More High Value Jobs Coming To Leslieville

Bussin promised high value jobs and here they are.......

Glitz hits Leslieville

TIFF partner Joy gets set to feed comfort food to the visiting stars

Steven Davey

It Doesn't Take A Rocket Scientist To Figure This Out

T.O.'s twisted scramble
The new pedestrian phase at Yonge-Dundas just the latest car-hating scheme from City Hall

By SUE-ANN LEVY, TORONTO SUN

They've struck again.

Full Column

Obama Getting Support Of World Leaders

He remembers the Jimmy Carter era.......

Quandry For Municipal Mayors

Guess which Comrade Miller will choose..................

How Does Dion's Green Shit Plan Differ?

To help you decide what the future holds for you use this currency converter....

1.00 GBP

=

1.91845 CAD

GREEN TAX CON COSTS YOU A FORTUNE

Have your say(20)

FAMILIES are being ripped off by an average of £783 a year through Gordon Brown’s bogus “green" taxes, it emerged yesterday.

Hard-pressed households are being forced to pay far more than necessary in motoring taxes and council tax bills as well as a raft of other measures allegedly imposed to cover the cost of pollution.

In total, taxpayers had to hand over £19.6billion too much in so-called green taxes last year – and lower-income households are being hit hardest, said a report.

Last night the Prime Minister and Chancellor Alistair Darling were accused of exploiting environmental concerns to justify a punishing new round of stealth taxes which critics branded “unfair and dishonest.”

Tory MP Philip Davies said: “More and more people are realising that green taxes have nothing to do with being green. They’re just an excuse to tax us more.

More

FLEXICURITY

Will give social in-activists, unions and the leftist cradle to grave proponents a new battleground.......

Troubling new political buzzword
Carol Goar

How Many At Risk Youths/Gangbangers Members

City pulled off the real crime
Closing range won't end killings The final shot for the Canadian National Recreation Association Gun Club's shooting range in Union Station was fired Wednesday night --the fatal round coming from Toronto Mayor David Miller.

Who Are At The Top Of The List Of "Slum" Landlords

The City Of Toronto of course and how many stories have we seen published indicating the number of outstanding work orders, the length of time it takes to "rehabilitate" premises so new tentants can move in, etc.

Tenants push for landlord licences Tenant activists are descending on City Hall next week to push for an "overdue" landlord licensing program

The Operative Word Is FREE

Until the city can find a way to tax an enterprise of this type the city impose restrictions of the type. It is a county fair for gawds sake and people and animals and food and fun is the goal of the day. What does the Toronto Board Of Health do to ensure that all food vendors that visit this area take appropriate sanitation steps?

Beekeeper can't give away free honey

Citing hygiene concerns, Guelph man at the CNE told to stop handing out tasters in farm building

August 28, 2008

Nicole Baute
Staff reporter

That's it, honey.

A Guelph beekeeper has been ordered by the Toronto Board of Health to stop giving out samples at his CNE booth, because the board says eating anything in the same area as animals is a public health risk.

More

Pollution Reduction Not Good News.....

for the disciples of Gore, Suzuki. Without a cause they would have to go out and get a job.

Good News About the Environment

Samples of Greenland's ice show that our air is cleaner than our forebears' air

By Sam Barrett

We still have much progress to make on reducing emissions, new research suggests the situation could be worse.

According to a study by the Desert Research Institute, pollutant levels at the beginning of the 20th century were two to five times higher than current levels of pollution. Researchers attribute the decrease in pollution levels to the advent of more efficient coal-burning technologies, as well as legislation aimed at reducing emissions.

The results of the study were determined by ice core samples taken from Greenland. Using the samples, researchers gathered continuous monthly and annually averaged pollution levels dating from 1772 to 2003. The data showed that toxic heavy metal pollution -- not the Slayer variety -- from cadmium, thallium and lead was much higher in the early 1900s than today. According to the researchers, pollution levels for the early 20th century represented a tenfold increase over preindustrial levels.

Coal burning, primarily from North America and Europe, has long affected the Arctic region, by contaminating the area with soot, or black carbon. Last year, the same team of researchers determined that accumulated soot in the Arctic region reduced the earth's ability to reflect sunlight, therefore contributing to global warming.

While researchers have an understanding of the impact to the environment, the full impact on human health has not yet been determined. Currently, researchers believe food chain contamination may eventually make its way to humans. Furthermore, the researchers speculate that the risk of more contamination in other areas may be compounded by rapid growth of coal-burning technologies in Asian economies. Implementation of cleaner burning coal technologies or reducing the reliance on coal may reduce potential problems, say the researchers.

[Via ScienceDaily]

Different Strokes

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Your Daily Harper Minute

Or a reality check for those left wingers who are quick to condemn tories so that they don't have to face the reality of the liberal record.....this is borne out by this tidbit from Blogging Tories.......

Time to pull the plug
My, my. Some Liberals seem to be getting a mite testy lately… Western Grit calls Conservatives "…arrogant, pompous in-breeders…" And that’s just for starters. Well, if you can’t win by logic, try name-calling. It’s the standard Liberal strategy. Tom Flanagan paints a grim picture about Liberal finances. You know, if the Liberals are having trouble
Blue Like You |

......and from the msm.

Don Martin: Harper's 'dysfunctional' record outshines 10 years of functional Chretien

Posted: August 27, 2008, 5:01 PM by Kelly McParland
Filed under: Full Comment,Don Martin

After deciding the House of Commons was too unstable to recall and cancelling a leaders’ summit due to scheduling difficulties, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s only justification for his saber-rattling rush to an election has become a dysfunctional Parliament.

Well, hogwash.

Sure, the atmosphere has been poisoned by MPs so sick of each other they’ve retreated inside their own party’s cocoon, refusing to play nice with outsiders.

But as Mr. Harper himself noted only nine months ago, this minority parliament works damn well.

She Who Must Be Obeyed Just Came Home......

......wearing an Obama button. I won't be showing her this story.

Document drop: Turning the tables again on Obama’s speech-squelching thugs

By Michelle Malkin • August 27, 2008 12:55 PM

Just obtained the latest counterpunch from American Issues Project, the independent group running the ad about Bill Ayers that the Obama campaign doesn’t want you to see. (Embedded again at the end of this post. Keep passing it around.)

