I have to admit that on most days, I am darkly pessimistic about the efficacy of democracy. With a federal government whose members are but drones of a martinet Prime Minister, and a domestic populace that seems to be asleep, indifferent, easily manipulated, divided or defeatist the majority of time, I see little basis for optimism. Two events in the news today, however, help to counter that gloomy assessment, just a little.
The first comes from Toronto. Although I do not live there, the size of its municipal government makes it of special interest, especially given that until yesterday right-wing forces, led by Mayor Rob Ford, seemed to control the agenda.
Politics has been defined as the art of the possible. In other words, dictates seldom work as effectively as compromise and consensus. Neither concept held any meaning for Ford who, like the bulldozer he resembles, maintained an attitude that it was "my way or the highway" as he insisted upon deep cuts to programs and services in the 2012 budget. That is, until constituents, roused from their torpor, engaged in what should be a model of participatory democracy. They lobbied their council representatives en masse and filled City Hall with their deputations against the severe cuts championed by the right, thereby prompting left-leaning, centrist, and even a few right-wingers to form a coalition that eliminated the worst of the cuts through an omnibus bill presented by Josh Colle. The final vote: 23-21 in support of the bill.
The second example of democracy's potential power comes from Wisconsin, the home of Governor Scott Walker, the tool of the Koch brothers who did so much damage last year after passing legislation that stripped public employees of their collective bargaining rights.
CNN reports the following:
More than a million people have signed a petition to recall Wisconsin's governor, the state's Democratic Party said Tuesday.
That's nearly twice the 540,208 signatures required to seek a recall of first-term Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who drew the ire of labor unions and public school teachers after he stripped public employees of their collective bargaining rights.
All of us need to take heart from these two examples of what can happen when people mobilize to overcome the forces arrayed against their interests.
Such actions are both our right and our responsibility.
Showing posts with label city of toronto budget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label city of toronto budget. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Chief Bill Blair's Gambit
It is difficult to know exactly what the repercussions will be for Chief Bill Blair, who attempted to go over the heads of his civilian overseers, the Toronto Police Services Board, and appeal directly to Mayor Rob/Doug Ford in trying to stop the mandated 10% reduction of the police budget.
In his most recent meeting with the board, the possibility was held out by the Board that the reduction could be spread out over two years because of the legislative constraints around officer deployment.
As the final motion passed, a notably agitated Blair fought back.
“I have to tell you, I can’t recommend it in good conscience because of the impact it would have on public safety …” the chief said before being cut off.
Perhaps the fact that he was cut off will serve as a forceful reminder to Blair that he isn't running this operation, that civilian safeguards are in place to exercise reasonable restraint on police forces and overzealous, even arrogant police chiefs.
My fervent hope, however, is that the Chief does not resign over the issue of reductions. Any action that makes him look like a martyr will, perforce, lead some people to forget the ignominy he rightly earned over his role in the massive violations of Charter Rights during last years G20 police violence.
And that egregious misuse of state power is something no healthy democracy can afford to forget.
Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.
In his most recent meeting with the board, the possibility was held out by the Board that the reduction could be spread out over two years because of the legislative constraints around officer deployment.
As the final motion passed, a notably agitated Blair fought back.
“I have to tell you, I can’t recommend it in good conscience because of the impact it would have on public safety …” the chief said before being cut off.
Perhaps the fact that he was cut off will serve as a forceful reminder to Blair that he isn't running this operation, that civilian safeguards are in place to exercise reasonable restraint on police forces and overzealous, even arrogant police chiefs.
My fervent hope, however, is that the Chief does not resign over the issue of reductions. Any action that makes him look like a martyr will, perforce, lead some people to forget the ignominy he rightly earned over his role in the massive violations of Charter Rights during last years G20 police violence.
And that egregious misuse of state power is something no healthy democracy can afford to forget.
Please sign this petition urging Prime Minister Harper to stop threatening Michaela Keyserlingk and to stop exporting asbestos.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
The Power of the People
Despite our almost legendary passivity as a people, one small part of Canada is offering an example of what can happen when citizens shed the mantle of political disengagement that our politicians have long cultivated and counted on in order to push through their misguided policies unchecked.
The small part of Canada to which I refer is the City of Toronto whose people, it is becoming increasingly apparent, now realize the ghastly mistake they made in electing a mayor who told them what they wanted to hear during the campaign and uncritically accepted his lies, only to be faced now with the cost of that misplaced trust.
