CON JOB At Silly Hall

Opposition checks pulse ahead of budget debate
March 28, 2009 Royson James
Dissent is essential to the practice of democracy. That's why lovers of the messy practice of local democracy cannot be happy with the trend at city hall.
The Ontario government handed city councillors a four-year term; gave Toronto's mayor increased and unchecked powers; diminished council's role. Essentially, the mayor frames and delivers Toronto's budget. Resistance is futile.
But a bit of a pulse was detected this week when a group of right-leaning councillors put themselves forward as an unofficial opposition to the ruling regime, led by Mayor David Miller, his left-leaning allies and the mushy middle whose "flexible core principles" allow them to prop up the government in exchange for plum appointments.
With a user-unfriendly moniker, the Responsible Government Group presented themselves as 13 who represent the "voice of those who disagree with the regime at city hall."
Now, for years, left-leaning councillors formed such an unofficial opposition. In fact, the NDP even formed a caucus out of it. They pushed a progressive agenda for social services, green initiatives, arts funding and other worthy causes. That they flourished was due to their political acumen and stamina. But these skills were enhanced by a system of government that welcomed dissent, enabled it, and embraced the practitioners, if not always their policies.
For example, Councillors Jack Layton and Olivia Chow, the power couple who now lead the federal NDP, wielded considerable influence in the regime of Mel Lastman without having to vote against their conscience or their politics. Ditto for Joe Pantalone, Mayor's Miller's current deputy. What is troubling about the current politics at city hall is that Pantalone and Layton and Chow could not survive as influential entities in a right-wing administration – not if the mayor behaves the way Miller does.
Remember Brian Ashton, a moderate, bright and capable councillor? Miller kicked Ashton off his hand-picked executive committee because Ashton voted against the mayor's land transfer tax proposal. So much for non-partisan government at city hall. So, there was Ashton this week, pushed to line up with the right-wing councillors to coalesce a strong enough voice to register a protest.
City council debates the $8.7 billion budget this week. The proposed 4 per cent tax hike will be approved, essentially unchanged, unless the dissidents can somehow win over another six votes to its 13 members – Case Ootes, Karen Stintz, David Shiner, Frances Nunziata, Cesar Palacio, Chin Lee, Denzil Minnan-Wong, Mike Del Grande, Michael Feldman, John Parker, Peter Milczyn, Cliff Jenkins and Ashton.
Michael Thompson and Michael Walker will vote with them, though not official members. Rob Ford and Doug Holyday will, too, though they're mavericks who can't endure even the informal collaboration of an unofficial group.
But winning isn't the important thing here. More significant will be the impact of the endeavour. Can they show the current regime to be "reckless" in the face of a recession, as Ootes said this week? Can they use the two days of television air time to elicit answers that build the foundation of a challenge at the polls in 2010?
Why add more than 1,000 hires when the private sector is shedding jobs? How does one justify the largest budgetary spending increase in Toronto's history and a $2.25 billion jump in spending in the past six years? Toronto city council as a collaborative body is a relic of a better time. That's the by-product of a strong mayor system with not enough checks and balances.
All we are left with is staged dissent, a precursor to something more permanent and formal – official party politics at city hall.