Miller no-show for Luminato/ROM?

[FutureMayor]

The shot at Miller and the "Toronto Government" is fair game. It is wrong that the Mayor of Canada's 6th largest government is no where to be seen at the opening of the most significant public building in the city and during the largest arts festival ever launched.

The city approved millions of dollars for CAPITAL FUNDS to build BMO Field run by Maple Leafs Sports, but can't give a few millions to the ARTS? Not to mention the MILLIONS to build Ricoh Coliseum, and the renovated Lion's Rink in South Etobicoke. All managed by who? Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. Taxpayer built and supported venues that a private corporation is profiting from.

Its hard to believe the Toronto Government is poor when it just approved spending over $100 million + of taxpayer dollars to fund an unwanted office building on the waterfront. Again, was a few million dollars in one time funding to one of the city's largest cultural venues so hard to manage?

Cities across Canada are helping fund new cultural venues, the city of Winnipeg with the Human Rights Museum, Hamilton with the expansion of the AGH, Mississauga funded 1/3 of the cost of the Living Arts Centre, and more recently, Brampton I believe built the Rose Theatre entirely with its own funds.

Now, poor Toronto can't help with capital funding, but how about operating funds to the LuminaTO festival? The largest thing to hit Toronto since the Film Festival was started. After reading the entire media brief binder, the Toronto Government and Miller was not mention once.

Louroz

 

[yyzer]

Miller...is no where to be seen

I would think that he was no where to be seen, because he probably wasn't invited.....you've got to pay, to play.....

 

[MetroMan]

Notably absent from the ROM Opening and all of LuminaTO for that matter is the “Toronto Government†and its fearless leader, David Miller.

The city manages to throw millions around for a new waterfront office building and a soccer stadium that could have easily been built by private corporations, but can’t cough up a few million dollars to contribute to the city’s cultural projects and new arts festival, all the while crying poor.

Thankfully the vision, leadership and money is found elsewhere in this city.

Louroz

Wow... good point Louroz... David Miller not being there is a big slap on the face. I wonder if he was even invited!

The whole city gathers here to see the opening of Toronto's newest landmark and the mayor isn't even present? wow..

 

[b13]

^ The reason why our mayor, Miller wasn't their was because half of city council including Miller was at a summit in Calgary discussing how to go about raising awarness about the 1 sect campaign. What FOOLS! These people use taxes payes money to go on a trip to Calgary when most are not needed when the money could of gone to other thing like LuminaTO, Waterfront Toronto etc.

 

[syn]

The shot at Miller and the "Toronto Government" is fair game. It is wrong that the Mayor of Canada's 6th largest government is no where to be seen at the opening of the most significant public building in the city and during the largest arts festival ever launched.

The city approved millions of dollars for CAPITAL FUNDS to build BMO Field run by Maple Leafs Sports, but can't give a few millions to the ARTS? Not to mention the MILLIONS to build Ricoh Coliseum, and the renovated Lion's Rink in South Etobicoke. All managed by who? Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. Taxpayer built and supported venues that a private corporation is profiting from.

Its hard to believe the Toronto Government is poor when it just approved spending over $100 million + of taxpayer dollars to fund an unwanted office building on the waterfront. Again, was a few million dollars in one time funding to one of the city's largest cultural venues so hard to manage?

Cities across Canada are helping fund new cultural venues, the city of Winnipeg with the Human Rights Museum, Hamilton with the expansion of the AGH, Mississauga funded 1/3 of the cost of the Living Arts Centre, and more recently, Brampton I believe built the Rose Theatre entirely with its own funds.

Now, poor Toronto can't help with capital funding, but how about operating funds to the LuminaTO festival? The largest thing to hit Toronto since the Film Festival was started. After reading the entire media brief binder, the Toronto Government and Miller was not mention once.

Louroz

Not too long ago you were complaining that Miller was too busy engaging the public in what amounted to nothing more than personal campaigning and photo-ops. Now he misses perhaps the biggest photo-op he could've got because he was at a conference dedicated to making the Federal Government provide more funding for cities (a campaign he started, by the way) and you're still complaining.

Let's not even mention the fact that LuminaTO probably doesn't happen with Miller as Mayor. Personally, I think it's impressive that they managed to get enough sponsors to make this a free, public, 10-day event.

I don't think Miller will ever win with you.



Regarding the ROM, I can't wait to see it. It looked like a nice event, even if you couldn't get in...it's too bad I missed it.

 

[FutureMayor]

Are you kidding me?

Are you kidding me? He flew to Calgary on taxpayers expense for the largest photo op with other Mayor's to try and get lukewarm support at best for his ill advised 1 cent campaign? Enough with the talk, crap and wasted energy at City Hall already!

I wasn't asking for Miller to show up for a photo op or to give a speech, I was pointing out the fact that this city clearly HAS CASH, but under Miller's leadership (if you can call it that) he has chosen to spend it on largest pet project ever: PROJECT CRAP. A project that the people of Toronto didn't ask for and neither did the Waterfront Toronto people.

