Just What I Need.....More Sleepless Nights

Gates No Longer World's Richest Man! Shock, horror - Microsoft founder Bill Gates is no longer the world's richest man!

Poverty DOES Exist In Canada And Will ALWAYS Exist

And I don't have an answer. What do we do? Do we raise the $$$ allocated to the "poor" and where do we get that money? Do we increase taxes and debt to the point where those who are now considered above the poverty level take the hit and their standard of living is lowered? Do we go after the large corporations to the point where they ship even more jobs overseas? The "experts" seem to have the answers but those answers always seem to put the onus on the "other guy."

Dubious victory in war on poverty TheStar.com - comment - Dubious victory in war on poverty

October 24, 2007

Carol Goar

We're winning the war on poverty, says Vancouver economist John Richards.

The employment rate among low-income Canadians has risen in the past decade. The welfare rolls have shrunk. And the overall rate of poverty has declined.

"The policy innovations of the last decade got much right," he concludes, in a study that is sure to delight hard-line conservatives and infuriate anti-poverty activists.

Richards, who teaches public policy at Simon Fraser University, wrote the 20-page paper, entitled Reducing Poverty: What has Worked and What Should Come Next, for the C.D. Howe Institute, a business-backed think-tank. That alone is likely to raise the hackles of social policy groups.

But his analysis deserves a thoughtful look. It is based on solid statistics. It is rooted in a sincere desire to improve the lives of low-income Canadians. And it raises important questions about the way ahead.

Richards compares the three provinces that implemented tough love policies – Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia – to Manitoba, which did not.

All three welfare-slashing provinces experienced a sharper decline in social assistance utilization rates and a more rapid increase in employment than Manitoba.

He acknowledges that economic conditions were favourable in the industrial heartland and the two westernmost provinces in the '90s. He also admits that federal policy changes – the launching of the National Child Benefit and the chopping of Employment Insurance – had an impact.

Nonetheless, Richards concludes, "changes in provincial welfare protocols probably explain much of the increase in the employment rate and the subsequent decline in Canada's poverty rate."

He maintains, therefore, that governments should stick with policies that make it difficult for employable individuals to get welfare. They should also steer clear of expensive new transfer programs such as a negative income tax.

Richards says nothing about increasing the supply of affordable housing. He says nothing about raising the minimum wage. He says nothing about removing the employment barriers immigrants face.

On the other hand, he does urge policy-makers to make child care accessible to low-income mothers, upgrade schooling on native reserves, be more generous to the mentally and physically disabled, and provide shelter for the long-term homeless.

Several things are troubling about Richards' study:

He leaves out Quebec, which achieved the most dramatic reduction in poverty in the country during the decade in question.

It took a markedly different tack than Ontario, Alberta or British Columbia. Its government passed a law "to combat poverty and social exclusion" then developed targets and timetables.

It enhanced social assistance, raised its minimum wage, implemented a working income supplement and put in place a universal family benefits program to support the province's poorest households.

Between 1996 and 2005, its child poverty rate fell to less than 10 per cent from 22 per cent.

To overlook such a large outlier raises questions about the validity of the findings and the motives of the author.

He compares three "have provinces" that enjoyed robust growth during the period in question to a "have-not province" whose economy did less well.

This makes it extremely hard to ascertain whether it was government policy or an expanding labour market that allowed Ontario, Alberta and B.C. to boost employment faster than Manitoba.

He mentions – then shrugs off – that an adult working full-time in a minimum wage job cannot lift his or her children "above standard poverty thresholds."

Surely policies that push parents into the workforce, without allowing them to support their children, cannot be deemed a success.

It is true that Canada's aggregate poverty rate (the percentage of the population living below Statistics Canada's low-income cut-off) did inch downward between 1996 and 2005. But it is far from clear that Mike Harris, Ralph Klein and Gordon Campbell deserve the credit.

While Richards celebrates this "substantial policy success," readers are left wondering what would have happened if the three premiers had chosen to share their provinces' wealth rather than punishing the poor.

(The report is available at www.cdhowe.org).

---

Carol Goar's column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

The poor are clearly with us TheStar.com - comment - The poor are clearly with us

October 30, 2007

---

Poverty rates higher in 1980s

Letter, Oct. 27

---

Prof. John Richards is wrong to criticize columnist Carol Goar with his assertion that poverty rates in Canada are substantially lower today than in the 1980s. Everyone – from TD Economics and Statistics Canada to the University of Toronto's Centre for Urban and Community Studies and the United Way of Greater Toronto – has documented deep and persistent poverty in Toronto and across Canada.

Canada doesn't have a widely accepted, reliable measure of poverty – a critical omission that Miloon Kothari, the UN's Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, noted with concern during his recent visit to Canada. If our national government can't be bothered to develop a solid statistical measure, how can we set realistic targets and measure our progress in implementing poverty-reduction campaigns?

Richards bases his claim that poverty is way down on Statistics Canada's low income cut-off (LICO), a commonly used poverty indicator. StatsCan reports that the percentage of Canadians living below the LICO before tax was an average of 16.54 per cent each year during the 1980s. For each year from 2000 to 2005, the rate had barely budged at 15.9 per cent. Each year during the 1980s, an average of 3,061,700 people were living in poverty. From 2000 to 2005, that number grew to 3,535,333 annually.

The conclusion: If you count real people, the number of Canadians living in poverty has grown by almost half a million from the 1980s – a whopping increase of 16 per cent. The poverty rate has only decreased slightly.

Richards alleges that drastic federal and provincial cuts to income-assistance programs in the 1990s were a kind of tough love that forced lower-income Canadians into the market economy. There's no question that there are fewer people today able to access employment insurance and other income assistance, but the facts clearly show that the poor haven't magically become richer as a result.

---

Michael Shapcott, Senior Fellow,

The Wellesley Institute, Toronto

Where Do The Shooters Go When Their Guns Are Empty

They are part of a community somewhere and if the leftists like Vaughan and Miller are looking for someone to blame they should be blaming the communities that provide shelter and refuge for the shooters. Blaming the club owners and the US is a cop out. The police are doing their job but the province and feds are not doing their job and putting gang members where they belong....in jail for long periods of time. How many of the those arrested in "high profile and publicized arrests" are actually doing time? The leftist on city council should be camped out at Queen's Park until the government takes action; no bail for gun crime, mandatory sentincing, gulag style jails, etc.

Dozens Of Bullets Fly In Latest Entertainment District Shootout

Tuesday October 30, 2007

CityNews.ca Staff

It was hardly the first gunfire in Toronto's often-troubled Entertainment District and it isn't likely to be the last, but the sheer number of shots fired in the latest Clubland shootout makes the Tuesday incident unique, and more than a little disturbing.

That's why police are eager to track down suspects and a bullet-riddled vehicle following a brazen early-morning gun battle they believe is gang-related. It all started outside an after-hours bar in the area of Adelaide and Peter Sts. at about 3am.

"I believe it was some form of gang fight, because of the number of rounds, and in excess of 25 shell casings marked out in the middle of the night," explained Toronto Police Det. Peter Karpow. "The fact that (there are) various calibres amidst the shell casings, you are looking at least four shooters. The trail of bullets leads all the way down the street. I am surprised more people weren't hurt."

In total investigators recovered about 27 bullets when they made the scene in the wee hours. Some of those were found as far away as King St. One weapon was recovered, but so far there are no suspects. Amazingly only one innocent bystander was injured, turning up at hospital a short time later with a bullet wound to the backside.