As I’ve pointed out repeatedly over the past few days, Obama’s attempt to bully TV stations airing the ad and stop scrutiny of his radical ties is part and parcel of a larger campaign to chill the free speech of conservative political activists and donors.

Now If We Could Only Get Trustees Some Training In Fiscal Matters

The market is working

August 27th, 2008

And it’s bound to piss some people off.

Ontario’s Catholic schools do a better job than public schools in helping children overcome the demographic roadblocks to learning, says a provocative new study prepared for the C.D. Howe Institute.

Using a socially sensitive yardstick that measures how well schools do given the background of their students — income, parents’ education, mother tongue, number of times they have moved — the report finds the majority of school boards that best beat the demographic odds are Catholic.

The report suggests Catholic schools may be more motivated to improve the quality of education because if they don’t, Catholic parents can switch their children to public schools — a market pressure it says public schools do not face.

Competition. Making your kids smarter, one subject at a time.

In other words, it’s time those whining moonbats in the public school unions get off their hopeandchange high horses and start teaching kids something a little more useful than “diversity” and “hugs”. How about, say, math or something?

Posted by: Right Girl

The First Victim's Body Isn't Cold Yet And We Have....

Lawsuits don't cure listeriosis

It didn't take long for litigation nation-type shenanigans to get rolling on this whole Maple Leaf Foods recall. By Tuesday night more than 1,100 people had already signed on to lawsuits filed by the Merchant Law Group, in Ontario, Quebec.. MORE... Keeping our food supply safe The listeriosis outbreak that began with tainted meats processed at one of Maple Leaf Foods' Toronto facilities is undoubtedly a tragic event. Contaminated meat has lead to six deaths, with nine more under investigation, and 29 confirmed.. MORE... Lunch box vs. ballot box YES, THE CANADIAN public is in the grip of uncertainty. With up to 12 deaths linked to listeriosis, the uncertainty Canadians care about is whether it’s safe to eat cold cuts and luncheon meats. MORE...

It Probably Saves Us A Few Dollars.....

...in the Corrections Canada budget, that can be allocated to buying drugs for addicts, but I think a component of "house arrest" should be having these people out in the community cleaning up litter, removing "real" graffiti, repairing sub standard housing on indian reserves, etc.

Canadian Style Jail

It is time to tell politicians to get crooks off the couch

by Tom Broderick

Tory MP Steven Fletcher had a pretty funny picture in a political flyer he sent out to homeowners this week.

It's not "ha, ha" funny. It's more, well, just funny.

It shows a scruffy guy with a playoff beard sitting on his bachelor couch sporting a muscle shirt with a beer in his hand.

He's got this kind of "yeah, what are you looking at?" expression on his face.

And the caption on the picture says "Jail?"

Yep. That's jail, Canadian style.

It's supposed to be a guy doing his "jail time" at home -- you know, one of those house-arrest deals.

This is how thousands of "inmates" a year now serve their jail time in Canada -- on their couch, with a beer in their hand watching Ultimate Fighting on their high-definition jumbo screens.

This guy could be the poster boy for Canada's so-called criminal justice system. Do the crime, sit on your couch. Drink beer. It's a party.

There are now more inmates serving conditional sentences -- or house arrest -- than there are convicts doing time behind bars.

You've got couch potatoes like this guy all over Canada doing their "time" in front of the TV.

Sometimes they're doing no time at all because they're out on probation or they were sent home early on statutory release.

That's the get-out-of-jail-free card they hand out automatically to rapists, killers and armed robbers after they serve two-thirds of their sentence.

The question now is -- since it looks like we're having a fall federal election -- will these issues be debated and addressed in a serious manner during the campaign?

They better be. Because average Canadians are pretty fed up with guys like this doing time on their couches.

The Tories laid out a very ambitious justice platform during the last election campaign.

But they failed to make good on a lot of it.

They did not, for example, table a bill to eliminate statutory release, as promised.

They also didn't table a bill that would have made it mandatory for all young offenders 14 and older to be sentenced automatically as adults for serious crimes, as they pledged to do.

In part, their efforts were thwarted by the opposition NDP, Liberals and Bloc Quebecois.

The NDP and the Liberals, for example, gutted a bill that would have made all offences punishable by 10 years or more ineligible for a conditional sentence.

The Tories tabled a bill to add the sentencing principle of deterrence into the Youth Criminal Justice Act but the NDP are opposing it.

Maybe you should ask your NDP candidate about it when they come asking for your vote at the door.

What we need to do during this election is ensure we know the positions of all parties and candidates on these issues so we know how to vote.

Remember when Liberal MP Ray Simard and NDP MP Pat Martin said they were in favour of the original Tory conditional sentence bill then flip-flopped and said they were opposed to it?

We should remember those things when it comes time to cast our ballots. It's easy to say you're tough on crime during election campaigns. But it's what you do between campaigns that matters.

It's time to get the criminals off the couch and into jails where they belong.

Enough is enough.

Another Day At TSH

Call it another mistake by the lake.

That's what city Councillor Rob Ford thinks about the city's $8.5-million soccer fields sitting locked and unused due to the polluted Portlands they were built on last year.

Yesterday the Sun revealed the cost of the Cherry Beach Sports Fields, which are finally to open this fall for 10 weeks, had jumped $3 million.

"It's another boondoggle under the (Mayor David) Miller watch," Ford told the Sun yesterday. "That's what you call a complete waste of taxpayers' money. After a while you just get fed up."

Ford said he's dying for soccer fields in Rexdale but with this council it seems it's not a priority if it's not downtown.

"Centennial Stadium was supposed to be Astroturf but there's no Astroturf there because they said, 'We don't have any money,' " Ford said. "And then we find out they've got $8.5 million for that land down there."

An artificial turf field would cost about $1 million, he said.

The taxpayer-funded Waterfront Toronto, which built the fields in the Portlands, said the cost was driven up due to soil contamination.

"Didn't they do tests before they did this?" Ford asked.

