Damned If You Do Damned If You Don't...

Walkin' The Talk

She will be missed by many but not by omrade Miller and his band of leftist clowns.

Sun scribe runs for PCs in by-election

By IAN ROBERTSON, SUN MEDIA

Sun city hall columnist Sue-Ann Levy fulfilled her long-standing political ambitions yesterday by filing nomination papers as the Progressive Conservative candidate in the provincial St. Paul's riding.

Sue-Ann turns aim on preem

By JOE WARMINGTON

A few years ago I popped into a party at Liberal election-campaign genius Warren Kinsella's office and bumped into Michael Bryant, who was then attorney general and fresh off banning pit bulls.

Bolster Their Resumes When Looking For Jobs......

......"a number of traditional and land-based skills, which range from building an igloo to using modern and traditional hunting equipment, to forecasting the weather using the clouds, moon, stars and sun." If $34 million had been pumped into the school system when I was a kid I would be able to speak Ukrainian, dance, make perogies, etc.

Traditional skills to be taught at Nunavut's new cultural school

Another Of Those "Good" Causes Hijacked ........

Chris Selley: MADD needs to get back to basics

Posted: August 06, 2009, 5:10 PM by NP Editor

Here's a quote for the ages: “We have no problem with the president serving beer at the White House.”

The source of this magnanimous concession to hospitality is Chuck Hurley, CEO of the American branch of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. (Yeah, that's right, Chuck Hurley. What are you sniggering about?) He was responding to a minor fracas earlier this week involving Nancy Raynor, president of MADD's Delaware chapter — all the best minor summer fracases come from Delaware — who told a radio station that “young people tend to mimic the actions that they see be adult.” If one was of a conspiratorial nature, one might read that to mean there was something inherently unfortunate about the President drinking beer, or being seen to drink beer on television. (Rayner claims to have been quoted out of conext.) And if you were the American Beverage Institute, which is basically MADD's arch-nemesis, you might release an over-excited press release claiming this was yet more evidence of MADD's “neo-prohibitionist agenda.” And if you were the media, gagging for news in the August doldrums, you might just run with it.

Click here to read more...

Will Gladly Debate This In Mid-February.....

Street chaos: Bikes vs. cars

By RACHEL SA

The Battle of Bikes is not just confined to the streets of Toronto.

Adam Vaughan Take Note........

Win-win-win situation “It’s good for business, it’s good for the environment – and it’s good for the girls.” - Thomas Goetz, owner of a German brothel, responding to the economic crisis by offering a discount to customers who arrive on bicycle or by public transport

The Year of the Spoke (too soon)

In the wake of the mayor’s late-2008 announcement, this year should be the first in Toronto’s history where the Bike Plan would be fully funded, with an ambitious push to have the equally-ambitious 1,000km of new bike lanes completed by 2012. But no matter how much the city gets behind the bike, the experience of cycling in Toronto has changed very little over the years. And if we’re really serious about promoting cycling as an effective alternate means of transport, that experience needs to improve. ...more

There Is No Question We Are In Trouble......

.....but are the alternatives, liberals, ndp, bloc, green, a solution? I don't believe so. We need to start kicking ass rather than kissing ass which is the hallmark of the left.

Party's over for Canada's Progressive Conservatives
Arthur Haberman 69 min. ago

I recently attended a university convocation ceremony at which an honourary degree was given to Joe Clark, celebrating his many contributions to Canadian politics and public life.

John Mraz: Is there a Prime Minister in the House?

Posted: July 16, 2009, 1:00 PM by NP Editor

It is said by wizened pols and pundits that governments are voted out, not in. There’s a lot of evidence that supports that axiom. In Ontario, Ernie Eves suffered the legacy of predecessor Mike Harris’s administration, shown the door by a then-unsettlingly demure, unknown Dalton McGuinty. Barack Obama may not have found a soap box upon which to preach his message of hope and action had the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld axis of imperialism not chased every moderate and undecided voter over the fence. Paul Martin, after a long-fought triumphal coronation, lost favour with the masses as the Liberal brand became synonymous with indictments, hearings and investigations -- deserved or not.

