Rob Ford's Toronto

[christiesplits]

They elect Rob Ford so that he'll do nothing to stop the City from doing what he doesn't want? That makes a whole heap of sense!

No way Ford would jump on that. He champions himself a defender of social housing. Going after those units would be a slap in the face of all those TCHC tenants he does DIY and grocery shopping for.

 

[ParkdalePetunia]

No way Ford would jump on that. He champions himself a defender of social housing. Going after those units would be a slap in the face of all those TCHC tenants he does DIY and grocery shopping for.

I saw on twitter allusions to a comment he made about the waterfront not being for "affordable housing". He is not a defender of social housing and it will be very easy to find the sound bites that prove that.

Plus the TCHC audit that came out this summer (years after he was brought into office) was revealing. He has not fixed the TCHC, if anything it's worse under him, and because of his cuts the buildings are in worst shape.

 

[Dubster]

Torontoist published Bill Blair's remarks on Project Traveler in full:

There’s another issue—and I’ll speak with a certain amount of caution on this. One of the investigations we did earlier this year involved alleged gang activity in the west end of the city. At the conclusion of that investigation a number of young people were arrested, a number of firearms were seized, a number of very significant charges were laid, and I stepped forward to announce that. But—this was towards the end of June, this was Project Traveller—there were a number of other questions of peripheral issues that were put to me. And I just wanted to make some explanation to you as to why I took the position I did with respect to the disclosure of that information.

The police are given extraordinary powers. We are given the powers to conduct investigations. We are given the powers to undertake surveillance on people, to listen to their conversations, to interrogate, to search, to gather information and to gather evidence. We are not given those extraordinary powers to gossip. We are not given those extraordinary powers to feed to the press. And quite frankly, in my opinion, there’s a great different between the public interest and what the public’s interested in.

But I also want to assure the people of Toronto that when there is evidence of wrongdoing, we will leave no stone unturned, that we will pursue every avenue of investigation that is required to do our jobs and to uphold the law, and that will be done without fear and without favour. It will be done in the right way. But the evidence we gather is only evidence to be placed before the courts, and in this case that is what we have done. We have conducted those investigations, we have gathered that information, and we have placed it quite appropriately before the courts. That’s where it belongs.

Integrity in my business is contingent upon us upholding the laws. The law gives us the authority to gather that information, and the law tells me exactly what I am supposed to do with it, and that’s put it before the courts. It is the court’s job and the court’s determination, as to what information should or should not be presented as evidence in court, or made public. That’s a process that’s going on right now, but I wanted to share that with you. I’m not going to speak about any of that investigation or any of that evidence, but I wanted to assure you all that the Toronto Police Service will do its job. I’ll make sure it does its job and that we will conduct all investigations, leave no stone unturned. We will conduct ourselves with integrity and we will do it without fear or favour of anyone, and we’ll use the evidence that we gather appropriately and put it before the courts.

 

[James_D]

Torontoist published Bill Blair's remarks on Project Traveler in full:

Maybe I'm just a dreamer but that statement sounds fairly unequivocal and a strong indictment of Rob.

 

[Torontovibe]

A break from Rob Ford for a minute, to laugh about some other Tories.
[video=youtube_share;yresaKOlr7g]http://youtu.be/yresaKOlr7g[/video]

 

[christiesplits]

Maybe I'm just a dreamer but that statement sounds fairly unequivocal and a strong indictment of Rob.

I hope so. Has he ever given such a statement to the media? It seems like an awfully bold declaration, and one that is tied to an investigation for the ages.

 

[Torontovibe]

Yeah, the imagery he's been conjuring is unsettling. The promise of dirty politics, bloodbath and his quote from the radio station when he said "It's like a hockey game when you're sitting on the bench and you can't wait to get in there and drop the gloves."

What a brutally, savagely stupid human being.

All that is, is intimidation. They used tricks to prevent John Tory from running last time and now they are sending out a clear message to Tory and anybody else who runs, that they will be looking for dirt on them and ruin that person's reputation. I guess living in Chicago for years, has taught Doug to play dirty and intimidation is just one of the tricks these guys have up their sleeves. What I would find shocking is if Torontonians accept this as an acceptable way of doing politics. Are Torontonians fine with intimidation, threats, lies and all this thuggery? If so, we are sinking to new levels, not seen here before. When the stupidity that goes on in American politics comes up here, it's time to get worried.

