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Mayor John Tory's Toronto

Matlow would be an exceptional mayor, but I don't think he has enough visibility outside of city hall at the moment IMO.

Maybe if he becomes and effective opposition leader or forces some visible change to the budget to gain some public recognition.
 
Someone should tell Col. the difference between the "SUBWAYS, SUBWAYS, SUBWAYS!" and an at grade train service. The pressures of a failed existence are getting to him.

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Property tax hike to pay for Smart Track?

A property tax increase to help pay for Mayor John Tory’s SmartTrack?

City officials say a 2% tax hike is one way to pay for some of Toronto’s $2-billion share of Tory’s $3.7-billion election campaign centrepiece — SmartTrack, a planned surface rail transit service.
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http://www.torontosun.com/2016/10/31/property-tax-hike-to-pay-for-smart-track
 

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The vultures are circling as the predator moves in for the kill...

Enbridge making Toronto Hydro privatization pitch

Enbridge has hired a consultant who worked on Mayor John Tory's 2014 election campaign to lobby on privatization.

Calgary-based energy giant Enbridge Inc. is making a Toronto Hydro privatization pitch even before city council has decided to debate selling a chunk of the utility.

Enbridge’s “unsolicited proposal” is part of an uptick in pro- and anti-privatization lobbying reminiscent of the battle before council rejected a downtown waterfront casino proposal in 2013.

Phil Gillies, a Toronto lobbyist hired by Enbridge, talked Oct. 27 with city manager Peter Wallace about “helping the city meet its climate, energy and long-term financial objectives through monetization of Toronto Hydro,” according to the city’s lobbyist registry.

Gillies is a former Progressive Conservative MPP who was associate director of policy on Mayor John Tory’s 2014 election campaign. He told the Star that, under terms he negotiated with the lobbyist registrar earlier this year after leaving a consulting role on Tory’s housing task force, he can’t lobby the mayor until February 2017 but plans to lobby councillors on behalf of Enbridge.

A city communications official said Gillies approached Wallace at the end of last week’s executive committee meeting and they had “a brief conversation about the appropriate governance channels for outreach to Toronto Hydro” — Hydro’s board and executives.

The Star reported last week that Toronto Hydro has hired on contract two other senior members of Tory’s mayoral campaign, pollster and strategist Nick Kouvalis and communications consultant Bob Richardson, to work on privatization issues.

The Star in January revealed behind-the-scenes discussions involving Tory’s advisers and officials, and executives at Toronto Hydro, to set the stage for a partial sale of the city-owned, century-old distributor of electricity to about 740,000 customers.

“Enbridge has a multi-billion-dollar investment in this city, they have similar kinds of investors as Toronto Hydro, and I’m sure they’d love to get their foot in the door” of the provincially regulated monopoly with reliable returns, he said.

But a new lobbying campaign aims to keep Toronto Hydro, which currently pays the city an annual dividend about $60 million per year, completely in private hands.

“Our Hydro,” a coalition of community and labour groups, is knocking on doors in the wards of councillors on Tory’s executive committee, hoping to get residents to tell the politicians to reject any privatization push.

“We believe (privatization) will make bills skyrocket,” said Alejandra Ruiz Vargas of ACORN, a tenant advocacy group. “We are not able to pay the hydro now and it’s another burden. We are asking for a break.”

Toronto Hydro rates are set by the Ontario Energy Board. Those opposing a sale say private Hydro investors could ask the OEB to boost rates to give them a return on capital they pump into the utility.

Toronto Environmental Alliance is knocking on doors in Ward 17 and 18, represented by councillors Cesar Palacio and Ana Bailão respectively, telling residents that keeping Hydro in public hands is good for the environment.

“In the next 10 or 15 years, as we rely more on electricity than gasoline to move people, do we want those wires to be owned by a private company that is going to put their needs ahead of the needs of Torontonians?” said TEA executive director Franz Hartmann.
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https://www.thestar.com/news/city_h...making-toronto-hydro-privatization-pitch.html
 
I'm going to take the position of Devil's Advocate here, I'm as upset about Tory's bumbling as anyone, but the bottom line is there's no money, the coffers are dry.