The shootout happened right in the area where police cameras keep an eye on the goings-on, which means that the suspects may have been caught on tape. Ironically, six more police eyes are going up Wednesday east of downtown.

Jerry Levitan, a lawyer for super club Circa, says the shootout is just another black eye on the Entertainment District, where he suggests proprietors need to do more to police themselves and ensure their patrons' safety.

"It's the places that don't spend enough money, don't vet their employees, and attract a very fast crowd to get in and out, those are the ones that should go," he said.

Toronto City Councillor Adam Vaughan, who represents Trinity-Spadina, was quick to second those sentiments.

"We have to get the clubs to take responsibility for the patrons when they leave," he said. "One of the things we're looking at is regulating the way sidewalks are and making the clubs responsible for what happens just outside the door as well as what happens inside the door."

Police are looking for a rented cherry-coloured PT Cruiser with bullet holes lodged in it, although they admit they're not sure whether the people who drove away in it were club patrons trying to flee the gunshots or involved in the shooting in some way.

If you have any information that can help investigators, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

There Is No One More Qualified Than Blatchford To Tell The Stories

Witness to war

Globe and Mail Update

October 30, 2007 at 7:30 AM EDT

The Globe and Mail's Christie Blatchford has done four tours of Afghanistan since Canada took over the major security role in Kandahar province in 2006.

She's been embedded with the Canadian troops and witnessed first hand the losses and victories on the battlefield. In the quiet moments between unspeakable horrors and the ever-present threat of death, the soldiers opened up to Ms. Blatchford, sharing their personal histories, their hopes for the future and their take on the Afghan people.

These stories form the basis of Ms. Blatchord's new book, Fifteen Days, Stories of bravery, friendship, life and death from inside the new Canadian army. The book pays tribute to the men and women serving with the Canadian military in Afghanistan.

Ms. Blatchford will answer questions on her war reporting experiences and her views on the Canadian military today from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. EDT. Submit a question in advance through the comment function on this story, or come back later to join the conversation.

Your questions and Ms. Blatchford's answers will appear at the bottom of this page when the discussion begins.

Ms. Blatchford started her newspaper career working as a sports reporter for the The Globe and Mail. She then became a columnist at the Toronto Star, before joining the Toronto Sun. She was a columnist for the Sun for almost 20 years before being hired away by The National Post when it was launched. She later returned to the Globe to take up a free-ranging columnist's job, which she uses to venture far and wide, geographically and intellectually.

Editor's Note: globeandmail.com editors will read and allow or reject each question/comment. Comments/questions may be edited for length or clarity. HTML is not allowed. We will not publish questions/comments that include personal attacks on participants in these discussions, that make false or unsubstantiated allegations, that purport to quote people or reports where the purported quote or fact cannot be easily verified, or questions/comments that include vulgar language or libellous statements. Preference will be given to readers who submit questions/comments using their full name and home town, rather than a pseudonym.

It Started With Little House On The Prairie.....

.......and now that prime example of unbiased reporting by the MSM gives us

Al-Jazeera’s back-door to the Canadian airwaves:
CBC Newsworld’s Around the World

Our tax $$$$ at work.

Gala Opening On October 31st......

.....sneak previews have been showing for the last year on almost a daily basis. (Thanks to Blue Lemon)

Porter Joins The Heavenly Choir.......

.......and it is quite a choir; Waylon, Johnny, Hank, Grampa, Tammy, Mother Maybelle, Buddy, Hawkshaw, Roy, Red and the list goes on and on.

Dolly Parton sang to Wagoner in his final moments

Updated Tue. Oct. 30 2007 9:09 AM ET

The Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn -- Dolly Parton said Monday she feels like a part of her died along with her old duet partner, Porter Wagoner.

But she said she was grateful she was able to spend a few final hours with the man who launched her career before he succumbed to cancer Sunday. "Part of him will always live through me and my music as he was my first big break," Parton said.

The 80-year-old Grand Ole Opry star and showman died of lung cancer Sunday in a Nashville hospice, after being transferred there Friday from a hospital.

Parton said she was there with his family, sang for him and prayed with him.

"It felt good that I had the opportunity to say goodbye properly," Parton said.

Wagoner had a streak of hits in the 1960s and '70s, and enjoyed a comeback in recent months with a new album.

To many longtime fans, though, he may be best remembered for his sparkly rhinestone suits and singing with Parton on his TV show from 1967 to 1974.

Marty Stuart, who produced Wagoner's last album, the critically acclaimed "Wagonmaster," said he grew up watching his TV show and they later became close friends.

Stuart was one of the musicians who backed Wagoner this summer when he opened for the influential rock group the White Stripes at Madison Square Garden, a show that underscored the aging singer's newfound popularity with a fresh wave of young fans.

"He was a masterful showman who understood the art of the final act," Stuart said.

"He left the world on top."

Stuart said Wagoner had been invited to light the Christmas tree at the Pageant of Peace celebration in Washington next month.

"One of the last things he said to me was: 'You're gonna have to call the president and tell him I won't be able to sing him any Christmas songs this year. Maybe next year,"' Stuart recalled.

Country music singer Patty Loveless said Wagoner was a mentor to her in her early years and became like family to her.

"He encouraged me and helped me to fulfill my dreams and was truly an inspiration," Loveless said.

"I love him and I miss him already."

The Grand Ole Opry announced Monday funeral arrangements would be open to the public. Visitation will be Wednesday at a local funeral home, with a funeral Thursday at the Grand Ole Opry House.

Smoke And Mirrors Cloud Comrade Miller's Promise Of Transparency

We see more and more refusal by Comrade Miller's stooges to answer questions at committee meetings.......