Councillor Doug Holyday said if the mayor wants to take credit for the fields, he'll let him.

"It sounds like another city blunder," he said. "What's the sense of voting on a $5.5-million matter when it turns out to cost over 50% more?"

The Better Way?

TTC: Grand dreams, no cash
Commission making big decisions with little input and no funds for expansion plans

By SUE-ANN LEVY

Coun. Cesar Palacio was right on the money yesterday when he said the socialist seals and other assorted spineless windbags on the TTC have totally forgotten that taxpayers have a "right to be heard.

Full Column

TRANSPARENCY WAS A MILLER ELECTION PROMISE

Mayor's secret powers How Miller's new clandestine club will threaten Toronto -- and democracy

The question you must ask yourself is: "Do you really want Mayor David Miller having the ability to control the city's future in secret?"

Do you want him, or any future mayor, to have that power?

There are some who think it has to go this way.

Councillor Case Ootes sure doesn't want to see it -- and yesterday started putting out feelers to others on council for them to start thinking about how to stop this drive for a clandestine club at City Hall for the personally selected and the few.

"He wants the power to hire and fire and to meet in private," said the veteran councillor, who is opposed to much of what the mayor stands for.

"I am against it at this point because the system we have says you are not allowed to meet in private."

And he feels strongly it should not be allowed to change just to meet the ambition of a group of "leftist" politicians who find it cumbersome to work within rules that have served municipalities well for more than a century.

But if he can't stop them, Ootes said he at least wants to make sure there is something in place to be able to challenge them.

"We need a whole different form of governance," said the 20-year councillor. "The traditional municipal form of governance doesn't work anymore."

He's right. But it may already be too late.

In-camera meetings with hand-chosen sidekicks is what Miller wants and is what he's asking for.

And it's probably what he will get in this day and age of politicians who seem hell-bent on finding new ways to tax the citizens so they can go about the socialist approach in administering their city.

Don't forget the province shamefully, and without consultation from any voters I have talked with, gave Miller the power to create a second land transfer tax just for Toronto, gave him the power to ding drivers for $60 for a new vehicle registration tax and the brains at the provincial level extended municipal council terms to four years.

They had no business doing any of that. But still, there are new rules at City Hall. And new taxes.

Who knows what else this so-called executive committee will come up with if permitted to shut out those elected who don't agree with them -- as well as the public and the media?

Ootes, the Ward 29 councillor for Toronto Danforth, raises some important points when he wonders if it's time somebody take a look at this and make sure it's in everyone's interest for it to be done this way. "There has to be a counter balance in any democracy -- you know, checks and balances," he says. "This is no longer happening here in Toronto or has been severely diminished."

And yet if Miller gets his way, he will gain more powers that would not only let him continue with the undemocratic practice of having a private club of supporters, but allow him to meet with these hand-chosen followers in complete privacy.

It's municipal politics where every elected councillor is supposed to get a say on behalf of every citizen from every neighbourhood. But if it is not going to be that anymore, then Ootes is right and there has to be a new component added in. Real opposition, with real questioning powers -- all done in public.

'COUNCIL BLACKLIST'

Then the mayor can be asked how it helps the city to not have the wisdom and experience of an Ootes -- involved in the process of running the city.

Same goes for Karen Stintz, Rob Ford, Doug Holyday, Michael Thompson, Michael Walker, Denzil Minnan-Wong, John Parker, Bill Saundercook and others.

How could you leave these people out of any process? Their wards want them involved. It doesn't seem smart. Or democratic.

But if there is going to be, as Ootes calls it, a "council blacklist," they should at least have a voice to take him on in every issue. "Maybe a parliamentary system with opposition," said Ootes.

Or at least a system where no longer are just the staff at City Hall questioned by council but the seven chairs of city committees, who are elected officials but appointed by the mayor. "They should be the ones answering the questions -- you don't see deputy ministers on the hot seat in the provincial parliament but the actual elected politicians," said Ootes.

One thing for sure is they should not ever be permitted to take select members and meet privately -- without the scrutiny of media, the public or others on council.

It's just not the same as a premier meeting with his cabinet -- because in that case official opposition is in place and there is daily question period. This is not Cuba and it's not China. The only thing that should be secret here is your own personal choice in the ballet box.

You Be The Judge.........

This is art.......
This is not according to Bussin and Pantaloonie.......

Robert Markovits disputes the city's assertion that his wall is covered with graffiti. "This is not a random, thoughtless piece of work." (Mike Strobel, Sun Media)

City Hall's art police are on the prowl again.

This time, Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone is lead critic.

And censor.

Pantalone joins artsy-fartsy council speaker Sandra Bussin, who went ballistic over a wall mural in the east end last May.

Ms Bussin studied art, don't you know. Oui, oui.

Pantalone's background, not so chi-chi, is geography.

More

At the same time as bussin/pantaloonie are waging this battle they seem to be allowing........

The graffiti -- "shoot da police" and "kill cop" -- is scrawled on a small public housing block on Ardwick Blvd., near Finch Ave. W. and Islington Ave.

and allowing mammoliti to fight this battle.......

Mammoliti sets sights on scrawl

By BEN SPENCER, SUN MEDIA

Damn The Torpedos...Full Speed Ahead

Let's sink the liberal slave gallery, the ndp island ferry, the bloc dinghy and the green birch bark canoe once and for all.......

Will the PM get away with his risky election gambit? Probably

LAWRENCE MARTIN

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

August 27, 2008 at 5:00 AM EDT

Book it: election in October. It's a gambit straight out of Stephen Harper's catechism. "When I say jump, you say how high?"

This time, he's going to strange lengths. To get his way, the Prime Minister made it clear yesterday he will pull the plug on his own government. Even though it involves some dicey dealing, better for him to set the date, he reasoned, than leave it to the antagonists.

The opposition, Mr. Harper told the media, was not willing to co-operate with him on his agenda. Hogwash, replied Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion. Agenda? You don't even have one. "What is it?"

The agenda is clear enough: to get the election out of the way before likely by-election losses, before the appearance of Julie Couillard's book, before the U.S. election, before more bad news on the economy and other fronts can hit.