I say keep Toronto Hydro, make no mistake, albeit a case can be made to privatize it, many municipalities already have, in part or in whole, but would many of you be willing to flip this over, and see private investment fund all the recent promises instead? I certainly am:
http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/threads/smarttrack-proposed.21038/page-218#post-1162715

Let's keep Toronto Hydro and many other assets that indicate being best held domestically. Big transit items? Investment Bank.
 
So lets go back for a moment and see how we got here. In January the Globe & Mail reported behind the scenes efforts in the mayor's office and at Toronto Hydro to pave way for privatization. John Tory responded:

"There are all kinds of ideas floating around every day but I can tell you that there is no plan in front of me, there has been no plan in front of me and I am not expecting a plan to be in front of me that has to do with Toronto Hydro"​


Then in a September speech to the Toronto Board of Trade, after he and city manager said in May privatization had to be on the table:

"We have an obligation to look at all the options including unlocking the value that already exists in Toronto Hydro, while keeping it in public hands."​


His argument at the time was that privatization was necessary to help fund Hydro grid upgrades (despite Ontario Energy Board-approved 2015 hike for capital spending). He dismissed talk of using money from Toronto Hydro sale for SmartTrack as "rumors" and "conspiracy theories". And then this happens:

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And now we find out that Enbridge has hired a Tory campaign consultant to lobby on privatization. So many pals, so many lies, flip flopping, and behind-the-scenes message crafting. I guarantee there is more to come.
 

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It may be my naivete, but I just find selling assets a short term solution - sure you get a big one time big influx of income to build transit, but is it enough to maintain the new infrastructure? And at some point you will run out of things to sell.

Are Torontonians really *that* against a poperty tax increase? Assuming that there's a guarantee that X amount will be channeled to transit. Make use of our density and raise the tax as little as possible, and let's move on. I'm just tired of all this talking, and short term ideas.

In the tech industry, we have this term vapourware, and Toronto transit updates would definitely qualify for it.
 
sixrings said:
I would be ok with selling the gardiner if every last penny went to a DLR Long and west. I cant stomach selling assets for things which are questionable.
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Your post got a lot of thumbs up for good reason: It's not just the specific you state, it's the gist! TheGardiner being sold is an interesting idea, and I can't see all ends, it's absolutely worthy of further discussion, but it's your last line that really hits the mark:
sixrings said:
I cant stomach selling assets for things which are questionable.
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Absolutely! We don't need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Just because you can't afford to buy a home doesn't mean that renting puts your family up for prostitution.

Sometimes it's better to rent! That doesn't mean for a second that your moral values are in any way diminished. The term "Commonwealth" continues to pertain.

This discussion, if I read the possibilities of the Investment Bank reaching critical mass, is going to be continued...
 
salsa said:
So lets go back for a moment and see how we got here. In January the Globe & Mail reported behind the scenes efforts in the mayor's office and at Toronto Hydro to pave way for privatization...
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Good digging! I'm not here to hang Tory on his own petard, he's doing a good enough job himself...and I do have some sympathy for the man, but he has to learn what "mea culpa" means. And it's not espresso coffee.

He's done the same petard swinging on SmarfTrack.
 
tripwire said:
It may be my naivete, but I just find selling assets a short term solution - sure you get a big one time big influx of income to build transit, but is it enough to maintain the new infrastructure? And at some point you will run out of things to sell.

Are Torontonians really *that* against a poperty tax increase? Assuming that there's a guarantee that X amount will be channeled to transit. Make use of our density and raise the tax as little as possible, and let's move on.
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In all fairness, this is late coming to Canada, let alone Toronto, but Vancouver has done this with her ports (half owned by the Feds IIRC)(open to correcting that) I know there are three ports in the last sell-off, but this is happening in many advanced nations, and there *is* "long-term" benefit in doing it, especially if they need a massive injection of capital to modernize and stay competitive. And in the case of, say Australia, (privatization of ports is on a national scale) the money is going into massive transit schemes. I'll qualify that claim with reference later.
tripwire said:
I'm just tired of all this talking, and short term ideas.
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You're missing the advantage! Some things are better done in Investors' hands, not least because of the massive amount of cash they're sitting on, team that with Federal Infrastructure Funding, and you have a partnership with the Law on one hand, (The Feds have incredible power under a number of Acts already on the books) the other with the Cash.

It allows doing *much larger projects* (Like the Missing Link) that will render taxpayer funded projects vastly more efficient and affordable.
 
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