Council shell game continues By SUE-ANN LEVY City Hall's annual fiscal follies kicked off at 12:40 p.m. yesterday and by 1:10 p.m. the Great Houdinis on the budget committee had managed to make all of the city's debt problems vanish in a cloud of smoke. As if. Suffice to say the presentation of the city's $1.52-billion capital budget for next year represented a new low in fiscal stewardship by a regime that appears to be fiddling ever more madly by the day while Rome burns. Nero the Emperor, er, Mayor David Miller, was nowhere to be seen as the budget committee brains -- some of the mayor's biggest sycophants -- met during the lunch hour to hear how big bucks will drop from the federal and provincial skies to fund the TTC, how the city's debt targets are affordable (there's a laugh) and how money will be taken from the deficit-plagued operating budget to keep the debt numbers down (and the city's credit rating high). As Joe Pennachetti, the city's chief financial officer rattled off a long list of numbers that would make a chartered accountant beg for mercy, many of the budget committee brains, including budget chief Shelley Carroll and Kyle Rae talked so loudly it was hard to hear the presentation. When the 30-minute presentation was done and Coun. Doug Holyday -- the lone right-wing councillor in attendance -- tried to ask a question, Carroll cut him off. She said questions won't be entertained until Nov. 13. "A significant number of budget committee members need to eat lunch," she said, referring to the fact the meeting was sandwiched (I believe deliberately) in between sessions of the executive committee. Such a circus. Dare I suggest these so-called stewards of the public purse wouldn't last a minute in the private sector. No matter how deftly Pennachetti endeavoured to spin the numbers, the fact remains this city is sinking deeper and deeper into debt. By the end of this year, the city's debt is estimated to be $2.4 billion, rising to $2.6 billion next year and $3 billion by 2012, if the city sticks to its five-year capital financing plan. That will mean another $45 million in debt service charges next year on top of the $440 million already factored into the 2007 operating budget. But as the CFO made clear, all of the projections are dependent on an ongoing commitment of hundreds of millions of dollars from the feds and the province for "five packages" of transit projects, starting with $420 million next year. The CFO also talked about taking more money -- about 10% more or $12 million next year -- from the operating budget to fund capital projects and avoid raising more debt. That would be the equivalent of a 1% property tax hike. But the best spin of the day was the backlog of city facilities, roads, community centres and so on needing repair is starting to "stabilize." Or maybe not. Transportation general manager Gary Welsh said they're spending $135 million to repair roads this year and they feel they're "stabilizing" the current $310-million backlog. But when pressed, Welsh said the backlog "actually will get worse" next year, rising to $400 million. Geesh. At least Brenda Librecz, general manager of parks and recreation, didn't mince any words. She said their current backlog is $232 million, which will grow to $325 milion in 2012. Some $30 million will be spent in 2008. "I should be spending $50 million every year in order to catch up," she said. As Pennachetti confirmed, scarce resources will instead be directed to the mayor's 13 priority neighbourhoods, to repair Union Station (after the mayor and his minions derailed a $150-million deal with the private sector) and to implement Miller's Climate Change Initiatives, green energy projects, as well as more bike lanes and speed humps. As Holyday mused after yesterday's sham of a budget meeting, the presentation was just a "formality." "I wanted to ask what's Plan B if the large grants (from the federal and provincial governments) don't materialize," he said. "My question was politely put down." Added Coun. Mike Del Grande: "It's the same hocus pocus all over again ... they're just moving the shells around."

Layton's Whole Life Is About Dreaming

And his expectations are that someone else will pay for those dreams.......

Layton sets out his dreams for country's future

It's time to build the Canada of our dreams: prosperous and green, where no one is left behind. A Canada that invests in its people, its communities and cities. A Canada that champions equality and tolerance at home, peace and co-operation MORE

City Union "Leaders" Testing The Waters For 10% Wage Hike

Scenario: union negotiations go down to the wire and a strike looms. Comrade Miller rides into the fray for discussions with union "leaders" and averts a last minute strike and unions get what they demand and mayor says that unions promised workplace improvements which will offset and increases over COLA.

October 27, 2007 Anger burns at City Hall Councillor tells unions representing non-emergency staff not to push for firefighters' wage hike By IAN ROBERTSON, SUN MEDIA If Toronto's inside and outside workers won pay boosts similar to what firefighters got, taxpayers would be billed another $17 million in 2009. That figure "is speculation" based on a similar 3% annual hike -- which some current contracts provide for members of two Canadian Union of Public Employees locals, a source at City Hall said yesterday. As CUPE gears up to start talks when three major contracts expire at the end of next year, they are fuming over a councillor's warning not to pursue the almost 10% boost that firefighters will get. You can't compare people who save lives to people who pick up garbage ... road workers or tree trimmers," Councillor Rob Ford said yesterday. In an interview, Ford called "an insult" suggestions that non-emergency staff deserve the same 3% to 3.75% annual raises firefighters were awarded up to Dec. 1, 2009, instead of rate hikes comparable to 1.5% to 2% inflation. He disputed union claims that contracting jobs such as trash pickup and snow plowing costs more than using union workers. When police, paramedics and firefighters leave home, "they don't know if they are going to come home," Ford said, referring to union claims that sewage and road workers perform equally dangerous work "a red herring. "It's a different breed of animal," he said. CUPE Local 416 president Brian Cochrane said "it's really shameful that Ford would say something like this, but not surprising. "To suggest those people are not worthy ... is a ludicrous statement," he said, calling Ford's statements ideological "rantings and ravings. "It's a sad commentary on how some councillors view workers," Cochrane added. Some are anti-union and "don't care about spending the money, as long as it's contracted out," he said. "We have members in a water treatment plant who, on any given day, wade through human excrement up to their chests," Cochrane said, adding roadside workers risk being hit by cars and tree-cutters can fall. Yet base rates for workers other than firefighters, police and paramedics, which CUPE won better wage scales for, are lower, he said. $29M EXTRA The controversial firefighters' wage hike is estimated to cost $29 million extra by late 2009, with yearly increases of 3%, 3.25% and 3.5%. A first-class firefighter is paid $33.73 an hour; a first-class police constable $35.27; a paramedic from $30.23 to $33.19; a trash collector $24.14; litter collectors $21.11; and janitors $19.56. Paid $28.67, 300 bylaw enforcement officers are approaching contract talks via Local 79, which at 16,000 members is Canada's largest municipal employees union. Its president, Ann Dembinksi, said a city building inspector died after plunging "into a pit" two years ago on an unsecure construction site, health workers "were at the forefront during SARS," and public health nurses often enter buildings "police won't go into without them."

Harper Seems To Be On Right Track

Ottawa's surplus hits $8.7-billion
Ottawa is running an $8.7-billion budget surplus five months into the fiscal year, $1.5-billion ahead of where it stood one year ago.

Increase transfer payments to Ontario, put some of that money back in my pocket, etc.

Tory law and order stance finds support in focus groups
The Harper government has made its law-and-order agenda a priority in the new Parliament after a federal government focus group report revealed that Canadians are frustrated with the country's justice system and somewhat disappointed in the success of the Conservatives on the issue.

Pass the legislation and give Harper the opportunity to show he is serious about putting the bad guys where they belong.......

One Person's View On Injustice Is Another Persons View On Reality

Bottom line is that The Star's campaigns sell newspapers but do they solve the problems......poverty is still with us; racial profiling claims continue to put the bad guys back on the street; more and more people are seeing the downside of multi-culturalism; etc.

We're not resting on our laurels
TheStar.com - News - We're not resting on our laurels

October 26, 2007
Royson James

In July 1994 I wrote a small story declaring that a group of Torontonians had started the Harmony Movement to combat intolerant acts against minorities. This week the group honoured the Toronto Star for being an agent of harmony; and publisher Jagoda Pike asked me to recall changes I'd seen over the years. This is most of what I told the awards banquet:

I tell stories.. That's what we journalists do. The Toronto Star publishes stories. That's what newspapers do. I tell stories about stalled waterfront development, fiscal crises at city hall, traffic jams and transit fares, Olympic bids, property tax assessments and the arcane, inner workings of city hall.

For years you accepted most of my stories like some anonymous dispatch from an unknown correspondent. My slave name, James, provided ample cover.

Then in 1998, my cover was blown. John Honderich put my picture above my words, designated me a columnist. Suddenly you expected more, demanded more. So, now, I tell other stories as well.

Earlier this year I returned from Ghana to hundreds of emails and voicemails from readers. Some were in tears. Ninety-nine per cent just wanted to say "Thanks," for telling their story, recalling their horrendous and underexposed history of enslavement, on the bicentenary of the ending of the transatlantic slave trade. For those readers, the Star is forever their newspaper. It had embraced their story and, by so doing, affirmed their presence in the Canadian mosaic.

That's what the Harmony Movement is about. That's all your organization asks. It's the least the Star can deliver.

Phinjo Gombu has different stories to tell. So do Haroon Siddiqui, Madhavi Acharya-Tom Yew, Prithi Yelaja, Vinay Menon, Nicholas Keung, Vanessa Lu. And the absolute genius of this conglomeration of talented story-tellers is they know your stories and you can read them in the Toronto Star.

