Same Old, Same Old At Toronto City Hall

Miller opts to bypass brickworks TheStar.com - News - Miller opts to bypass brickworks

Toronto Star
letter on hiringsAfter a hiring scandal shook City Hall a couple of years ago, councillors were told they shouldn't be writing letters of reference for people seeking city jobs. The new Councillor Code of Conduct prohibits such activities. Most councillors thought that made sense given the hiring issues. in mild weatherThe polar bears might not have liked the warm weather we've had of late, but it seems to have helped the Toronto Zoo. A report to the zoo's board says attendance through November was 5 per cent higher than budgeted, with 1,196,567 visitors. Attendance last month alone was 30,976 – the highest November results since 2001. With only a little time remaining in the year, zoo officials said they'll exceed the 1.2 million mark in attendance for the 11th time in the facility's 32-year history and the fourth time in the past five years.

Mayor David Miller was slated to attend an 11 a.m. briefing yesterday to announce federal funding for the Toronto brickworks on Bayview Ave. That was cancelled, however, so the mayor could brief the media at City Hall about the city's purchase of the Green Lane landfill site near London.

A cynic would suggest the mayor didn't want to have his picture taken with a trio of high-powered Tories who had flown in from Ottawa for the brickworks session. Miller said he couldn't go because he had to talk about the garbage deal. A cynic also would suggest the mayor could have talked about Green Lane at 10 a.m or noon or 1 p.m. – and attended the brickworks meeting.

"If you're trying to build a good relationship with the federal government, you send a representative," said Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong (Ward 34, Don Valley East). "Part of trying to arrange this New Deal initiative (to gain better funding for the city) is to try and have good relations with the federal government."

It could be said that your mayor is more at home with garbage than redevelopement of areas other than those inhabitated by waterfront condo owners and island squatters.

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Ootes fires off letter on hiring

But Councillor Case Ootes (Ward 29, Broadview-Greenwood) noted the other day that the civic appointments committee considers and recommends to council who should be appointed to various agencies. In a letter to the mayor and other members of council, Ootes wrote that such a policy means the eight council members on the civic appointments committee have the right to name people to different groups, but that the other councillors have no such privileges.

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Visitors flock to zoo in mild weather

The polar bears might not have liked the warm weather we've had of late, but it seems to have helped the Toronto Zoo. A report to the zoo's board says attendance through November was 5 per cent higher than budgeted, with 1,196,567 visitors. Attendance last month alone was 30,976 – the highest November results since 2001. With only a little time remaining in the year, zoo officials said they'll exceed the 1.2 million mark in attendance for the 11th time in the facility's 32-year history and the fourth time in the past five years.

You have to remember the other zoo, the one at Toronto City Hall, is not open yet.

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The thoughts of Chairman Miller

Mayor David Miller frequently refers to his book of campaign pledges, talking about how city voters approved his mandate for this and that. At least one council member who has had run-ins with Miller in the past has taken to calling the campaign document "the mayor's Little Red Book," a nod to the philosophy of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong. Not nice.

Let's not forget that the Red Book was also a volume used by that golfer...what was his name? Oh yea! Cretein.

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Committee in need of operating licence

Councillor Brian Ashton (Ward 36, Scarborough Southwest) is entertained at the idea of a Toronto licensing and standards committee that will be chaired by bombastic Howard Moscoe, a strong ally of Mayor David Miller, and include the emotional Rob Ford, a staunch Miller opponent. "It's the first committee in the history of Toronto that will require a licence to operate itself," Ashton said.

Nice to see at least one councillor has a sense of humor.

jim byers, paul moloney