The Fish Stinks At The Head

So no matter how you cut it The Mayor has to take responsibility for the citie's failings just as he does for the successes although our teflon mayor seems to have been able to deflect the cities failings from himself. I am sure many, including miller, will find someone else to blame for the following.......

Toronto losing jobs -- and immigrants

Report: City 'struggling' with high taxes, lack of ESL

By KEVIN CONNOR, TORONTO SUN

Toronto has lost 1,000 businesses and 23,600 jobs to the 905 area code in the last five years because taxes in the city are twice those in surrounding areas, a new report says.

"The city is struggling to hold onto jobs and business in the face of increasing competition from the rest of the Toronto region," according to Vital Signs 2006, an annual report by the Toronto Community Foundation, which measures the health of the city.

The province has to stop charging double the taxes for businesses in the city, said Brad Henderson, a director with the Toronto Board of Trade.

"It hobbles the city's ability to attract new business and creates an unfair advantage," Henderson said. "If things don't change, the quality of life will decline across the country because the city pays 20 billion tax dollars to the rest of the nation."

The report also gave Toronto failing grades on how the city supports immigrants, children and the arts.

Toronto is a destination for immigrants from all over the world, said Zanana Akande, an educator with TCF.

"We have the most educated (immigrant) taxi drivers in the world. We are going to lose the very best, because when people lose hope they move on," Akande said.

Many schools don't have English as a second language courses for immigrant children, she added.

"This limits children. They aren't being given the advantage," Akande said.

Toronto dominates the country with its number of artists, but most live below the poverty line, said Randy MacLean, a board member with TCF. "The arts and culture industries are major drivers of Toronto's economy ... attracting skilled workers, tourists and spinoff businesses, but the artists are struggling to make a living wage," he said.\ ---

A REPORT CARD ON TORONTO

Highlights from Vital Signs 2006 a report card on the City of Toronto:

- Violent crime in Toronto increased 4.7% in 2005 after three years of decline.

- In 2004, 190,610 children -- 31% of Toronto's children -- lived in low-income families, which is 5,320 more children than in 2003.

- Over the past 10 years, food bank use has increased by 78%. In Toronto, 731,737 people use a food bank.

- Toronto's rate of obesity is lower than the Ontario and Canadian average.

- The average sale of a Toronto single family home has climbed 65% since 1995.

- Toronto traffic congestion is estimated to cost businesses and consumers an additional $1.8 billion a year. The cost of wasted fuel is estimated at $100 million a year.