As most people know, Rob Ford won the Toronto mayoralty race by promising low taxes and no service cuts, miracles that would be wrought by elimination of the 'gravy' that his profligate predecessors had swilled with abandon. Hundreds of millions of dollars in savings would thus be available. Of course, it turned out that there was almost no gravy, unless one were to reclassify services regarded as vital to a well-functioning city under that designation.
Earlier in the summer, impassioned citizens made public representations protesting many of the proposed cuts. Yesterday and early this morning, they did the same in a 20-hour executive committee session in which the delegates were allowed only two minutes each to make their case, down from the previous five minute allotment in the first confrontation. Nonetheless, it is clear that their voices have been heard.
In an online Star report entitled Ford backs down from cuts, for now, we are told that by the end of the marathon session, Ford voted .... to reject some proposed cuts and to put off decisions on almost all of the others to the 2012 budget process, which begins in November and ends in mid-January.
While the issue of service cuts is not dead by any means, I suspect that as long as public anger and political engagement continues over the prospect of living in a city robbed of its vitality and habitability by philistines like Ford and his council supporters, the citizens of Toronto will have the influence they should have over forthcoming budget deliberations.
Now if we could only export that engagement to the federal level .....
The small part of Canada to which I refer is the City of Toronto whose people, it is becoming increasingly apparent, now realize the ghastly mistake they made in electing a mayor who told them what they wanted to hear during the campaign and uncritically accepted his lies, only to be faced now with the cost of that misplaced trust.
As most people know, Rob Ford won the Toronto mayoralty race by promising low taxes and no service cuts, miracles that would be wrought by elimination of the 'gravy' that his profligate predecessors had swilled with abandon. Hundreds of millions of dollars in savings would thus be available. Of course, it turned out that there was almost no gravy, unless one were to reclassify services regarded as vital to a well-functioning city under that designation.
Earlier in the summer, impassioned citizens made public representations protesting many of the proposed cuts. Yesterday and early this morning, they did the same in a 20-hour executive committee session in which the delegates were allowed only two minutes each to make their case, down from the previous five minute allotment in the first confrontation. Nonetheless, it is clear that their voices have been heard.
In an online Star report entitled Ford backs down from cuts, for now, we are told that by the end of the marathon session, Ford voted .... to reject some proposed cuts and to put off decisions on almost all of the others to the 2012 budget process, which begins in November and ends in mid-January.
While the issue of service cuts is not dead by any means, I suspect that as long as public anger and political engagement continues over the prospect of living in a city robbed of its vitality and habitability by philistines like Ford and his council supporters, the citizens of Toronto will have the influence they should have over forthcoming budget deliberations.
Now if we could only export that engagement to the federal level .....
Friday, September 16, 2011
Score Another One For Rick Salutin
Consistently able to 'think outside the box' of the current North American mindset, Rick Salutin, one of my favorite critical thinkers, has a column in today's Star well-worth perusal. Entitled The sector that dares not speak its name, the thesis of his argument can be summed up by the following excerpt:
"We are a society that has largely lost sight of the fact that there is anything to debate in politics except how to save money."
Using examples from the cost-cutting crusade of Toronto Mayors Rob and Doug Ford, Salutin amply demonstrates how we have forgotten that there are dimensions to civil society that transcend the dollars-and-cents-mentality of the extreme right wing.
I hope you have time to check out the entire column.
"We are a society that has largely lost sight of the fact that there is anything to debate in politics except how to save money."
Using examples from the cost-cutting crusade of Toronto Mayors Rob and Doug Ford, Salutin amply demonstrates how we have forgotten that there are dimensions to civil society that transcend the dollars-and-cents-mentality of the extreme right wing.
I hope you have time to check out the entire column.
Willful Ignorance in the Ford Administration
Toronto Mayors Rob and Doug Ford and their minions, like so many of the extreme right, tend not to let facts, reason, and data interfere with the purity of their ideological vision. Someone who describes city employees as 'the gravy' and denies that eliminating daycare subsidies are cuts, but rather 'efficiencies' will likely be unfazed by the latest poll showing Torontonians overwhelmingly opposed to service cuts.
Published in today's Star, the "Forum Research telephone survey of nearly 13,000 people reveals that more than three-quarters of Torontonians want their local councillor to protect services rather than comply with the mayor’s wishes. And only 27 per cent of residents say they would vote for Rob Ford if an election was held tomorrow."
Particularly interesting is that the results involve a ward-by-ward analysis, with wards of some of the most extreme right-wing councillors showing the strongest opposition to service cuts.
