Needed: The guts for a revolution
The worst part? This may have been a solo effort – another kamikaze mission, one fears, destined to cause a mini-eruption before evaporating into a puff of nothingness.
Somewhere in between is an effective strategy waiting to be discovered. And there is no time like the present to find the kryptonite when the issue is the degradation of infrastructure all across the country – roads, sewers, bridges, transit.
McCallion, the octogenarian mayor of Mississauga – a city of 670,000 poised to be the GTA's first suburban city to experience Toronto-like urban decay and challenges – didn't pull punches as she laid out the challenge for cities across Canada.
Speaking to her city's business leaders, she challenged them to get organized, get off their duffers, eschew old political alliances, and go to bat for their city, which is stressed by lack of federal support.
"We are so far behind in this country, it is pitiful," McCallion said. "We need help. Our infrastructure is lacking badly."
Nothing new there. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities puts the national infrastructure deficit at $122 billion. Mississauga has imposed a 1 per cent tax surcharge to help cover such costs. Toronto is in grave debt. The feds underfund Ontario cities for unemployment training and immigrant settlement ... You get the idea.
This should be the stuff of revolutionary dissent – except too many of our mayors are lazy, smug, do-nothings more intent on protecting their political party friends than looking after constituents.
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