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Mayor John Tory's Toronto

The current state of Toronto's City council is horrific. Along with Tory, the band of do-nothing idiots are holding this City back from becoming great. And I don't know how the fix it, the inner suburbs have too much negative influence on the City as a whole.
 
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The current state of Toronto's City council is horrific. Along with Tory, the band of do-nothing idiots are holding this City back from becoming even greater. And I don't know how the fix it, the inner suburbs have too much negative influence on the City as a whole.

This is why I say that amalgamation was a bad idea. Things were better when it was Metro and everything was it's own city.
 
This is why I say that amalgamation was a bad idea. Things were better when it was Metro and everything was it's own city.
Not sure where your evidence is. As far as I remember, most of the "new' Councillors were simply the old ones recycled - in fact some, like Frances Nunziata, are still with us. The real problem is the division of power between City Council and the Community Councils.

The Community Councils are supposed to replicate the "old" separate Councils but far too much was reserved to City Council. Though there is certainly a risk of parochialism (yes, Etobicoke - that's you!) but if Community Councils had more decision-making power it would stop suburban Councillors interfering with the more progressive downtown ones (and vice versa!)
 
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Add the Ford era council cuts surely didn't help make things any better.

Expanding council wasn't going to solve the problem either. It's the only good thing Ford has done. Unfortunately, it just resulted in council digging even deeper rather than utilizing community councils more effectively.
 
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This is why I say that amalgamation was a bad idea. Things were better when it was Metro and everything was it's own city.
We need to be a city state. Yes I know it is complicated - complicated like coming up with a DNA genome for an unknown virus and a series of vaccines to deal with said virus? Let's face it we can do incredible things when we want to, it's just that those in power are too busy managing the crap Colonial admin structure to develop any imaginative or creative solutions. In response to the medias most recent obsession with car jacking (remember the leafs losing another play off game? probably not, that was last week) Tory has yet again written a bloody letter to upper government to whine about his own citizen's behaviour. Hey, Mayor how about telling people to raise their children properly, with morals and self-control? *crickets* It's nowt to do with government funding, these clowns are driving around in cars with guns, what do you want the feds to do about it?
 
we can do incredible things when we want to
It's that we don't want to.

Very few want to reopen the constitution, Torontonians didn't seem to care enough when Keesmaat suggested it, most of Ontario doesn't want to ceed it's economic engine, and the rest of the country hates Toronto.
 
It's that we don't want to.

Very few want to reopen the constitution, Torontonians didn't seem to care enough when Keesmaat suggested it, most of Ontario doesn't want to ceed it's economic engine, and the rest of the country hates Toronto.
I'm not convinced that no one wants to it is just that it seems so impossible, but consider that 5 years ago the templates for dealing with a global pandemic were very different almost like science fiction. When necessity makes the impossible possible, society has to step up. The colonial admin structures take into account 10000 as an average, Canada has multiple urban areas with millions of people why hasn't our governance structure evolved to? Maybe it is self-interest, Tory et al made a spectacle of a slap fight with the province while the feds stood by. 25 councilors for nearly 3 million people? Housing, transit, infrastructure, etc, etc? Can't be done efficiently. See how they are all moving on to other cushy assignments, it's too much. Clearly the powers that be don't want to address the issue so they create smoke screens (the constitution - which Trudeaus father revived!).
We are hated because it seems we hand our problems to others, in fact we are following the proper existing power structure. We need our own power structure but God Bless her, Queen Victoria and her ministers won't let us.
 
We need to be a city state. Yes I know it is complicated - complicated like coming up with a DNA genome for an unknown virus and a series of vaccines to deal with said virus? Let's face it we can do incredible things when we want to, it's just that those in power are too busy managing the crap Colonial admin structure to develop any imaginative or creative solutions. In response to the medias most recent obsession with car jacking (remember the leafs losing another play off game? probably not, that was last week) Tory has yet again written a bloody letter to upper government to whine about his own citizen's behaviour. Hey, Mayor how about telling people to raise their children properly, with morals and self-control? *crickets* It's nowt to do with government funding, these clowns are driving around in cars with guns, what do you want the feds to do about it?
We need to be a City state.... until "the wrong people" are in charge of it. There's a lot of assumptions made by those in favour of this idea that it will always be people who agree with them on everything that will run it. It won't be like that.
 