More

I could have told Rosie this........

There was a time," Rosie DiManno writes in the Star, "when I thought liberals—or Liberals, as in the case of the Democrats—were, to their credit, the party of the party-animals, the rogues, the roués, the bacchanalians, the hedonists, the broad-minded, the sophisticated, the unconventional, the free expressionists and free lovers, the ones without a 2-by-4 up their butts."

Denver, with its recycling patrols, rampant sobriety and overweening earnestness, has disavowed her of this notion forever.

More & More People Questioning Comrade Miller

Dear Mayor Miller
Maybe picking on members of the Olympic shooting team... isn't gonna solve Toronto's problems after all...Cops now believe he'd been lying there for hours before a passerby stumbled onto his lifeless body. But beyond figuring out who killed him and why, they have an equally perplexing question: how did a man known to hang out almost exclusively in the downtown core wind up in a place he likely
halls of macadamia |

I Have Been Saying This For Years.......

Toronto is crying out for a “broken windows” policy

August 26th, 2008

The socialist powers-that-be chased the Guardian Angels out of town when they sought to set up a chapter in Toronto. We, the residents of the ailing city, were told that we don’t need such tyrants and goose steppers patrolling our streets. And so the predictable panacea of social funding for basketball courts and crack kits was provided, and the city continued to die.

Till now. Chinatown has had enough of addicts, whores and panhandlers dirtying up its streets, stealing from its businesses, and scaring away its customers. And for the last two weeks, Chinatown has been employing a private security company to do what the police won’t do: Deal with petty crimes.

So far more than two dozen “banning orders” have been issued against disruptive undesirables, reported Ross McLeod, president and CEO of Intelligarde, the company patrolling the neighbourhood. Several intoxicated individuals have been carted off by police or ambulance, and he said numerous aggressive panhandlers have been “dealt with” by his employees.

“The last guy we arrested in Chinatown had lost control of his bowels, let me say, and was covered in his own feces but he would not stop aggressively panhandling,” reported Mr. McLeod, adding that responding police officers weren’t all that happy to have to take the person off his employees’ hands.

“For the low-level disorder, the public police just don’t have time for that unless it escalates into something much more serious.”

It isn’t just Chinatown, either. Liberty Village, Emery Village, Downtown Yonge Street and Kennedy Road in Scarborough all use either security firms or off duty cops. Why? Because petty crimes, vandalism, drug and alcohol abuse and panhandling are all problems if you’re trying to run a business. They may seem like small fry to the cops and commissioners, as well as the mayor, but to the residents and business owners, these “broken windows” only serve to make their areas a little worse every day.

Naturally, the mayor has a better idea:

Mayor David Miller said this week that he would prefer to see city staff such as social workers called in to deal with panhandlers and homeless people so that they can be referred to the proper support services.

Social workers. Yup, that’ll do it. When the next vagrant shits himself on the sidewalk, some social worker can come along to help him rebuild his self-esteem. One can only hope she’ll offer him a clean tissue in the process.

And the unions are pissed off, too:

Dave Wilson, the president of the union representing uniformed officers, has complained that private, lesser-trained employees taking over duties historically delegated to police is “lowering the standards in the policing world,” and “a dangerous slippery slope.”

No Dave. The standards have already been lowered so much, that private citizens are having to raise them up themselves. They’re not waiting for your union boys to do it for them. And that just rips your knitting, doesn’t it?

Posted by: Right Girl

This Makes Complete Sense-At Least To Liberal/Leftists

Stephane Dion does not want Stephen Harper falling into Dion's trap?

Monday, August 25, 2008 at 12:23 PM Comments: 16

Sometimes I just don't understand what Liberal Party leader Stephane Dion is talking about.

With Prime Minister Stephen Harper making it clear that he is setting down conditions for not triggering an election, Stephane Dion is saying that Prime Minister Harper could be convinced not to call an election once he realizes such a call would only work in favour of the Liberals.

So what is Stephane Dion saying? That he doesn't want an election that would favour the Liberals?

Read more...

The Liberal Government Will Bring Down...

Yes, you read it correctly, the Liberal government will.... brought to you by CTV and Craig Oliver. The Liberals are still living in Liberal lala land. They truly believe that the Conservatives only won because of Adscam. They seriously think that most Canadians are socialists. They remind me of those elites that ignore the common poor in Canada to sell coal to China. CTV and Craig Oliver are all......

Climbing Out Of The Dark |

Why Isn't Canadian Virus Deaths Not Getting Worldwide Media Attention?

Mystery virus kills 160 in India...

I Think There Might Be Some More Serious Things On The Next President's Agenda-

ANTI-OBAMA STAND RILES GAYS

August 26, 2008 --

GAY media czar Paul Colichman's vow in yesterday's Page Six not to support Barack Obama over the candidate's opposition to same-sex marriage has other gay media bigs aflame. "By tearing up his check for Obama, he basically wrote one to McCain," Genre editor Neal Boulton told us. "I openly - no, flamingly - endorse Obama, whether he says he's for gay marriage or not. . . . I know under Obama, it will only be a matter of time until the country sees the legalization of gay marriage." James Hipps, project manager for gay-marketing firm Vibe Media, wants gays to cancel their subscriptions to The Advocate. "I am appalled," he said. "For our gay-lesbian- bisxexual-transgender rights to continue to grow and not further diminish, then we need to stand behind [Obama]. Good luck with your life, Mr. Colichman. I hope you get to sleep well at night after McCain becomes elected. Shame on you."

Just A Couple Of Misunderstood Good Ol' Boys?

Police in the US say there is "insufficient evidence" to charge three men who were allegedly planning to assassinate Barack Obama.

The men were arrested in Denver, Colorado, in connection with drugs and weapons offences.

Sky News political editor Adam Boulton, in Denver, said one of the group is reported to have made comments alerting police to a potential assassination plot against the leader of the Democrats.

But speaking at a press conference, police said the men were drug addicts.

They said they were keeping an open mind about the investigation.

US Attorney Troy Eid said: "There is insufficient evidence that there was any kind of a plot or a threat but we'll keep an open mind as we look.

Seig Heil!