Long before Citytv became the television station that best reflects Toronto; long before CBC's Metro Morning became the radio program of choice for all races and groups; long before that, the Star was embraced as our newspaper – yours and mine, because it never shirked from attempting to tell our stories, even if the newspaper lacked the authentic voices to frame the sentiments.

Oh, the Star failed many times. But we got through the door. We received a hearing.

If Carole Bell waxed idiotically about too many Chinese moving to Markham, we knew the Star would call her on it.

If racial profiling unfairly targeted young black males – and it does – we could count on the Star using its corporate muscle to challenge the police, even in the face of boycotts and billion-dollar lawsuits.

If Legion halls wanted to ban turban-wearing Sikhs on the Prairies, we knew the Star would rail against the injustice.

MORE

Legalizing Segragation.......

Soccer "fans" do have a reputation for getting rowdy but like everything in life this is limited to a small group of fans and if the league are not able to deal with this group then they should resign or soccer should be banned.

Local Soccer Playoff "Segregation" Sparks Controversy

Friday October 26, 2007

CityNews.ca Staff

Sports are the one thing that's supposed to bring people together, as the spirit of the Olympics is designed to prove. But for two upcoming playoff games in the Canadian Soccer League this weekend, it will do just the opposite.

The contests between the Serbia White Eagles and Toronto Croatia are considered among the league's biggest draws. There will be a two game playoff at Esther Shiner Stadium, but the CSL has decided to separate the fans. It means the first game, scheduled for 5pm Saturday, will be open to Croatian fans only. The second match, the following day at 3pm in the same venue, will only allow Serbian fans in.

The reason for the controversial separations goes back to last year, when the league claims there were "problems" at both Lamport Stadium in Toronto and Ivor Wynne in Hamilton where the two tilts were held. That led to a new policy that saw specified fans excluded during the regular season for the two occasions the teams faced each other. It worked so well, the league has decided to extend it to the playoffs.

The news isn't going over well with fans, who believe it's excessive and possibly even prejudicial. And the teams aren't happy, either, saying their fans aren't violent - just passionate. "Personally I don't like it," worries Joe Pavicic, Toronto Croatia's president. "I don't see [the] reason for it. I was talking to the Serbian side ... and they're really thinking the same way we are thinking, and personally, we don't think this is necessary."

The White Eagles are taking it in stride. "Saturday the league decided to go with only Croatian fans, and Sunday is going to be only Serbians," shrugs coach Branko Pavlovic. "So that's the final decision."

The Serbs and the Croats have a long history of animosity both on the field and off. Some of that pain comes from the recent past, when the two nationalities became embroiled in a bitter war during the 1990s, as Croatia broke free from Yugoslavia.

Those long smouldering feelings have now reached across the ocean and led to the extreme precautions. But the CSL is hoping it's just a one time thing. "We have to err on the side of safety," explains commissioner Cary Kaplan. "We haven't had any major instances. No one has ever been hurt. But there's two volatile groups and there's a history. ...We had a lot of games. Italy against the Caribbean, no problems. It's the history that's there ... Nobody is necessarily happy. But we feel good it's the right thing to do."

"I don't think it's segregation, it's safety," he concludes.

He's warning security will be heavy for both contests with an expanded police presence. And all fans entering both games will be searched for flares, fireworks or "anything else that might spell trouble." Anyone causing problems will be instantly ejected and could face arrest.

How will those in charge stop opposing fans from infiltrating the other's specified day? Kaplan concedes it won't be easy. "If someone shows up on Saturday with a big Serbian flag and, you know, their face painted and a sign we're going to say come back tomorrow. So I mean we just have to use our discretion."

Ironically, all this might have been avoided if the schedule could have been changed. The league tried to rent BMO Field for the contests, with the idea of putting opposing fans in opposite stands and keeping them away from each other. But the stadium is undergoing some work and wasn't available. Neither was any other venue large enough to hold the crowd. So Esther Shiner, near Finch and Bathurst, was chosen - and the segregation policy reluctantly put back into place.

Will Comrade Miller Resign If He Is Wrong?????

The head of the city union seems to disagree with our honorable mayor.......

Concerns raised over firefighters' contract deal

Mayor David Miller doesn't believe city unions will be demanding lucrative contracts following a raise well above inflation recently granted to Toronto's firefighters.

The 9.5 per cent pay increase for firefighters, which takes place over three years, was quietly passed this summer in a closed-door meeting and without a recorded vote or discussion by councillors, the Toronto Star reported.

Some councillors say the contract sets a dangerous benchmark for other unions who will be negotiating salaries soon, including those representing police officers and TTC workers.

But on Friday, Miller was confident other unions wouldn't be demanding the same raises, especially the police union.

"The police do not look to firefighters as a precedent," Miller told CTV's Paul Bliss. "The firefighters' settlement has nothing whatsoever to do with the upcoming negotiations of the police and has no impact."

The Toronto police contract expires Dec. 31, and the deal with unionized TTC workers ends March 31.

Contracts involving outside employees, library workers and Toronto Community Housing expire Dec. 31, 2008. Brian Cochrane, president of CUPE local 416, told the Star the union will "take into consideration'' the firefighters' agreement.

Councillor Karen Stintz told the Star contracts involving city workers should "absolutely" be limited to cost-of-living raises and possibly be limited to two years. She added generous increases should not be granted until "we can turn the city around and get it back on solid financial footing.''

Toronto is facing a $240 million budget shortfall next year.

Wages for government workers accounts for about 90 per cent of Toronto's nearly $9 billion budget.

With a report from CTV's Paul Bliss

This Edict Will Have To Come From Union Bosses....

......not those elected to serve the public interests.

Call all stops, transit operators told
Rights commission issues province-wide warning after TTC found violating riders' rights
MICHAEL OLIVEIRA

The Canadian Press

October 26, 2007 at 4:42 AM EDT

TORONTO — There's no excuse for drivers of public transit vehicles not to announce stops for passengers, the Ontario Human Rights Commission said yesterday in warning operators across the province they could be violating riders' rights if the practice isn't adopted.

Chief Commissioner Barbara Hall said the simple act of announcing each stop would be appreciated by all riders, but it would be especially helpful for the visually impaired.

Ms. Hall has written to all the province's transit operators asking them to report back on their accessibility standards, and urging that their drivers make announcements for each stop.

"Our hope is that in the same way that many individual operators have adopted this as good practice, we'll get a similar response from companies that they view this as a good thing," she said.

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Only In The Comics Will It Happen

The enemy seem to be incompetence and the fear of standing up to city unions.

If Wonder Woman Doesn't Feel Safe........

......even with all her super powers then maybe the problem is bigger than we think.

What we need is a pepper spray registry...
I used to take the Lawrence Avenue bus every day. Lawrence West station might as well be Haiti or Trinidad, as far as social element goes. Trust me when I say he is lucky it wasn’t a gun.

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Technorati Tags: Pepper Spray, TTC

Let's Have One Minute Of Silence For Toronto Firefighters

The rationale the president of the firefighter's union gives for the recent increases is that the City of Toronto is still $70 behind the city of Oakville......