With an election forecast for this autumn or soon thereafter, the application of this axiom becomes difficult. All four elected parties and their leaders are currently struggling just to hold the ground for which they’ve fought. Polling suggests that no politician-- whether by character, ideology or ideas -- has created a wedge that might end this stalemate.

Click here to read more...

.......is the answer over 'ome?

Kelly McParland: Harper could take a cue from Cameron on Pride

Posted: July 16, 2009, 3:00 PM by NP Editor

While Canada's Conservatives were once again doing their best to chase away votes last week, chastising Diane Ablonczy for supporting Toronto's Pride parade, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's counterpart in Britain was trying to make up for years of similarly bad decisions.

As The Telegraph reported:

David Cameron has publicly apologized for Section 28, the law introduced by the Thatcher government banning local authorities from promoting homosexuality.

The Tory leader, speaking at a Gay pride event, went much further than before in apologizing for decisions taken by the party when Baroness Thatcher was leader.

Mr Cameron, the first Tory leader to speak at a Gay pride event, said: "I am sorry for Section 28. We got it wrong. It was an emotional issue. I hope you can forgive us."

Section 28, which became law in 1988, banned local authorities from portraying homosexuality in a positive light. It became a totemic issue for Conservative modernisers. In 2003, when it was abolished by the Labour government, Mr Cameron voted for only the partial lifting of the ban.

The Conservative leader, who appears to stand an excellent chance of becoming Prime Minister as Gordon Brown's Labour government totters from crisis to crisis, made the announcement at a Pride "event," but did not attend London's Pride parade, pleading "constituency events."

Click here to read more...

Evolution........

Right On The Money

Boring......being interviewed for an associate's job at a fast food restaurant would be more exciting.

Senior Beauracrats Protecting You And I

Pressure to move stimulus money out door quickly starting to show in senior ranks

Pressure to get the federal government's $35-billion massive stimulus package out the door quickly while respecting the new Federal Accountability Act, is showing some cracks in the upper echelon of the public service, say insiders.

There Is Always A Downside To Progress

Waterfront finally taking shape

By SUN MEDIA

We may finally have reached the tipping point on Toronto's waterfront revitalization.

.

Waterfront WaveDecks raising concerns

The Ontario Safety League is speaking out against what they say is dangerous waterfront architecture that from a safety perspective presents an injury hazard.

The Star"s Expose On Landlord Discrimination Missed This......

Tenant blues (sung to the tune of Hotel California)

July 10, 2009

Joe Fiorito

To live in community housing is to tack a leaky, rat-infested ship between the Scylla of frustration and the Charybdis of woe.

On Wednesday we met a man who was acclaimed as the tenant rep for his building. Marc Charbonneau got off to a ripsnorting start; alas, when he began to make calls and send emails about the problems in his building, he was ignored by the Toronto Community Housing Corporation. So he sent a sharp, short note.

He quit.

Now meet Dennis Black, whose woes are equally troublesome, although perhaps more personal.

Dennis used to live in a TCHC building on Oak St. in Regent Park. He, too, was once a tenant rep.

"I was an advocate for improved security. We used to petition TCHC. We had meetings. We organized a neighbourhood watch – we'd walk the neighbourhood at night, and when people came to do drugs we'd call the cops. I'm not a rat. I just want to live safely."

In addition to the drugs, there were bugs and rats and roaches. But Dennis keeps neat. His apartment – he showed me the pix – was spic and span.

Love struck a couple of years ago. His dearest is a PhD candidate. She had a small apartment of her own, in a private house. When the baby came along, they decided to move in together. But her place wasn't suitable. His place? Too small, and too dangerous.

So Dennis – he's a freelance computer guy who repairs bikes and goes to school part-time – asked TCHC if he might transfer to a bigger apartment in another building, in order to gather his family around him.

No dice.