City ready to siphon $60 from motorists TheStar.com - GTA - City ready to siphon $60 from motorists

Second contentious tax kicks in on Monday

August 27, 2008

John Spears
City Hall Bureau

Sept. 1, 2008:

Labour Day, check.

Back-to-school preparations, check.

Toronto's new vehicle tax, groan.

The day is upon Toronto drivers. Starting Monday, the city's new "personal vehicle tax" kicks in.

The tax, which applies only to personal vehicles, comes to $60 a year for a car and $30 for a motorcycle.

Council approved the tax after bitter debate last fall, along with a land transfer tax that became effective Feb. 1. The new City of Toronto Act gave council the right to levy the taxes, and Mayor David Miller said the city needed the money to balance the budget.

The Ontario government has agreed to collect the tax for the city, when drivers renew their licence plate. Drivers who refuse to pay the tax won't get their plates renewed.

Toronto expects to collect about $20 million in additional revenue during the remainder of this year. The tax haul is expected to be $56 million over the course of a full year.

While drivers may not welcome the tax, Warren Barnard, lawyer for the Used Car Dealers Association of Ontario, said it's unlikely to affect car sales because the tax is levied when a plate is renewed, not when a vehicle is purchased.

If a driver is transferring a plate from an old car to a newly purchased one, the tax will come due when the existing plate is renewed, not on the purchase date.

Even if the new car requires a plate, there's no tax. It is levied when plates are renewed, not when they're first issued.

Because the tax is levied based on the car owner's address, Toronto residents can't escape the tax by buying a new car outside the city.

As for the Sept. 1 launch date, some people are simply luckier than others.

Car owners who have received a renewal notice and submit their payment on or before Aug. 31 won't have to pay the tax until they next renew their licences. So those who are renewing this month and have chosen to renew for two years won't be hit with the tax until 2010.

The new land transfer tax stirred more vehement opposition when it was introduced. City officials haven't said how much they've collected since Feb. 1, but a report is expected within the next week.

If Not An Essential Service Then Maybe Time To Review Wages

TTC's union 'cop out' Staff urge politicians to endorse position that transit is not essential, should be allowed to strike

By SUE-ANN LEVY

Coun. Cesar Palacio had hoped months ago -- following this past April's "surprise" weekend transit strike -- that council would seriously consider declaring the TTC an essential service.

He felt so strongly about the chaos and disruption caused by a transit strike, he formed a Citizens Advisory Group of TTC commuters, along with Coun. Cliff Jenkins, that "worked very hard" over the summer drafting a 14-page report in favour of taking away the right to strike from the TTC's 9,000 unionized employees.

Even Mayor David Miller declared in the aftermath of April's strike that he was prepared to consider the idea. He asked city manager Shirley Hoy for a full report on it by next month.

But as I've learned, our mayor blows a lot of air when the mood strikes him. His musings (or shall I say threats) back in April, I suspect, were more out of anger that his powerful TTC union buddies dared to catch him off-guard with an out-of-the-blue strike.

I'm betting His Blondness has no more intention of asking the province to declare the TTC an essential service than he has of dedicating the $238-million in infrastructure funding announced by the province yesterday to road repairs.

A lame report to the TTC's meeting tomorrow from the blue suits recommends -- no surprises here -- the TTC "not" be declared an essential service and suggests the idea be killed at that meeting.

And next Tuesday's executive committee meeting has no sign of the promised report from the city manager on its agenda, I was told yesterday.

TTC chairman Adam Giambrone, who is against the essential service idea (again, no surprises there), said the city manager's report is "coming sometime this fall."

The TTC report claims the proposed "no strike model" -- which sends all outstanding issues for both parties to arbitration -- is far more costly than the current "unfettered strike and lock out model."

Using the results of a 1991(!) study, the report contends wage settlements are generally 6% higher under the no-strike model -- which would have added $11.2 million more in the way of total costs by the end of the TTC's latest contract.

"We believe that the TTC, the city and its residents would be best served by not declaring TTC as an essential service," the report concludes.

Naturally Amalgamation Transit Union (ATU) Local 113 President Bob Kinnear thought it "great" that at least his union and the blue suits agree on something.

"We believe in the fundamental right of being able to withdraw our services ... that will not change," he vowed.

I asked him how he felt about holding the city ransom each time he strikes.

"As working people we have a right to withdraw our services ... we should be entitled to do that," Kinnear responded.

Giambrone cited the cost factor as a major reason not to consider deeming transit an essential service.

But Coun. Mike Thompson, who feels "absolutely" the TTC should be an essential service, said the report doesn't compare costs properly. For example, we both agreed it does not take into consideration the lost revenue from a strike -- about $2 million just for April's weekend event -- or the commuters who stop using transit after a strike. It also ignores the hundreds of millions of dollars of lost economic activity in the city as a whole during a strike.

"These guys are getting top dollar for doing the work they do ... yet it's inconceivable to me that they would think it appropriate to disrupt the lives of everyone in the city (who are) trying to get to their essential activities," Thompson said.

He called it a "political cop-out" by those on council and the TTC -- namely the socialists -- who are more interested in representing the interests of their union buddies than the constituents who voted them into office.

"The TTC is as essential as snow-clearing in the wintertime," he said.

---

As for this TTC contract ... Kinnear told me yesterday a hearing date has finally been set up for Sat. Sept. 6 with provincial arbitrator Kevin Burkett for both parties to make arguments. "Sometime after that Mr. Burkett will render his decision," he said, expecting that to be sometime in October. Hmmm. Can't wait to see what the costs will be of this arbitrated settlement -- given that the Millerites weren't able to make the "unfettered strike model" work, yet again.

Two Solitudes..Two Mistakes

Joyless return for native students
Colleen Schenk 65 min. ago

The first week of school is filled with excitement and anticipation for millions of children as they head back to the classroom. But for First Nations children on reserves, it is blighted by the conditions they will find.

Black-school numbers in doubt Trustee says he wonders if enrolment drive will draw enough students An enrolment drive for the city's first black-focused school will start this fall but one trustee is already questioning whether it will draw enough students.

Conservatives Do Support The Arts......

