Election Promises – Bring ‘em On

Can’t wait to hear what the federal election brings in terms of promises made to woo voters in Toronto. I’m willing to bet there will be tons of money for public transportation, waterfront renewal, the arts and public housing. Whatever is currently on Toronto’s wish list will likely be addressed by Mr. Layton, Mr. Harper and Mr. Martin. Unfortunately, very few or none of these promises are likely to become action. As most Toronto-ians know – or should know – is these guys are just trying to get us in bed by whispering sweet nothings in our collective ears. They don’t really mean what they say because they don’t believe it. Look at the Liberals’ terrible track record for the past decade. We get little love even though billions of our taxpayer dollars are dutifully sent up to Ottawa where they spend it on things such as embossed golf balls and Canadian flags. Can’t wait for my MP to come to the door!

An Alternative to David Miller?

When David Miller became mayor two years ago, there was tremendous hope he would bring new ideas and fresh thinking to a city starting to crumble around the edges, if not the core. While there have been some bureaucratic and political obstacles that Miller has not been able to overcome, there is a growing sense of disappointment with Miller’s performance. This has picked up momentum over the past six months as gun-related violence has become a regular part of the landscape. While there is discontent with Miller – see Royson James’ front page letter to Miller in today’s Toronto Star – the question is whether anyone credible will run against him in the next election. Few people currently on city council are mayor-credible so a real candidate would have to come from outside the current administration. In many ways, I wonder what Toronto would be like today if John Tory had won the last election.

Fear is a Dangerous Thing

For police trying to solve the string of gun-shootings plaguing Toronto, it must be frustrating to have so little cooperation from community – including people who witness these crimes. It’s a sad state of affairs when people are afraid to come forward because they fear being targeted by the criminal element. It creates a vicious circle where criminals don’t get caught because people are afraid to testify, and people are afraid to testify because the criminals aren’t being caught. How do you stop this situation? Is there a better way for witnesses to report what they saw without the fear or retribution?

Crazy Drivers

What is it about bad weather and how people drive in Toronto. Normally, people are far too aggressive, drive too fast and propel themselves through yellow and red lights as if it’s their right to get where they want to go as quickly as possible. When inclement weather comes (rain, snow, etc.), the troubling part is there is no change in this behaviour. Do people go slower? No. Do people resign themselves to taking more time to get to their destination? No. Rather than the police pulling over people like me for not having an updated permit (totally my fault, by the way), they should focus on people cut drive too fast and switch lanes like they’re driving in the Indy 500.

Live and Learn

I spent $84 on a Sunday morning visit to Harbord Bakery. Unfortunately, it was $14 for some delicious croissants and bagels and a $70 fine for not having the proper insurance paper in the car. The policeman who pulled me over actually did me a huge favor because the address on my driver’s license was our old house and my license plate sticker expired in October. In theory, it could have been $14 of bagels and $290 in fines. Yikes! The silver lining is I discovered you can change the address on your driver’s license and renew your license sticker online.

Another Day, Another Shooting

Why is all the gun-related violence happening in light of yet another shooting – this time at the Toronto West Seventh-day Adventist Church during a funeral. Why are these shootings happening? Is there anything we can do to fix it? My take is there is rotting at the roots. In other words, these aren’t problems that can be fixed with band-aids but fundamental issues that will need broad, committed programs. While hiring more police is one step, there needs to be solid action at the core of the problem. We need community centres in areas where violence is taking hold with young people. These centres then need well-financed programs to provide jobs, athletic activities and social services such as job training and counselling. As a society, we’re letting too many down these days. We like to think we think support all segments of society but there not enough money or action coming from the federal, provincial and cash-strapped municipal governments to make it happen. It we don’t act soon, Toronto could easily become just like many U.S. cities with a have-not population. This is not Canada, this is not Toronto.

More Parking Ticket Blues

 So I got another parking ticket – this time I bought a ticket only to have it blow off my dashboard (this is really true!) so the parking hornet didn’t see it. So, I head up to Yonge & Shepherd to get it fixed. I mean, I did buy a ticket so they should be able to help me out, right? Wrong. So, what does it mean? To fight this stupid ticket, I have to go to court. It’s an terrible system where you only a once-in-a-lifetime cancelled ticket “favour”. I’m so mad the city won’t do me any favours, I’m going to reciprocate. From now on, I’m not going to put my leaves in kraft bags. Instead, I’ll sweep leaves into the street just like everyone else. When it snows, forget about piling it up on my front yard. The snow will be dumped into the street. And as for the city’s request we not use plastic bags to get rid of green box material. Forget about it. If I’m going to work it to compost, they’ll have to deal with the plastic bags.

 

Different Takes on Towers

Let’s be clear here: I’m not against building skyscrapers for offices or condos. But I do find it interesting to see how different people have completely divergent views on where and/or if these buildings should be developed. The Globe & Mail’s John Bently Mays, for examples, laments the demise of the ROM’s plans to build a 46-story tower – suggesting that another round of NIMBYism won the day. The biggest problem I had with the ROM project was it had little respect for the surrounding landscape. Without a doubt, it would have dominated the area, which includes UofT, the Annex, Queen’s Park and the ROM itself. I find it hard to believe we are so hell-bent on building towers when extensive parts of Bloor St. and Yonge St., which can be served by the subway, are dominated by two or three story buildings. If the city really wants to encourage densification, it should look at ways to having six to 10-story buildings put up along subway lines.

Okay, We Were Wrong

Looks like the councillors who got caught with their pants down giving themselves oh-so-quiet raises are trying to make amends. Mayor Miller now says the process to give 12% raises over three years will become more public. Does this mean, they’re not going to get raises that most of us can only dream about? Not likely. But at least, people, including taxpayers, will be able to ask questions and make council explain publicly why they deserve such a healthy raise.

Sneaky Raises

I’m not going to begrudge city councillors from raises but sneaking n a 12% hike over three years as a last-minute amendment is inexcusable. It was almost like they were so embarassed about giving themselves the money, they decided to see if no one would notice. Irregardless of whether they actually deserve it – and I think it’s not excessive given the amount of work people like Olivia Chow do – the process totally goes against David Miller’s transparency mantra. The behind-the-scenes raise exercise smacks of the pre-Miller days when no one scrutinized the flow of money too carefully. With Toronto being given new powers by the province, there will be no more excuses for financial hand-outs if the city comes up short due to bad deals or excessive spending. What concerns me, however, is that raises for police, councillors, etc. mean the city will need more revenue. However, one of the only mechanism it has to generate more revenue is property taxes.