/what? Whom/what is paying for this?
What is the quid pro quo/the tradeoff? There is a cost/benefit to everything in politics.
…-
“Happy Birthday Canada to flash across Times Square”
“The international newswire service Reuters agreed to host the birthday greeting on the massive light boards of their Times Square North American headquarters building.
Insiders say the Foreign Affairs Department requested the gesture, which is being done at no cost.”
http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=1736246
Has anyone got a clip, video, tape or whatever of the govt giving TO a cheque for the Pride parade. Did the city and press use this in order to get us mad at the PM. Was x number of dollars given for cultural and arts (so important to Que) and the city used it for the parade. For months we have been saying you can’t believe the media, so why believe this.
I am sure if this was a public donation for said event the cbc/tabor/PP would have been all over it. By going ahead with this parade and cancelling Canada Day, is it possible the money for Canada day is being used. Regardless, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth, and odors for the nose, for the city and voters of TO.
Joanne, LOL, read it wrong! And look at the way I typed the numbers in myself! Oh my!
One can easily get the millions, billions, and trillions mixed up I guess! After a while it all seems so ridiculous anyway!
All I know is that it’s a lot of money!
[...] H/T Maz2. [...]
I don’t know about anyone else, but I feel as though David Miller, his socialist buddies and ALL the city’s employees are waging war on me. The CUPE pickets can apparently picket any way they like, no matter how long they hold people up. I asked a cop outside a parking tag office building how long the wait was and he referred me to the building security people who could not answer me. When I got back to my car the cop had ticketed me! The by-law enforcement people are all hot to trot with their camera’s to catch people dumping garbage!
If it were up to me I would send the union to arbitration with the rules of arbitration that the arbitrator had to match the private sector as closely as possible. Impossible under current legislation but maybe we can get a conservative Govt to rewrite the public service union labour laws.
Does any one know where Miller lives? I woulD like to drop off a present for him.