......but they don't support a free ride for "artistes" with questionable talent.

Conservatives are big fans of culture, arts TheStar.com - Opinion - Conservatives are big fans of culture, arts

August 26, 2008

Re:Politicians may want to take cover,

Aug. 20

I would like to inform Martin Knelman that I plan on attending the Toronto International Film Festival again this year. It is a personal highlight, but more importantly, it is a world-renowned event that allows us to showcase some of the best and brightest Canadian filmmakers. That's why our government contributed $25 million toward the Festival Centre.

Our government is a strong supporter of the arts and culture. In 2007-08, we invested close to $2.31 billion through a number of programs from Canadian Heritage and portfolio agencies; a nearly 8 per cent increase since we formed the government. What's more, that's more than the old Liberal government ever did in 13 years in power!

In 2007, we invested $30 million per year on an ongoing basis to support festivals and activities celebrating heritage and local arts. Through this program, we provided $1 million in funding for the 2008 Luminato Festival in Toronto.

In addition, our government has provided $128,400 in funding for the Royal Ontario Museum and $14 million to 16 national arts-training organizations that support the development of promising artists in Toronto, Hamilton and on Manitoulin Island. We have also increased our support to the Canada Council for the Arts by $30 million on an ongoing basis. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it does demonstrate our commitment to Canadian culture and the arts.

As the government, we also have a responsibility to Canadian taxpayers to ensure that all programs are relevant, efficient and provide real value for money. This is why we have decided to discontinue certain programs that had either reached their objectives, had high administration costs, had poor performance, or did not give satisfactory results. I make no apologies for protecting taxpayers' dollars.

Mr. Knelman, our government believes culture and the arts are a cornerstone of Canadian society and should be nurtured and supported.

Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance and Minister Responsible for the GTA

Damn The Torpedos When It Comes To Making A Buck

City policies probably would have forbidden the use of exotic animals or helium balloons in the film shoot. They're banned from Nathan Phillips Square at all times, along with beauty pageants.

But Friday it did seem odd that a city so resolutely opposed to the presence of guns in real life would so enthusiastically embrace the portrayal of guns in fiction.

Shooting blanks on guns policy

Logic Alludes ME

Penny wise pound foolish!

TTC looks at cutting out Metropass parking perk
Daniel Girard 49 min. ago
The TTC is looking to end a major incentive for Metropass holders, charging them up to $6 a day to park in its jammed commuter lots.

Dealing With Addiction The RIGHT Way

Treat druggies, don't coddle 'em
By LYN COCKBURN

Health Minister Tony Clement got it totally right last week, when he said it is better to get drug addicts into treatment programs than to supervise them as they fill themselves full of heroin at Vancouver's safe injection site.

Full Column

Leftwing One Trick Pony.........

Another Of Those Days......

.....where reality busts through the smoke and mirrors of community solidarity.

Man hit by pellet in park
Shot at anti-violence event

A Toronto Community Housing employee was shot in the neck with a pellet gun yesterday at a community anti-violence event in a Flemingdon Park neighbourhood.

Anti-violence activist shot with pellet gun at rally
Sunny Freeman Aug. 24, 2008 An anti-violence activist attending a rally in the city's northeast end...

IT IS TIME TO BUILD ANOTHER BASKETBALL COURT!

So What........

.........it will only affect those that don't play by the rules

TTC riders to pay more for their sins

which only fair BUT

The TTC hopes to have 176 special constables on patrol by 2011. There are 95 now.

meaning the overall cost of running a public service will increase and you would have to be a blithering idiot not to think this won't be the lynchpin for another fair increase shortly.

How Can Comrade Miller Deny Unions Have Him By The Short Hairs.......

............The city needs the extra garbage tax grab to pay for all their new U.S.-made brontosaurus recycling and garbage bins and for the lavish contract with CUPE 416.

.......... Let's call it what it really is -- an Inefficiency Revenge Tax brought to you by the Socialist Republic of Millerland.



Garbage fees: 'All or nothing'
Pay to dump your trash or be refused recycling pickup
By SUE-ANN LEVY

Like most apartment and condo owners, property manager Gerry Kawaguchi was hit with the new socialist garbage fee (er, waste reduction levy) this past July 1.

Full Column

Putting Things Into Perspective

Dion, Layton and Bouchard don't come close to have the smarts of the Roadrunner so let's quit screwing around Stephen and call an election.........

Hmm!

Only in Canada You Say.........

29% of Canadian seniors aged 65 and older have used the Internet in the past month. Count me in.

24% of B.C. residents say Canada is a "racist" country. Let's not forget it is B.C.

23% of Canadian mothers who didn't nurse said they found it unappealing or disgusting

19% of Canadians mistakenly believe Insite provides drugs to users

11% of Canadian post-secondary students say they sometimes wear dirty clothes to save money on laundry. When are clothes dirty?

82% of Canadians have an overall positive attitude towards foreign trade

74% of Canadian males believe "most overweight and obese people have themselves to blame" Individual responsibility is a lost cause.

60% of non-smoking Canadians have turned down a date with a smoker because of the habit

43% of Canadians teens between the ages of 15 and 19 say they're not virgins

40% of Canadians say they sometimes act politically correct because it is the safe thing to do

Someone Should Explain To L Girl & Robin The Primary Function Of The Military

And while we are at it Long is a deserter, not a war resister, and he was not drafted but joined voluntarily....

robin long sentenced to 15 months in penitentiary

8.22.2008

War resister Robin Long has been sentenced to 15 months in a federal penitentiary, and given a dishonorable discharge.

Robin was deported to the US because, according to a federal judge, he failed to prove that he would face "irreparable harm". I consider 15 months in prison, plus a life-long felony conviction, irreparable harm, especially since Robin's only "crime" to refusing to kill.

Robin's punishment lies at Stephen Harper's feet.

Hmmmm! Verrry Interesrting.......

Studies dispel myths about war’s impact

INDEPENDENT RESEARCH debunks one of the Democratic Party’s favorite talking points about the global consequences of the war in Iraq.