Because, if it is hard to get into TCHC housing – the waiting list is long and deep – it is harder, once you're in, to transfer to another unit. "They said I didn't have a good enough reason."

Since when is a man's family not a good reason?

They began to look for another place to live. His dearest studies at the university. They put their names on a list for married student accommodation.

They got lucky. They got a call – your name has come up, there's an apartment in a building on Charles St. Tell us now, do you want the place or not?

Irony alert: The building on Charles St. used to be owned by TCHC. Under different management, it is clean, and has 24-hour security.

Dennis did what you or I would do. He moved from Oak St. on Dec. 6, 2006.

In January 2008, he began to get calls and letters from a collection agency. The letters were vague but sharply pointed, claiming he owed $1,030. No explanation of why he owed the money, or to whom.

So Dennis did some digging and discovered he was being chased by TCHC for penalty money, owed because he did not give proper notice when he moved.

Like he'd had a choice.

He said, "Social housing should be about helping, not hurting. They should get this off my credit record – take me to court, or take this off my record."

Rules are rules, but common sense is trumps. I'm guessing TCHC rented his apartment in no time, given the housing shortage.

Here's what I don't get:

TCHC acts for us. If we could not help him, why would we want to hurt him? Dennis was a superior tenant, never late with his rent, who left his place better than when he found it. TCHC ought to have wished him well and sent him flowers. Instead, they sent a collection agency.

That's just wrong.

Root Cause Of Economic ebacle

The Fannie and Freddie debacle: An autopsy

By Michelle Malkin • July 7, 2009 09:57 AM

Has McGinty Not Heard Of Filmport

Ontario gives $263 million to company that makes $111 million in profit. Smart

Posted: July 07, 2009, 2:00 PM by NP Editor

Weren't we supposed to have learned something from the recession? Apparently not.

Here we are bailing out General Motors and other corporate casualties, and yet the Ontario government is still handing millions in a “grant” to a company to open an office here.

It’s bad enough that companies with terrible balance sheets get cash from taxpayers, but encouraging software companies that make money to play the same game is something else again. If you're losing money, Ontario wants to support you. If you're making money, Ontario wants to support you. Maybe this is what Michael Bryant meant by "government as entrepreneur".

The Toronto Star:

A major video-game company that made $111.5 million in global profits last year on popular titles such as Assassin's Creed is getting a $263 million grant from the Ontario government to open a new studio in Toronto and create 800 jobs over a 10-year period.

The deal was announced yesterday after a three-year courtship of Ubisoft, which is based in France and employs 2,200 in Montreal.

Other games in its stable include Prince of Persia, Far Cry and the Tom Clancy titles Splinter Cell and Rainbow Six.

But Ontario taxpayers won't get a share of the company's profits from games developed at the new Toronto studio to open later this year, Premier Dalton McGuinty said.

"Do we get a piece of the action? No, no," the Premier said. "What we're talking about here is an investment in jobs and in strengthening the industry as a whole.

National Post

The Result of Walking Away From Core Values

The minute Stephen decided staying in power by catering to the left wing cradle to grave mentality was more important than adhering to the core values of conservatives we become pseudo liberals.
Harper got it all wrong, budget watchdog says

by Les Whittington

66 min. ago

Canada could shed a total of 1.2 million jobs this year and next, the parliamentary budget watchdog predicts.

Chase Out Those Vaginal Devils Reverend!

JACKSON CELEBRATION: Rev. Sharpton Grinding Woman At Apollo...

What An Interesting oncept! Schools Run By Taxpayers Rather Than Teaher's Unions.

A testament to community power
by Carol Goar

They Make A Valid Argument But From A Tarnished Power Base

CUPE: Fast and cheap student grading isn't the answer

Posted: June 25, 2009, 9:15 AM by NP Editor

By Mikael Swayze and Alison Norman

The National Post’s June 22 editorial (“Proudly stopping progress”) got one thing right about the University of Toronto teaching assistants of CUPE 3902. We are proud. We are proud of the work we do and the contribution we make to maintaining quality education at the university. That’s precisely why we opposed the administration’s attempts to replace teaching assistants with software that had students grading other students’ work for free.