But for an administration that refuses any interview requests from The Toronto Star and excludes them from invitation-only events, the poll results, despite the very large sampling, will likely be dismissed.
After all, it was commissioned by CUPE Local 79, one of two major unions at city hall. Sometimes hard data isn't hard data, especially when your opponents are involved in its collection.
Published in today's Star, the "Forum Research telephone survey of nearly 13,000 people reveals that more than three-quarters of Torontonians want their local councillor to protect services rather than comply with the mayor’s wishes. And only 27 per cent of residents say they would vote for Rob Ford if an election was held tomorrow."
Particularly interesting is that the results involve a ward-by-ward analysis, with wards of some of the most extreme right-wing councillors showing the strongest opposition to service cuts.
But for an administration that refuses any interview requests from The Toronto Star and excludes them from invitation-only events, the poll results, despite the very large sampling, will likely be dismissed.
After all, it was commissioned by CUPE Local 79, one of two major unions at city hall. Sometimes hard data isn't hard data, especially when your opponents are involved in its collection.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Christopher Hume's Modest Proposal To The Ford Brothers
Although my right-wing friends seem to have neither an understanding nor an appreciation of irony (I'm lying - I don't have any right-wing friends), more centered people will enjoy The Star's Christopher Hume who, in today's paper, has a modest proposal for Toronto's mayor and his brother to raise revenue for the allegedly cash-starved world-class city.
Enjoy.
Enjoy.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
More Nonsense Out Of Toronto Thanks To Ford And His Minions
The lack of critical thinking skills in the public arena is a painful thing to watch. In a story from yesterday's Toronto Star entitled Despite warning, fire chief refuses to suggest cuts, the Toronto fire chief, Bill Stewart, opposes any cuts to his fire-fighting complement, warning that public safety would be jeopardized. The same kind of warning has been issued by Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair in his efforts to protect his force.
I suspect Mayor Ford and his acolytes are delighted at these warnings which will enable them, if the public refuses to think critically, to make the kinds of cuts to programs that the Ford Brothers feel fall outside the mandate of city services, such as libraries, long-term-care homes, cultural grants, etc.
Said Ford's former chief of staff, Nick Kouvalis:
Torontonians face tough choices and they have to decide if it’s worth closing “a few” libraries to keep police and fire response times low, which in turn keeps down insurance premiums for businesses and homes.
“Do people want police and fire at standard or do they want (author) Margaret Atwood at their fingertips 24 hours a day,” said Kouvalis, a principal at Campaign Research who talks regularly with Ford.
“If they want Margaret Atwood they can order from amazon.com or take a subway to the library. It’s about tough choices and there’s no way the mayor is going to let insurance rates go up to save a few libraries or a few parks.”
By presenting the choices in these stark absolutist terms, Ford and his team are framing the debate in an artificial and high circumscribed way that ignores a range of other possibilities and conveniently overlooks the fact that he was elected mayor on a platform promising no service cuts, lower taxes, and the elimination of the 'gravy train'. In other words, he has no mandate for decimating services.
Until the people start exercising some critical thinking and demand accountability from lying and deceptive politicians, expect the abuses of democracy to continue.
I suspect Mayor Ford and his acolytes are delighted at these warnings which will enable them, if the public refuses to think critically, to make the kinds of cuts to programs that the Ford Brothers feel fall outside the mandate of city services, such as libraries, long-term-care homes, cultural grants, etc.
Said Ford's former chief of staff, Nick Kouvalis:
Torontonians face tough choices and they have to decide if it’s worth closing “a few” libraries to keep police and fire response times low, which in turn keeps down insurance premiums for businesses and homes.
“Do people want police and fire at standard or do they want (author) Margaret Atwood at their fingertips 24 hours a day,” said Kouvalis, a principal at Campaign Research who talks regularly with Ford.
“If they want Margaret Atwood they can order from amazon.com or take a subway to the library. It’s about tough choices and there’s no way the mayor is going to let insurance rates go up to save a few libraries or a few parks.”
By presenting the choices in these stark absolutist terms, Ford and his team are framing the debate in an artificial and high circumscribed way that ignores a range of other possibilities and conveniently overlooks the fact that he was elected mayor on a platform promising no service cuts, lower taxes, and the elimination of the 'gravy train'. In other words, he has no mandate for decimating services.
Until the people start exercising some critical thinking and demand accountability from lying and deceptive politicians, expect the abuses of democracy to continue.
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