Armed with government statistics showing a big increase in terrorist attacks since 2002, Democrats routinely assert that President Bush ignited a firestorm of terrorism throughout the Muslim world when he sent troops into Iraq. The claim and the statistics are used to illustrate what Democrats see as the foolishness of the president’s belief that toppling Saddam Hussein’s regime would reduce instability in the Middle East and eliminate a major potential source of terrorism.

A survey released in May by a Canadian university proves that the statistics paint a distorted picture of terrorism outside the borders of Iraq. (more…)

The Legacy Still Exists Not Only In The Family.....

Never an avalanche around when you need one

Yet another Trudeau spawn muttering cheap pacifist claptrap.

Funny, his pop had no problems "teaching" "lessons" to terrorists and murderers on our soil. Best thing the old man ever did, too.

(Bleeding hearts? "Let them go ahead and bleed...")

# Kathy : 2008-08-22 15:54:00 EDT

What Is Jack Layton Up To......

Jack Layton Today Versus Jack Layton Last Week
Mr.Layton today:Prime Minister Stephen Harper would be "misguided" if he chose to call a federal election before Parliament resumes sitting on Sept. 15, NDP Leader Jack Layton said Thursday.Layton was commenting in Montreal, where he's campaigning with candidate Anne Lagace-Dowson in advance of next month's byelection in Westmount-Ville Marie. Voters are set to go to the polls to fill vacancie
Unambiguously Ambidextrous

What's Ann Up To.......

Ann Coulter on Obama's recent problems
I admit it I like Ann Coulter and I am friends with Kathy Shaidle. I don't always agree with everything they say, but I don't usually agree with anyone all the time. Kathy certainly doesn't need me to defend her, she gives better than she gets. Unlike cc and rt she does it with her own name, in the open. She is no coward.Obama's got a lot of ground to make up following that performance last
Dr Roy's Thoughts

Here Are A Couple Of Trick Questions For John Cartwright

Who sets the minimum wage?

Where do unions invest their pension funds?

The high cost of low wages
John Cartwright Aug. 22, 2008
Here's a trick question: Why should billion dollar corporations be allowed to pay poverty wages in Canada?

It Is Not About Not Attending The Funeral

It is about his overall performance and setting priorities.....do you think Hazel would have been off vacationing if this had happened in Mississauga?

Family of fallen Toronto firefighter backs Miller TheStar.com - GTA - Family of fallen Toronto firefighter backs Miller

August 22, 2008

The family of the late Toronto firefighter Bob Leek has issued a letter of support for Mayor David Miller's actions in the wake of the district fire chief's death at the scene of the Sunrise Propane explosion this month.

Miller, who interrupted a family vacation in Vancouver to oversee the emergency response, has been criticized for not remaining in the city and for not attending Leek's funeral last week.

But in the letter, the family said they are "more than satisfied" with the way Miller handled Leek's death and funeral.

The letter said Miller phoned to offer condolences and again when the funeral date was announced to say he couldn't attend due to his daughter's birthday celebration in Vancouver. It said since Leek was a family-oriented person, he would not have wanted Miller to miss this important time with his family.

Blowing us off?

Mayor Miller’s vacation stopover was cold comfortwhen the city needed a hug

Andrew Cash

Like many, including T.O.’s pols, I’m on holiday with my family when Sunrise Propane blows. Heading back into town later that day, all the while scanning the car radio dial for any syllable of information, we finally stumble on an interview with David Miller.

It’s a conference call with reporters from Vancouver, where, the radio interviewer explains, the mayor is on vacation. Fair enough, I guess.

As I veer off the 401 onto Highway 2 to duck the traffic snarl heading into the city, I’m expecting the mayor to tell reporters he raced to the airport the minute he heard about the explosion and demanded a seat on the next available flight home.

What he says, however, in his almost aloof syntax, is that he’s returning to Toronto on an “early flight.” WTF? Early afternoon? Early morning, after a good night’s sleep and a jog around Stanley Park?

Wow. I’m thinking 12,000 people have been evacuated from their homes. Can you give us at least a bit of urgency in your voice? The good news is that he does return quickly. The bad is that he leaves quickly, too, back to his holiday. Very bad.

You know, I hated the Mel Lastman buffoon years, but I think Miller and crew have dined out on the Bad Boy long enough. What Lastman and all other pols with longevity grasp is that when the chips are down, people demand emphathy from their leaders and self-sacrificing efforts for the collective good.

Instead, Miller leaves town before not one, but two important community meetings, the lead-up to which is so laden with partisan bad blood that Councillor Maria Augimeri will likely be in the bleachers after next election. We needed the mayor to rise above the twisted nerves and tease out what’s best for all of us.

My guess is that Miller, understanding the minutiae of the city bureaucracy the way few others do, knows that in times of crisis there are systems in place and professionals to implement them. As soon as he’s certain these are operating properly and the crisis is in capable hands, he feels safe leaving. That’s his vantage point.

Problem is, most Torontonians don’t see things from his vantage point. There is an expectation – hell, it’s politics 101 – that leaders should speak up for, weep for and celebrate with those who never will look down from inside the ivory tower.

And when one of their ranks, in this case a firefighter, dies on the job, you go to the funeral. You don’t have to say anything, but you’re there to embody the city’s collective sorrow.

That David Miller is a bright guy no one, not even his most fiercely partisan opponents, could deny. Maybe it’s too much to ask that a mayor be able to duke it out in the bureaucratic backrooms and also get up with the people and sing a jaunty number in the barrooms.

You can learn to be a good manager or political jouster, but the common touch – now, that is a gift this mayor has yet to receive.

news@nowtoronto.com

The Voters Of Toronto And Ontario Are Not Worthy Of John Tory

They seem to be more comfortable with broken promises, new taxes, poor fiscal management, etc. of McGinty and Miller........

Tory leaves McGuinty in the dust TheStar.com - Opinion - Tory leaves McGuinty in the dust

August 22, 2008

Jim Coyle

A lot is uncertain about John Tory's political future. But one thing is clear. If life doesn't unfold the way the currently seatless leader of the Progressive Conservative party hopes, it won't be for lack of hard work.