That 100 + million could have easily have gone towards the capital costs of all these new buildings and LuminaTo festival, actual attractions and events that will drive tourism and jobs in this city.

In the end it's not about me, its about this city, its people and its future. In my humble opinion we have the WRONG person currently leading it.

Louroz

 

[simply Dan]

Do you think Jane Pitfield would have been any better? That was the alternative.

 

[FutureMayor]

Lack of Leadership

Why was she the only alternative?

Out of city of 2.5 million people we only had two candidates who was competent enough?

Miller pushing for a 4 year term, and creating this so called "strong mayor" system didn't help local democracy.

Louroz

 

[Andrew3D]

Are you kidding me? He flew to Calgary on taxpayers expense

Should he have paid for the trip himself? It was a working trip, does Hazel McCallion pay for all of her own trips when representing Mississauga?

Anyway, back to the R.O.M now. i tried to get in today but was unsuccessful, it would have been nice to get in there before all the exhibits move in.

 

[adma]

Sticking (but verrrry benignly) to the Miller issue, was there a municipal proxy for Miller? Kyle Rae, whomever? I'd presume (and without meaning to "politicize" the issue at all) that's the usual procedure when a leader cannot be at hand for whatever reason...

 

[ShonTron]

Not wanting to go into the politics (please, use the politics forum for debating the 1 cent GST, or Miller's competance), there was no municipal proxy. Adam Vaughan was there, on the guest list, but didn't speak.

It was, as I said,
Thorsell
Jean
McGuinty
Oda
Lee-Chin

 

[Edward Skira]

Future Mayor here we have the opening of the decade and all you can do is talk about Miller. Enough already. Take it elsewhere and leave this thread focused on the ROM.

 

[FutureMayor]

funding, participation and debate

Future Mayor here we have the opening of the decade and all you can do is talk about Miller. Enough already. Take it elsewhere and leave this thread focused on the ROM.

All I could talk about is how impressed I was with the opening celebrations. Talk about a lack of city funding and participation in the biggest opening of the decade was something to take note of.

Others wanted to debate that point, so I did. I don't think there was any harm in that.

Louroz

 

[Mike in TO]

Mayor should be in town as arts events help transform city (Toronto Star)

June 05, 2007
Martin Knelman

Has David Miller missed the boat, culturally speaking? On one of the most thrilling weekends the Toronto arts world has ever known, the mayor was in Calgary conducting official business. He's still there.

So he missed the marriage of culture and the waterfront symbolized partly by Pulse Front, a dazzling sculpture that has been lighting up the night sky at the water's edge, and partly by L'Art Boat, which offers free rides for festival-goers between Harbourfront Centre and the Distillery District.

Had the mayor been here instead of in Alberta, he would have witnessed a phenomenal arts love-in as Luminato embraced Toronto and the city embraced the festival.

He would also have been present at the historic point when 40,000 people lined Bloor St. W. for a free concert celebrating the opening of the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, architect Daniel Libeskind's daring and dramatic new wing of the Royal Ontario Museum.

Starting with a glitzy fundraising dinner, about 25,000 people trekked through the Crystal, some with timed tickets for 3 a.m. Sunday. But the mayor was not around to see how this city has been energized by the opening of the ROM.

You could get the idea that the people who elected him are more excited about the museum than the mayor, who was conspicuously absent from both the glitzy private opening of the ROM on Friday and the rowdy public street celebration on Saturday.

And halfway through Luminato, Miller has been nowhere to be seen at a festival that may forever change what Toronto is like in June.

Of course the mayor has an excuse. He is in Calgary attending that conference of municipalities fighting for that significant 1 per cent of federal tax revenue.

But could he not divide his time instead of spending almost an entire week in Calgary?

After all, Miller started out being the mayor who truly cared about arts and the artists.

Pleading poverty, the city contributed almost nothing to the ROM reinvention and the birth of Luminato – beyond putting up banners and waiving permit fees – although the city will enjoy a huge payoff from these developments.

Taken together, Luminato and the ROM have created joyous frenzy in the streets of Toronto. So, as a token gesture, you'd think the least he could do was show up for the grand occasions.

It sends a bad message when the guy in charge of the city stays out of town on the very weekend exuberant crowds are lining the streets and demonstrating how culture can transform Toronto.

Countless others came out for free Luminato happenings in Yorkville, the Distillery District and Harbourfront. We needed our mayor to be part of it. Instead, he was AWOL when Toronto morphed into Culture City.

As for L'Art Boat, Luminato is scheduling extra trips, longer hours and timed tickets on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings (the last three nights of the festival) to alleviate lineups.

Memo to the mayor: you're either on the arts boat or you're off.

 

[syn]

I think the article is somewhat unfair. Without Miller I don't see the LuminaTO festival really happening. He's really helped make the arts a priority here in his tenure. Should he have been here? Yes. But if he manages to spearhead another successful campaign for cities I think people will forgive him.