Firefighters' deal affects other talks: Councillors TheStar.com - News - Firefighters' deal affects other talks: Councillors

October 26, 2007

Donovan Vincent
Paul Moloney
CITY HALL BUREAU

An agreement this summer that gave Toronto firefighters annual increases of 3 per cent or more starting this year shouldn't set the benchmark for upcoming talks with other unions, say some councillors.

Councillor Karen Stintz said yesterday that other contracts should "absolutely" be limited to cost-of-living raises and possibly be limited to two years, "until we can turn the city around and get it back on solid financial footing.''

The firefighters' deal, which runs until Dec. 1, 2009, was quietly agreed to in a closed-doors session June 20, then approved by the full council without discussion or a recorded vote.

It gives firefighters a 3 per cent hike in the first year and 3.25 per cent in the next two years.

That's well above inflation, said Councillor Cliff Jenkins, who voted against the contract as a member of the employee and labour relations committee. He said something closer to 2 per cent was reasonable "given the city's circumstances.''

"Here we are with a severe financial crisis. Everyone else is going to be asking for that as well. I would like to see our labour partners work with us on our financial difficulties, and be part of the solution in finding efficiencies,'' Jenkins said.

The firefighters' pact slipped under the radar in part because of a distracting controversy that day over whether to continue posting yellow-ribbon decals honouring Canadian Forces on fire trucks and ambulances.

Scott Marks, president of the firefighters' union local 3888, said the 2008 increase still leaves first-class firefighters about $70 a year behind their counterparts in Oakville.

The raises are in line with other municipalities, he said. "We need to keep our wages fair and equitable to others in the province.''

The Toronto police contract, meanwhile, expires Dec. 31; the pact with unionized TTC workers ends March 31.

Contracts involving outside employees, library workers and Toronto Community Housing expire Dec. 31, 2008. Brian Cochrane, president of CUPE local 416, says the union will "take into consideration'' the firefighters' agreement, as well as the economic climate.

Mayor David Miller told reporters the city didn't "have a lot of room to manoeuvre" in

If Comrade Miller got his head out of his ass he might be able to see the reality......

the contract, and expects "difficult issues in the negotiations" with police and TTC.

Keys To Candy Shoppe Given To City Unions

City Hall's secret hose job Firefighters set the pace for coming union contract negotiations with quiet 9.66% hike

By SUE-ANN LEVY

If one ever had any doubts that the unions rule the roost at Socialist City Hall, the secrecy surrounding a generous new contract for Toronto's firefighters should put that to rest.

It seems the contract -- which gives the city's 3,200 firefighters a total of 9.66% in wage hikes over three years starting this year -- quietly slipped under the City Hall radar for four months after it was approved in the evening of the June 20 council meeting.

Most conveniently for Mayor David Miller and his inner circle -- desperate to get their controversial land transfer and vehicle ownership taxes through council -- it was never publicized, debated or factored into fiscal projections on the size of next year's deficit hole.

It should have been a key part of the taxes debate, especially since CFO Joe Pennachetti has repeatedly pointed out in each operating budget dog-and-pony show that inflationary pressures -- specifically wage hikes -- account for more than $200 million of the city's yearly $500-million deficit.

But it was City Hall's best kept secret.

It was in the best interest of the mayor and his cabal to keep it quiet. But aside from Coun. Cliff Jenkins, council's right wing also dropped the ball entirely. Jenkins said he voted against the contract in the June 11 meeting of the mayor's handpicked employee and labour relations committee because he was concerned it was "well above inflation" during a time of fiscal crisis.

Yet he remained silent, as did all other members of the right, who were in the council chamber the night of June 20.

The contract was approved in one-minute flat at 8:02 p.m. after a 45-minute in-camera session. A recorded vote -- normal practice on key issues like this -- was not taken.

A press release on the deal was never issued. City spokesperson Brad Ross said the firefighters should have issued something and it's "not necessarily" something the city would put out a press release on.

Even Toronto Fire Fighters Assn. president Scott Marks bristled when I contacted him at a conference in Chicago, saying -- somewhat sarcastically -- the contract was "only negotiated six months ago."

HIGHEST PAID

Marks claimed his members -- who will be the highest paid in the province in 2009 -- did negotiate with the city's "tough financial issues" in mind.

That's too funny. Besides above-inflationary wage hikes each year, firefighters will be required to work just seven 24-hour shifts a month with provisions in each shift for sleep and meal breaks. They'll also continue to receive recognition pay -- a top-up at eight, 17 and 23 years of service.

"It was a very realistic and reasonable contract negotiation process," he said.

If the contract was so darn "reasonable" why the heck did Miller and Co. keep it so secret?

It's obvious to me they wanted to see their tax package glide through council with nary a mention such a contract is well above inflation (2% in Toronto), is far too rich for a city in a cash crunch and that concessions should have been demanded rather than giving away the candy store.

It's also clear to me now why nearly a dozen red-shirted firefighters cheered on the mayor and his council at this past Monday's tax debate. It was quid pro quo time.

BENCHMARK SET

But the far greater issue -- in addition to the tremendous secrecy around its approval -- is the die has been cast. This contract will now form the benchmark for every other union contract, starting with the police negotiations, kicking off today.

In the absence of any realistic cost-cutting plan, I can only guess where the mayor and his sycophants will find the money to cover all of these generous contracts. No wonder they're already talking tax on alcohol sales.

Judith Andrew, v-p Ontario of the Canadian Federation Independent Business (CFIB) has no doubt the city's union contracts will "leap frog" each other.

"To find out that kind of largesse came from a city in a huge financial pickle is just so disturbing," she told me last night.

Kevin Gaudet of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation can't understand why any member of council didn't bring this up,

"It makes it look like the only reason they're raising our taxes is so they can hand it over to their union buddies," he said. "This (exercise) is endemic of so much that is wrong with City Hall."

I Wouldn't Do The Job For Any Amount Of Money

This is something you often hear when people talk about police, fire and paramedics and I can't disagree with the sentiment but the recent contract agreement with the firefighters brings up the issue of how the city deals with the civil service unions and whether they are giving up property owner $$$ to secure the support of these groups at election time. Their is a lot of talk about the Fair Wage policy at city hall and I would guarantee you the majority of the citizens of the city would say the following can be considered FAIR.

SALARIES

Here's a list of the annual salaries paid to Toronto's emergency personnel:

POLICE

First Class Constable - $73,656

Second Class Constable - $66,296

Third Class Constable - $58,927

Fourth Class Constable - $51,558

Let's not forget this doesn't include overtime, paid duty, etc.

FIREFIGHTERS

First Class Firefighter -$73,658

Second Class Fire*ghter - $66,292

Third Class Firefighther - $58,926

Probationary Firefighter - $49,350

PARAMEDICS (*See note)

Step Four - $69,035

Step Three - $66,809

Step Two - $64,147

Step One - $63,065

*The annual salaries are estimates. The paramedics' collective agreement lists the hourly wages paid to those covered by the labour contract. The salaries listed above are based on 40-hour work week. A city spokesman said that some paramedics have a longer work week.

Ho Hum! An Ordinary Day At Toronto City Council

PAYBACK FOR UNION SUPPORT FOR MAYOR???????? You better believe it! CUPE and police are already lining up for their piece of cake.

Outrageous breach of Toronto's trust

How can Torontonians trust a mayor and councillors who repeatedly betray that trust?

The failure of Mayor David Miller and 44 councillors to ensure the public was aware of a key collective agreement signed with city firefighters last June, one that gives them 9.66% wage hike over three years and could set the template for negotiations with other workers, is a disgrace.