Tory's energy and effort this summer have been, well, nearly Olympian. He's been especially engaged and productive as tragedies unfolded with the explosion at a Toronto propane depot and in the death of a 7-year-old girl whose battered body was found in her caregiver's apartment.

In fact, Tory has put the Liberal government, all but invisible in terms of presence, and Premier Dalton McGuinty, unbecomingly lethargic in response, to shame.

More

Smitherman Set The Standard For Adult Diapers

It would seem to me that the staff members in question were taking their lead from a provincial health minister.......

Staff risk firing for 'hoarding' diapers
Moira Welsh Aug. 22, 2008 An east Toronto nursing home is threatening to fire front-line staff for hiding extra diapers in residents' rooms – a practice workers say is necessary to ensure that residents are not left in wet and soiled briefs.

$1.19 Allowance Generous

I paid $1.30 for enough black forest ham to make three sandwiches plus 50 cents for a bagel making my cost about 80 cents........

Prisoners fed for $1.19 Councillors question quality of food given accused attending court For prisoners languishing in cells waiting for their cases to be heard in provincial courts here, lunch is a case of bun appetit.

BAN M & M

McGinty

Miller

Miller and McGinty that is........

Put a lid on banning bottled water

The ban twins are at it again.

The two-headed monster of Premier Dalton McGuinty and Mayor David Miller are both discussing banning bottled water.

Miller's looking at the ban for city-owned buildings. McGuinty chatted about it on a province-wide level after London city council banned the sale of bottled water in its facilities.

Well, McGuinty has already banned or is planning to ban pesticides, pit bulls, smoking while kids are in cars, gift card expiry dates, pollution, plastic bags at the LCBO, inefficient light bulbs, Sharia law, talking on the phone while driving, and also banned a ban on clotheslines, what's one more?

Miller's banned list includes guns, pesticides, and it feels like a ban on cars may not be far behind.

More

He Has Failed To Solve The Problem So.....

.....it is natural for individuals take action on their own.

Let city handle it, Miller says Chinatown shopkeepers should let the city do its job -- but with social workers not police officers, Mayor David Miller said yesterday.

Dealing With The Problem.......

No media circus, no town hall meetings, no highly publicized meetings, etc. They just got the job done......

Cemetery To Finally Reopen More Than 10 Days After Propane Blast

He Didn't Campaign For Fatherhood So.....

Mayor On Explosion Absence: I'm A Father First

Wednesday August 20, 2008

CityNews.ca Staff

They're bold words from a mayor the city hasn't seen much of in the past week.

David Miller announced Tuesday that the intensive clean-up of the neighbourhood surrounding the Sunrise Propane blast will be finished by this Sunday.

He also revealed the reasons behind his absence and his failure to attend the funeral of Bob Leek, a firefighter who died helping in the stricken neighbourhood.

"One of the things my family was doing in B.C. was celebrating my daughter's 13th birthday with my relatives so I think everybody understands that as a father you have to be with your daughter when she's turning 13," he explained.

"And I spoke both to the family and the firefighters as soon as I knew the date and said I wouldn't be able to stay," Miller added.

That wasn't good enough for some area residents, who weren't satisfied with his reason.

"I think as a mayor and a public figure that he should have been where he was needed," counters one Torontonian.

More

Mayor's vanishing act flops
Miller helps open Filmport studios but his own act ends up dominating the reviews

By SUE-ANN LEVY

Mayor David Miller made his post-holiday debut at yesterday's splashy $20,000 opening of the Filmport Studios to inform all of us that it was "an extraordinary moment" for the people of Toronto.

Full Column

Simple Solution To Solving Poverty

Give the poor more money! Simple. It does become a little more complex when the question of where the money will come from arises. The social in-activists will of course want the government to increase taxes and reduce "subsidies" to businesses which will, of course, drive businesses to other areas and this will increase the number of "poor" people. Then, of course, we can raise personal and property taxes which will drive those on fixed incomes on to the poverty rolls. How about government at all levels holding the line on hiring and freezing union salary demands? How about getting rid of our cradle to grave mentality?

'Time to be bold' in poverty fight TheStar.com - Opinion - 'Time to be bold' in poverty fight

August 20, 2008

A welcome new report from Ontario's food banks exhorts the government to stay the course and not back off its stated goal to reduce poverty because of the growing threat of a recession.

Despite the economic challenges facing the province – and perhaps because of them – "we believe that now is the time to be bold," the report argues. "In difficult times we need leaders, not managers. We must make transformative choices that will build a better Ontario."

It looks to former prime minister Lester Pearson for inspiration. Against a backdrop of political and economic turbulence in the 1960s, the federal Liberal leader introduced universal health care, a national pension plan, a student loan program and a national labour code.

These are empowering words for Deb Matthews, Ontario's children's minister, and her cabinet committee on poverty reduction, who have until the end of the year to draft their poverty strategy.

The food banks' report devises a sweeping plan that would cut poverty in half by 2020, pulling more than half a million Ontarians out of poverty. There is no doubt that targets and timetables are important to ensure the province can be held to its promises, focusing the minds of politicians and energizing the bureaucracy.

The report draws heavily on anti-poverty initiatives around the world to show what works, helping Ontario draft an anti-poverty program of best practices. The proposals would cost the province $750 million next year, rising to $2 billion a year by 2015. But these costs need to be cast as an investment, a "commitment of a generation," the 63-page report argues.

Among its more than two dozen new recommendations, it calls for Ontario to provide-start-up money to set up community development credit unions that would help low-income people open bank accounts to get a head start. The credit unions would combat the temptations of payday loans that charge high interest and trap people in a continuous cycle of debt.

With rising rents pushing poverty up, the report calls for building 100,000 new units of affordable housing by 2020 and providing 50,000 new shelter allowances. It would also give energy subsidies of up to $200 to low-income families.

And it urges the government to follow Quebec's lead and enshrine its promised poverty reduction plan in legislation so future governments would be bound to keep it on the political agenda.

As this report shows, there is no shortage of innovative and workable ideas for Matthews and her committee as they sift through more than 600 submissions and begin the difficult task of devising a poverty reduction plan. The food banks have made an important contribution to the debate – and signalled that they will be watching closely to ensure she does not back away from the challenge.