We need to be a City state.... until "the wrong people" are in charge of it. There's a lot of assumptions made by those in favour of this idea that it will always be people who agree with them on everything that will run it. It won't be like that.
As it is now, we are the majority who exist for the minority. Tax money collected in Toronto, and because of Toronto pays dividends for rural areas and small towns, but barely benefits locals to anywhere near the same extent. We built towers so that ½ acre lots in the middle of nowhere can be built. This imbalance must be fixed.
 
As it is now, we are the majority who exist for the minority. Tax money collected in Toronto, and because of Toronto pays dividends for rural areas and small towns, but barely benefits locals to anywhere near the same extent. We built towers so that ½ acre lots in the middle of nowhere can be built. This imbalance must be fixed.
The argument being that every jurisdiction should be a fiefdom that doesn't look out for other areas? Classic Canada.

The whole "we build towers" thing is self-imposed. If the provincial government imposed sensible zoning, there would be a contingent of people who'd cry that they were working on the orders of rural areas. Toronto gets investments that other parts of the province doesn't get - highways, transit, and so on.

Besides, I'd imagine that the suburbs would dominate a Toronto-province. Hardly the argument you seem to be making.
 
I'm not convinced that no one wants to it is just that it seems so impossible, but consider that 5 years ago the templates for dealing with a global pandemic were very different almost like science fiction. When necessity makes the impossible possible, society has to step up. The colonial admin structures take into account 10000 as an average, Canada has multiple urban areas with millions of people why hasn't our governance structure evolved to? Maybe it is self-interest, Tory et al made a spectacle of a slap fight with the province while the feds stood by. 25 councilors for nearly 3 million people? Housing, transit, infrastructure, etc, etc? Can't be done efficiently. See how they are all moving on to other cushy assignments, it's too much. Clearly the powers that be don't want to address the issue so they create smoke screens (the constitution - which Trudeaus father revived!).
We are hated because it seems we hand our problems to others, in fact we are following the proper existing power structure. We need our own power structure but God Bless her, Queen Victoria and her ministers won't let us.
I'm sure there are some that do want it, but not nearly enough people to make it happen. I certainly don't care about it, and don't see how it would really change things other than having someone new to complain about not being progressive enough, or complain that they are ignoring the suburbs. 25 councillors seems plenty if they stick to policy and leave the busy work to community councils.
 
I'm sure there are some that do want it, but not nearly enough people to make it happen. I certainly don't care about it, and don't see how it would really change things other than having someone new to complain about not being progressive enough, or complain that they are ignoring the suburbs. 25 councillors seems plenty if they stick to policy and leave the busy work to community councils.
I'm not sure I understand your point -- who does the community council work today if not the elected councillors who represent that area of the city? How are they selected/hired? And what constitutes the "busy work" that should be delegated to them instead of to staff in the councillor's office?
 
I'm not sure I understand your point -- who does the community council work today if not the elected councillors who represent that area of the city? How are they selected/hired? And what constitutes the "busy work" that should be delegated to them instead of to staff in the councillor's office?

Community councils are made up of the local councilors for the area. They handle local issues that then get referred to City Council if needed.

Busy work like minor building permits (household renovations, etc) and local issues like tree removal/replacement should be delegated. City Council doesn't need to be swamped with permits for building a deck, tree removal etc.

Other local issues like where to put pedestrian crossings, traffic light timing and other ward specific issues should also be delegated to community council. Again, City Council shouldn't be bogged down by the timing of traffic lights on a stretch of Birchmount Road.

Likewise, they shouldn't be bothered by tree planting and similar issues in wards which don't affect other areas.

Essentially, anything affecting Toronto as a whole should be delegated to Community Council. I doubt a councilor in Etobicoke cares about tree planting on a residential street in Scarborough.
 

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