That Torontonians should only learn this now, in a week that started with Miller asking them to trust him about the necessity of imposing two controversial new taxes, is a sad commentary on the lack of openness and transparency at City Hall.

Thanks to digging by Sun City Hall columnist Sue-Ann Levy, we now know council approved this agreement last June. The final vote was held in an "open" session of council on June 20 at 8:02 p.m., dealt with in one minute, with no recorded vote, after council had emerged from a 45-minute in-camera session.

That Miller and his city manager, Shirley Hoy, yesterday blamed the media for not picking up on this agreement is appalling.

MORE

What firefighter raise?

Several councillors can't remember June vote on new contract
By SUE-ANN LEVY AND ZEN RURYK, CITY HALL BUREAU

At least 10 city councillors have conce ded the y don't remember -- or have a "vague" memory -- of voting on the generous contract awarded to Toronto firefighters last June.

Penny-pinching Etobicoke councillor Rob Ford said yesterday he's "pretty sure" he was in council on the night of June 20 -- when the contract was hastily approved at 8:02 p.m. -- but "can't remember seeing anything" about the fireghters.

His Etobicoke colleague Mark Grimes -- who came up with the so-called compromise that led to council's approval this past Monday of the controversial land transfer tax -- said he "vaguely" remembers the item. "I'm sure I supported it," he said. "It's not at all at the top of my mind."

Ditto for councillors John Parker, who said he has "no memory of it at all" and Peter Milczyn, who said he recalls the item "very, very vaguely."

As the Sun revealed exclusively yesterday, no press release has ever been issued on the contract since it was approved four months ago, a practice regularly conducted in the past. The lucrative contract hands the city's 3,200 firefighters 9.66% in wage hikes over three years -- 3% this year, 3.25% next year and a total of 3.5% in 2009.

MORE

Hot on the trail of the lucrative contract
These are the key dates leading up to council's approval of the three-year firefighter deal:

Website didn't heat up these councillors

Four city councillors whose smiling faces are featured prominently on the home page of a Toronto firefighters political action website claim they didn't know their pictures were there.

Hail The Conquering Hero

This individual is to be commended for carrying out his obligation as a citizen and I think he would have taken the same action if the attack was against the clubhouse of a skinhead group.

TTC Driver Hailed As Hero After Helping Police Halt Hate Crime In Progress

Thursday October 25, 2007

CityNews.ca Staff

It's often the little things that can make the difference in a community. And on Thursday, TTC driver Geovanny Hidalgo was honoured after a simple act of diligence made a big impact towards halting a serious crime.

Hidalgo was driving his bus when he spotted a group of individuals breaking windows at the Jewish Community Centre on Bathurst St. south of St. Clair. He immediately pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911. An act that police say stopped a hate crime in progress.

The Canadian Jewish Congress presented him with the Louis Lenkinski Memorial Award to thank him for his quick thinking. The award is presented to an individual who has demonstrated excellence and dedication in the area of human rights, community service and social justice.

"The word that I've been using is overwhelmed," Hidalgo said of receiving the honour. "Pitching the first pitch at the Jays game, I thought that was going to be tough. This is more humbling."

Thanks to his quick call, police apprehended three men, one of whom was wearing white supremacist paraphernalia while allegedly caught breaking synagogue windows.

Louis Lenkinski's son, Lionel, took part in the presentation ceremony. His father was a respected activist and community leader.

"The fact that Mr. Hidalgo didn't drive by and...cared enough to call police, to stop an act that was an act of hatred not just against the Jewish community but against everybody in Toronto, I can't describe it. It took something that really is special," he said.

City looks for more help from `deadbeat' province TheStar.com - comment - City looks for more help from `deadbeat' province

October 24, 2007

Ian Urquhart

The two sides in the tax debate at city hall agree on one point: the province must move to take the crushing burden of social services off Toronto's books.

The anti-tax Case Ootes, for example, said in Monday's debate that the province has to "act responsibly and pay its bills instead of taking the deadbeat approach." The pro-tax Giorgio Mammoliti echoed: "It's the province that needs to pull up their socks."

And in a press conference yesterday, Mayor David Miller declared: "We've done our part as Torontonians (by levying new taxes). It's time that social service costs were uploaded."

Not true.....the city has not harmonized services, has not harmonized the workforce, has not got rid of redundant property that is presently under-utilized and become redundant under amalgamation, etc. and due to these failures by Toronto we cannot prove or disprove that doing so would have made the "downloading" revenue neutral. And lets not forget the province did pickup the education bill and gave the city large cash payments most of which were not repaid. Also let's not forget that it was the Chretein/Martin liberals cut back on transfer payments to the province.

What they were all referring to was the downloading of social services onto Toronto and the other municipalities by the Mike Harris government a decade ago. By city hall's calculation, that is costing Toronto $729 million this year – almost double the shortfall of $415 million that the new taxes are designed to address in part.

In their first term, Premier Dalton McGuinty and his Liberal government took steps to reverse some of the downloading.

Last summer, for instance, they announced a phased-in uploading of the share of disability and drug programs now borne by municipalities. That will save the city $38million in the coming year.

That is not going far enough or fast enough, says city hall, which wants the province to move now to upload all social programs. Spread across every municipality in Ontario, that would cost the province more than $3 billion.

There are two problems with this demand.

First of all, it assumes the province is awash in cash. It isn't.

Yes, the province recorded a $2.3 billion surplus last fiscal year (which ended March 31). But the outlook is for a surplus about one-third as big this year, and that forecast is based on assumptions for economic growth that now appear rosy.

Even if there is a large surplus, the province faces many competing demands for the money – to pay for improvements to health care, education, transportation, the environment, and so on.

The struggle for dollars, then, is not so much between the municipalities and some amorphous entity called "the province." Rather, it is between municipalities and hospitals or schools.

All that being said, Toronto's budget crisis cannot simply be ignored by the province – especially not by a government with 19 Toronto seats, eight of them held by cabinet ministers.

Indeed, some believe a secret deal has already been worked out between Miller and McGuinty, which would explain why the mayor remained relatively quiet on the subject during the provincial election campaign.

Both city hall and Queen's Park sources flatly deny there is a secret deal.

But that doesn't mean some accommodation can't be made in the coming months.

First the province wants to see the report of a provincial/municipal panel that has been studying downloading for the past 15 months. That report is due early next year.

Any solution emanating from the panel would have to be applied province-wide, however, and that would substantially increase the cost to the provincial treasury.

A more Toronto-specific solution that is being bandied about is the uploading of responsibility for the TTC to the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority, a provincial agency.

The question is: Are the city's budget woes big enough to persuade the mayor and the councillors to surrender that turf?

We Come Not To Praise Comrade Miller.......

City must get its fair share

TheStar.com - comment - City must get its fair share

October 25, 2007

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Miller prevails at last

Oct. 23

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While Mayor David Miller gets his way, the more important issue is: When are Torontonians going to stand up for their rights? With a large surplus being held by both the provincial and federal governments, just how is it that the most populous city in this country is still getting whacked with more taxes?

Where is the logical distribution of monies in this country? Doesn't anyone besides a small group of people see that commuters and workers in Toronto's downtown core are using the benefits of this city on a daily basis and not paying for them?

What happened to the idea of something more palatable and sensible like road tolls?