The “innovation” in question — software created at the university called peerScholar — allows students to write short written pieces and have them “graded” by fellow students. The issue isn’t so much the merits of this peer-review grading approach. It’s the use of the technology to replace, rather than supplement, grading by qualified professionals. Students deserve this feedback to better equip them to move forward in their studies.

Imagine if we took the principle a step further. Why not allow peer assessment in hospitals? What if five patients were surveyed about the appropriate medication to prescribe to another patient? What if “on average” they were as good as doctors? Would that be good health care? Or just good luck?

Click here to read more...

ABM

Tory's dithering hurts his chance to be mayor By PETER WORTHINGTON

John Tory would be a better Toronto mayor than David Miller.

That's not necessarily a compliment. Almost anyone would be better.

But of all the contenders for the job in 2010, Tory -- who fell 36,000 votes short of winning when he ran in 2003 -- seems best suited for the job. He'd almost be a cinch if he'd made such a decision after the last provincial election which he almost single-handedly blew for the Tories.

He's now tainted, not only because of how he screwed up in the 2007 provincial election, but also because of his curious insistence of thinking he could stay on as Conservative leader without a seat in the Legislature after losing.

In spite of all that, he still seems best equipped to bring sense and balance to Toronto, and to deal with those elements that seem to have Mayor Miller in their sway.

The mystery of Tory still resonates. Regardless of his worthiness as a possible mayor, he'll have a tougher time persuading voters next time around than last time, when he was a outsider who gained support the longer the campaign went on.

If he runs in 2010, and if there really is a "draft Tory" movement as he seems to hope, he's unlikely to wind up 200,000 votes ahead of his nearest rival, as he led Barbara Hall last time.

In fact, a split of anti-Miller votes would be disastrous.

THOMPSON HAS POTENTIAL

Scarborough Centre Coun. Michael Thompson is said to be contemplating running, and he has the potential of being a great mayor -- but only if he'll speak his mind on all issues and take politically incorrect stances that resonate among the sensible public. Karen Stintz and Denzil Minnan-Wong are also interested in the job.

Politicians who try to anticipate public opinion rather than seeking to mould it (that is, by leading rather than following), often become casualties.

In the provincial election, Tory proposed expanding public financing for religious schools and raised hackles among the public.

And why the damn fool abandoned a safe Tory seat to challenge a popular education minister in Toronto remains mind-boggling. Not since George Drew (1943-48) has a Conservative leader won a Toronto riding.

Yes, he'd likely have been a better premier than Dalton McGuinty -- likeable, sensible, connected, honourable, realistic and a whole mess of virtues except for fatal flaws that were mindful of Joe Clark as Tory leader who infamously couldn't shoot straight.

It's a pity Tory didn't immediately resign as Tory leader after losing in 2007 and announce his intention to challenge the 2010 mayoralty election in Toronto. Instead, he's become something of a standing joke, which he'll have to deal with if his mayoral candidacy is to be taken seriously.

In Toronto, Miller has been a lousy mayor. A growing number wish they'd voted for Tory in 2003 when they had the chance. At least Tory understands business, empathizes with wage-earners, has some noblesse oblige.

Mayor Miller favours high property taxes, expanding public services, high wages for politicians and unions, screwing up Toronto's roads, spending more on the fake homeless, pandering to street predators, even alienating the police, snuggling closer to lib-left activists, babbling about guns. The list goes on.

There's no guarantee John Tory could provide the leadership to rescue Toronto, but it's an absolute certainty that David Miller can't, won't, doesn't want to.

I Thouht The Current Issue Was Muniipal Elections?

Premier opposed to non-citizen vote By ANTONELLA ARTUSO Call him "old fashioned," but Premier Dalton McGuinty says only Canadian citizens should be allowed to vote in elections.