 

[Gavin]

I doubt it would happen, but I would love to see Tory enter the race and him and Chow (and maybe the other candidates) jointly issue a statement to the effect of:

"The politics of bullying and intimidation of the last four years has been unacceptable. This is the one and only time we will address it. As candidates, none of us will resort to these tactics. We will focus on and debate the issues of Toronto because we believe in making Toronto the best city it can be. If you disagree with our ideas, we welcome the debate...and we encourage you to vote for one of the undersigned candidates, whomever most closely aligns with your vision of the city you want Toronto to be. In turn, we commit to working with each other, and to supporting whichever candidate earns your vote as Mayor to unite the city we love."

Basically, shut Ford out, marginalize him, and don't dignify his term in office or campaign tactics with a response.

 

[NormEron]

I hope so. Has he ever given such a statement to the media? It seems like an awfully bold declaration, and one that is tied to an investigation for the ages.

He did a pretty damning interview with Matt Galloway back in June.

Galloway: Yesterday you could have very easily exonerated Rob Ford—you could have explicitly said the mayor has nothing to do with the investigation we’re involved in right now. Why didn’t you do that?

Blair:
I’m unable to answer your question without violating the terms of the law and the spirit of the law. All of the information, all of the evidence we have collected…will be properly disclosed in a court of law.

http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Local+Shows/Ontario/Metro+Morning/ID/2391325876/

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Maybe I'm just a dreamer but that statement sounds fairly unequivocal and a strong indictment of Rob.

I don't see how it is. Is there something specific I'm missing?

 

[James_D]

I don't see how it is. Is there something specific I'm missing?

Like I said maybe I'm being optimistic but it is a strongly worded statement issued with gravitas. And the reference to 'without fear and without favour' repeated twice seems to explicitly address the suggestion that the police are either being intimidated by or favourable to the Fords.

 

[guitarchitect]

I don't see how it is. Is there something specific I'm missing?

It's not so much an indictment as it is an admission that the "questions about peripheral issues" were on point and, therefore, Blair could not directly address them. You're right that it's not an indictment per the word's definition.

...there were a number of other questions of peripheral issues that were put to me. And I just wanted to make some explanation to you as to why I took the position I did with respect to the disclosure of that information.

...the evidence we gather is only evidence to be placed before the courts, and in this case that is what we have done. We have conducted those investigations, we have gathered that information, and we have placed it quite appropriately before the courts.

...That’s a process that’s going on right now, but I wanted to share that with you. I’m not going to speak about any of that investigation or any of that evidence...

 

[evvabeing]

Doug donated his salary. Not rob as far as I know.

But what really pisses me off is Doug Ford making a public show of donating his entire salary to charity. Of course he can…because he is rich. He doesn’t need the money, unlike some of the working class people who run for office but still need to provide for a family.

You know what would be a REAL gesture? Why doesn’t Dougie try living on his councillor’s salary and donate his CORPORATE salary to charity?

Now that would be something to cheer for.

http://westannexnews.wordpress.com/2011/02/09/dont-do-a-ford-with-your-cola/

 

[jaycola]

The units, estimated to be worth about $22.5 million, or $312,897 each..
...the city is buying 33 one-bedroom units, 27 two-bedroom units and 11 three-bedroom units.

I am very skeptical about the average cost per unit here. The 1 bedrooms might average $300K but not when the 2's and 3's are included.

What can they do to ensure these individuals don't stay in these units the rest of their lives? If I was given a new 2 bedroom unit on the lake for under $1200 per month, I think I'd do my best to stay there forever. Why would I ever work to get out of that situation if I could never have a hope to have such ideal accommodations?

I really would lie to live in Yorkville too...Maybe I can do summers at the lake and winters at Yorkville?

 

[evvabeing]

It's not so much an indictment as it is an admission that the "questions about peripheral issues" were on point and, therefore, Blair could not directly address them. You're right that it's not an indictment per the word's definition.

blair is using past tense... this is what we have done... conducted investigations and placed it before the courts... the process that's going on right now is having the courts decide what can be made public. so, if they were going to arrest ford, they already would have, no?

i kinda hear him saying is he's trying to have us think rob didn't get any special treatment. that they approached this investigation without fear and without favour, so we should trust that rob is not involved.