Miller's quote that "we finally ended the falsehood that you can have a great city for free" is ludicrous. Until these taxes were implemented, nothing was free. We pay taxes on every single thing we use, buy and earn from our jobs: PST, GST, income tax, debt retirement payments on our hydro bills, etc.

This whole outcome is disturbing, if only because a very small boys' club is determining how our tax dollars are being spent. And if there's extra? Who knows what they do with it.

I'm disgusted with Miller, as well as the provincial and federal governments. We need a leader with a backbone who will fight on behalf of the people to get a share of that provincial and federal surplus. And it sure isn't our mayor – the same person who was redecorating his office and closing community centres and skating rinks.

---

Diane Walton, Toronto

When You Are Paying The Freight You Have Earned The Right To Be A Critic

Everyone's a tax criticheStar.com - comment - Everyone's a tax critic

October 25, 2007

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Miller prevails at last

Oct. 23

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After bullying taxpayers and resorting to strong-arm tactics with a mealy-mouthed city council, Mayor David Miller has certainly prevailed – for the time being. Homebuyers and car owners will have to dig deep into their pockets and fork out tax money lest they suffer drastic cuts to community services. It was political blackmail at its best.

It was also a cynical argument, for Miller's incompetence in handling the city budget stands in stark contrast to his uncanny ability to find piles of cash to provide generous salary raises for himself and for councillors at taxpayers' expense.

Meanwhile, taxpayers have been put on notice that Miller will gouge them again. Sooner rather than later, the mayor and his cohorts will impose new taxes in order to cover the city's remaining budget shortfall. Is there no end to this nonsense? Of course there is. Taxpayers have long memories, and Miller's term at city hall is doomed. Hopefully the next mayor and council will have a better sense of business.

If those running Toronto worked in the corporate sector, they would have been fired long ago.

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Pastor Valle-Garay, Maple, Ont.

I am insulted by the increasingly condescending tone Mayor David Miller has taken with Torontonians. He has spoken as if most homeowners are oblivious to the real costs of living and are acting like spoiled children. Where is he living? Living in Toronto is extremely expensive as it is, and residents have seen increasing cuts to public services.

However, we have a jewel of a city during a time when Canada is seen as an excellent investment worldwide. The new land transfer tax is a deterrent for development. Miller chastised all who felt overwhelmed by more taxes.

I never believed we could have a great city for free. The mayor should not assume that because one does not agree with his solution, one is a spoiled urbanite oblivious to the costs of public services.

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Janis Rosen, Toronto

A year from now, we will be talking about how quickly the real estate market in Toronto cooled down after the great wisdom of Mayor David Miller triumphed; how he prevailed in allowing the suburbs to boom as new homebuyers rush to buy outside the city to avoid the land transfer tax – thus creating more sprawl; how the tax base is being eroded, resulting in even higher taxes for Torontonians; how the roads are becoming even more clogged and pollution is increasing.

Yes, he prevailed in creating even more problems for Toronto. Is there no end to the wisdom of our elected politicians?

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Darlene Besant, Toronto

While the left-wingers on city council and their beloved mayor, David Miller, think they did the right thing by putting a huge new tax on homebuyers, they in fact have created a large cost for current homeowners. I'm sure every homeowner in Toronto would rather pay higher property taxes than have the value of their property go down by 10 per cent – a conservative estimate. So instead of paying $500 more in taxes, the homeowner who was paying below-market taxes for their $500,000 house will now sustain a loss of $50,000.

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Ross Quantz, Mississauga

Keeping the perks and the higher wages they helped themselves to, and overlooking their in-house excesses at the cost of an added tax burden on the citizens of Toronto, does not sound dissimilar to Marie Antoinette's "eat cake" view that sparked the French Revolution. This is most revolting.

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Cyril Abraham, Whitby

Firefighters, Police, ParaMedics, City Unions, Et Al Will Be Better Dressed

And of course we can't neglect the bureaucrats and non-union employees on the city payroll.....they will get increases similar to what the unions are given. I am not denying these people a fair wage but I have to figure out how I will pay it when my wage increase will not exceed inflation.....close to 1/3 lower than what I am paying.

Flaggman's View On Toronto Politboro

Comrade Miller and his Bolshevik army: Seizing wealth from the Toronto Kulaks

When David Miller ran for Mayor of Toronto back in 2003 on a platform of “Clean Up City Hall” and “Stop the Bridge to the Island Airport” (a bigger non-issue there’s never been), certain reasonable, rational people close to me were big supporters. I remember saying to them (and they remember, too): this guy is bad, bad news - a socialist demagogue beholden to union labour and the artsy-fartsy extreme left. I remember the response: you’re crazy, you don’t know what you’re talking about, he’s a good guy, he’s going to do a great job.

Those people hate him more now than even I do.

David Miller, after coasting through a zero-issues re-election campaign in 2006, has finally shown his true nature: a Marxist-Fascist with a smiling face. Everything he says is clouded in the context of the modern socialist world view: that the rich are keeping the poor down; that the poor are victims of social pathologies like violence and addiction because the rich keep them down; that equality must be achieved by seizing the wealth hoarded by the rich; and that a privledged class of enlightened, educated bureaucrats will create the paradise of equality on earth in this lifetime.

Now, there’s several problems with this world view. One, it’s a fraud - in our society, there is nothing keeping the poor down. There are tens of thousands of stories in Toronto alone of people who have risen up from poor, depraved families to rise to a position of dignity and happiness. As long as people are willing to work hard and persevere, and avoid the social pathologies of their communities, they have every chance in the world to succeed. Only when they are convinced they have no chance (usually by leftist politicians pimping for votes, and “community leaders” pimping for money) do they fall prey to the victim mentality.

Second, it’s destructive and twisted. It imposes the victimhood mentality on the “poor” (who, in today’s world, generally have cable TV, cell phones, and share an obesity epidemic), and demonizes the “rich” (which, to Miller’s crew, includes anyone with a home, a business, and a traditional family). It removes any sense of personal responsibility from the irresponsible class, while casting aspersions on the responsible class of people who, more often than not, earned their place through hard work and perseverance. It encourages jealousy and a sense of entitlement in the “poor”, and drives a wedge between them and the people who, deep down, they admire most.

It is in this context that I review what happened in Toronto City Council yesterday. Miller and his cronies packed the house with apparatchiks from the Labour and Arts communities, decked them out in yellow scarves (does yellow now mean “tax me…I’m stupid”?), and, through back-room dealing and a major sellout by the Toronto Board of Trade, turned what was shaping up to be a tax revolt into a major victory for the Bolsheviks over the Kulaks, through the imposition of a new land-transfer tax that both decreases the value of homes, and adds another obstacle in the way of those who dream of becoming a homeowner. The yellow-scarf-wearing Bolsheviks? They whooped and cheered as the vote was completed, dancing on their cash-grab victory, enjoying the moment as they stuck it to “the rich”.

What is a Kulak, you ask? In the Soviet Union, they were the peasant landowning class - often dirt-poor themselves, but generally farmers who committed the sin of actually accumulating some wealth in their lifetimes, even if it was a dusty acre of Ukranian potato land. In Toronto 2007, we are the Kulaks - the family homeowners, working insane hours and making great sacrifices in order to build a better life, and to pay off the countless hands in our pockets.