Monday, June 15, 2009
Non-Citizens Should Have Voting Rights

Contrary to rather overexcited commentary from a few of my Tory friends, I support David Millar's proposal to give voting rights to non-citizen residents of Toronto. If they are good enough to pay taxes then they are good enough to vote. After all all local government does is spend taxpayers' money, so it's only fair if payees get to decide who does the spending.

Conversely those that don't pay taxes should not be able to decide how local government gets to spend other peoples' money.

at 6:50 PM
12 comments:

Anonymous said...
How precisely would you decide who pays taxes. Even a 10-year old kid pays taxes in Toronto with his paper delivery money when s/he buys candy at the grocery store. Especially if s/he needs a plastic bag. Should they be given the vote? Not a citizen. No vote. Good God, isn't citizenship worth something in this country?
15/6/09 19:09

Anonymous said...
And I suppose if I visit the UK and buy something I should be able to vote in their election since I'm paying taxes too. What a retarded argument you have going for yourself. Do you not care for the value of citizenship?
15/6/09 19:13

Bec said...
I would assume that taxes are assessed in TO, the same or a similar way they are in Calgary. Only property owners pay taxes so to suggest that they pay taxes at a municipal level would be incorrect, I believe.
The rest of your position seems to have been based on that and so I thought that I would clarify that one aspect if it does indeed apply.
15/6/09 19:30

shlemazl said...
@Bec:
Good point. Municipal taxes are raised either through property tax (including on business) or as a contribution from the province. In the case of Toronto national government also provides funding for various projects. And a small proportion comes from various user-fees, such as parking charges.
Ultimately you don't contribute very much net tax if you don't have a job. As far as I am concerned that means you shouldn't have much say on how other peoples' tax should be spend. Then we'd get rid of David Millar in no time.
15/6/09 19:57

kursk said...
If you allow tens of thousands of non-citizens to vote in Toronto, you will never get rid of David Miller and his band of merry socialists.
With an ever increasing stream of voting enabled people coming into Toronto every year, it would be his ace in the hole, a ready made voting bloc..
As others have stated, do not give rights of citizenship out so cheaply.I served in the armed forces and earned my right to vote through civic duty.I firmly believe that is something that must be demanded of all new citizens, X number of hours of community service, to be done in an area of the govts choosing.
15/6/09 20:30

Anonymous said...
Are you mental? What other gifts would you like to heap onto non-citizens - Hell, why even bother getting citizenship. You are aware of who these people would vote for aren't you? I really wonder who you would vote for.
15/6/09 21:11

shlemazl said...
"These people"? Is it like the notorious "this woman" comment by Clinton?
Anon, your comment stinks. And yes, I am aware who "these people" would vote for:
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/617028
15/6/09 21:23

Hoarfrost said...
If David Miller is for it then there is a hidden agenda. I will be against it if only for that reason.
15/6/09 22:36

Hoarfrost said...
Furthermore! Citizenship should take ten years not a few. Revocable for treasonous acts.
15/6/09 22:39

shlemazl said...
Millar's agenda is quite obvious. He thinks the new immigrants, most of whom come on family reunification programmes and don't have any income, would vote for commies like him who like to spend other people's taxes in large quantities.
His campaign is using "no taxation without representation" slogan. Which is why I am proposing to only give voting rights to people who have income and pay taxes.
15/6/09 22:47

Anonymous said...
David Miller proposes this voting for all residents of TO for one reason alone - ethnic voting blocs. The good citizens of Toronto should be really fair and civic minded and impose term limits on the mayor's office. According to Miller's reasoning all voices should be heard. Perhaps having a new mayor on a regular basis would be a good thing for governance. Cheers Fern StAlbert
16/6/09 00:47

Anonymous said...
I don't see that as practical, what would the resident non-citizen do, bring his pay stub to the polling booth. It would open up Charter suits of economic discrimination if resident non-citizens with discernible income were allowed to vote and others weren't.
Best to have uniform voting lists based on citizenship for municipal, provincial, federal elections.
16/6/09 06:25