The Toronto Kulaks are not respected by the Miller crowd. We don’t take public transit (try taking a two-year-old to pre-school on a rush-hour bus); we are greedy (exploiting workers in our businesses); we are classless (we don’t go to gallery openings or sip lattes in Bloor West Village); and we think crime might just be caused by criminals (it’s caused by lack of social services and middle-aged white guys who feel their pain, stupid!). Therefore, it is OK to stick it to them time-and-again.

The new land transfer tax needs to be seen in the context of Miller’s world view. It is a seizure of wealth from Kulaks, to pay the Toronto Bolsheviks. No, not the proletariat - this money ‘aint going to the poor. It’s going to cronies - the artsies and the unions, who get to keep their obscene subsidies and wages without talk of a single bite. The unions - many of whose workers are homeowners, too - could care less about a bite on the value of their members’ properties. They saved their dues base, and saved the way-above-market rates and ridiculous contractual stipulations afforded to them by a Marxist voting block at Council.

Think the Kulak analogy is a stretch? From Wikipedia’s entry on the term:

Often those declared to be kulaks were not especially prosperous. The average value of goods confiscated from kulaks during policy of “dekulakization” in the beginning of 1930s was only $90-$210 per household ^[1]. Both peasants and Soviet officials were often uncertain as to what constituted a kulak, and the term was often used to label anyone who had more property than was considered “normal” according to subjective criteria.

In May 1929 the Sovnarkom issued a decree that formalised the notion of “kulak household” (кулацкое хозяйство). Any of the following characteristics defined a kulak ^[1] :

• usage of hired labour;
• ownership of a mill, a creamery (маслобойня, butter-making rig), or other complex equipment, or a complex machine with mechanical motor;
• systematic letting of agricultural equipment or facilities for rent;
• involvement in commerce, money-lending, commercial brokerage, or “other types of non-labour occupation”.

Joseph Stalin liquidated millions of Kulaks during his reign of terror. Miller simply wants to kill our lifestyle, through a death by a thousand cuts. Yesterday it was a land transfer tax; next it will be road tolls, sin taxes, parking space levies, garbage bin fees, and user fees at libraries and community centres. After all, anything is justified for the Bolsheviks to keep their perks as they perform miracles and save the world.

Did I mention he’s an extreme narcissist?

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Filed under Local Toronto Politics, Political Corruption, Political Idiocy, Politicians, The Confusion of The Left

Tags: David Miller Land Transfer Tax Kulaks Bolsheviks Marxis

The Saviour Of Canada Reaches Out........

Who is Jack Layton talking to?
Tuesday, October 23, 2007 at 10:29 PM

Comments: 4

NDP leader Jack Layton hosted a big get together of NDP workers brought in from across the country. The message to these staff? Reach out to disaffected Liberal voters.

But in reality, is Jack Layton reaching out to Liberal MPs?

Read more...

Sorry Greg But I Want The $$$$ In My Pocket

Not in the City Of Toronto's coffers where there is no evidence it will be properly managed.......Share The Wealth with me!

Share the wealth, province urges Ottawa

Ontario's Finance Minister called on the federal government yesterday to share 1 per cent of the GST with municipalities such as Toronto as they struggle to balance their budgets.

How Did Comrade Miller Get Board Of Trade Support

Promises, promises, promises........reduce tax burden on business which is fair except as businesses flee the city the city's revenues will drop and the property tax payers will have to pickup the slack and if McGinty keeps his promises then the property owner in every town and hamlet will see his taxes go up to support Toronto. Miller is truly an equal opportunity screwer........

Hiking property taxes only 'fair,' Miller says
Increase likely despite controversial new fees

JENNIFER LEWINGTON

CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF

October 24, 2007

A property tax increase of 3 to 4 per cent looms next year for Toronto residents, Mayor David Miller said yesterday.

"That is fair and what I committed to do my best to do," he said one day after council approved a new land transfer tax and car registration fee that are expected to raise a total of $175-million next year.

"People have been really clear. They want their services maintained and they want investment in new services."

Every 1 per cent in property-tax increases is expected to raise $20-million from homeowners and businesses. The actual amount of any increase, to be set in the budget next spring, now depends on fresh lobbying at Queen's Park by Mr. Miller and business leaders for the province to take back responsibility for social services and help pay for transit.

"We will step up our advocacy with the province," vowed the mayor. He said council's "difficult" tax vote shows "we have done our part as Torontonians."

His focus on the province was echoed by Toronto Board of Trade president Carol Wilding, whose organization reluctantly supported the mayor's tax plan.

"It is not a matter of if, but how much and when," she said of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty's general commitment to rebalance the fiscal load between the province and all municipalities.

A provincial review panel comprised of officials from the province and municipalities, including Toronto, is scheduled to report back by February.

Like Mr. Miller, Ms. Wilding contends there is "no reason" the panel cannot report back by December, in time for Toronto's budget debate next spring.

Immediately after its contentious tax vote on Monday night, council went on to approve two business-friendly measures urged by Mr. Miller.

The city will ease the tax burden on small businesses over a 10-year period, instead of the 15-year schedule previously passed.

As well, the city will speed up the reduction of tax rates for big business by 2015, down from 2020 - but only with a "firm commitment" from the province on uploading.

The city's pledge, worth an estimated $300-million in relief to business, was key to the Board of Trade's endorsement of the mayor's tax plan.

More.....

Comrade Miller Has A Plan

And you can bet his plan doesn't include reducing operating costs and many have already been proposed but here is one.....REDUCE THE SIZE OF COUNCIL. We need the people to pickup the garbage but in any well run organization when the bottom line is in trouble you start getting rid of senior and middle managers.

Mayor still $200M short
Tue, October 23, 2007

Modified levies leave Miller scrambling

When asked in the heat of yesterday's debate what he intends to do to fill the nearly $200-million deficit hole not plugged by his two controversial City of Toronto Act taxes, Mayor David Miller insisted he has a plan.

Full Column

New taxes show poor fiscal management
Sat, October 20, 2007

If Mayor David Miller wanted "sky-is-falling" scare tactics to soften Torontonians to his longed-for new taxes, he failed. Instead, Miller's haphazard attempt to repackage the taxes as the lesser of two evils only demonstrates he cannot be trusted to fix Toronto's finances.

Full Column

One day later, 12 tough questions

Royson James

On the day after Tax Day in the T-Dot, one looks to the future, with more...

Get Ready For The Next "Victory"

Comrade Miller and his left wing lackeys will keep up their winning streak until the City Of Toront will exist only as a backdrop in a country and western movie.

Wear Orange Today And Tomorrow You Might Be Wearing Tomorrow

Our right to march and protest and to be critical of our duly elected representatives was paid for with the blood of many.....

Ron Evans Has His Counterparts Off The Rez

It is poverty, it's the physical environment, it's tv and videos, it's the man in the moon, etc., etc., but they forget that the vast majority of the people living in the same situtation don't commit crimes......and of course he wouldn't want tougher gun laws because he would have to disarm his terrorrist group the Mohawk Warriors.

Stop Making Excuses"

"It wasn't long before Ron Evans (Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba First Nations)...

... ... reverted to form. Aboriginal kids need to connect with their culture. Blah blah. Poverty is the root cause of crime. Blah blah. Tougher anti-gun, anti-gang, anti-crime laws aren't needed.

"How is a tough crime bill going to help people to change?" said Evans. "Many of our people are caught in the cycle. They're stuck."

And to prove how stuck he is in his own go-nowhere cycle...

Posted by Kate at 6:58 PM