Rob Ford's Toronto

[dt_toronto_geek]

Originally Posted by atodaso
Someone was alleging in the Star comments section that Ford pulled some strings to get his and his mom's power up sooner. They were apparently the first areas to be restored. Would love it if there was a way to prove this. It wouldn't endear him to those still freezing after 4 days...

I really doubt that, but who knows. Ford had power restored on Monday morning or early afternoon, he mentioned it at Monday's news conference.

Hey, where the hell is Doug? He's been mysteriously absent from all of this, very "un-Doug like". Distancing himself perhaps?

 

[TheKingEast]

I wasn't expecting Ford to do anything. It was beyond his control. It was a hydro thing. I wasn't expecting the mayor to speed up the process whatsoever. If David Miller were mayor, I would not have expected him to speed up the process, as well. How exactly can a mayor make Toronto Hydro speed up their work? Stand behind them and say "guys, work harder!"?

Man. Some people have no clue. This clown is going to get re-elected because some people think he did all he could do. Baffling.

If you think this whole thing was all about toronto hydro restoring power then I'd suggest you do some more research.

 

[GeekGirl]

Man. Some people have no clue. This clown is going to get re-elected because some people think he did all he could do. Baffling.

If you think this whole thing was all about toronto hydro restoring power then I'd suggest you do some more research.

Thank you. This would have been my reply as well. Ford displayed the only thing he is good at - bullshitting and electioneering.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Below, Ford gets an earful, I saw a couple of these confrontations last night. People are getting really angry, how can apartment buildings not be prioritized by day 6?
I can't find any pleasure in seeing him get ripped, but at the same time I don't feel bad for him either.
Some (many?) sleazy contractors are now flooding into the city for a quick buck to do inspections before hydro is re-connected to homes that's normally about a $200 charge but they are asking for upwards of a $3K deposit. There's sure to be plenty more sleaze buckets out there taking advantage of vulnerable people in other ways too.
This whole thing is out of control. I've written my Councillor to ask that there be an investigation into this mess by an independent, second party and determine whether Ford made the correct decision not to declare a SOE, and I copied every other City Councillor. I'm hearing Wynne moving her language more towards "the Province is doing everything possible... we have this, we have that in place blah blah..." as if the Province has taken over and not even acknowledging the City or Ford anymore. We need truthful, correct answers here.

http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/ID/2427125121/

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

Hydro has stopped pruning the overhanging branches, I used to see them regularly, haven't seen any trucks in years. Nearly every house on my street has branches overhanging the power lines. Penny wise, pound foolish?

Not at all true in East York, anyway. Monarch Park, N of Danforth, near Taylor Creek all had significant hydro, tree, curb, asphalt renovation (relatively) coordinated this summer/fall.

 

[picard102]

Man. Some people have no clue. This clown is going to get re-elected because some people think he did all he could do. Baffling.

If you think this whole thing was all about toronto hydro restoring power then I'd suggest you do some more research.

Wonder how the Mayors of the surrounding municipalities, and the Provincial Government are going to fair having not called a SOE.

 

[taal]

Apparently Norm Kelly is getting crap for leaving ... which I think is absolute ridiculous ... the crap he is getting that is ... so what if he takes off for a day ... a statutory holiday at that ! How is is presence even required, he's not helping get the power on ... his silly updates could be given by anyone ...

I think people are really silly in situations like these, where they need someone to assign blame, when clearly there is rarely a single person.


Flip the story around a little, lets say Toronto Hydro couldn't get enough workers back because they were on holiday (and you clearly cannot be forced in) and the only way to get outside help is to declare a state of emergency (which is NOT true .. clearly ..) and we didn't ... that would be something you could justifiably get angry at .. how about the head of hydro one leaving for a day (at least somewhere where he's out of reach), again something I could folks having issues with if it slows down the decision process.

 

[EagleEye]

We always see crews along the bluffs in late summer and fall. They can't do tree trimming earlier due to nesting season.

 

[newearthling]

Below, Ford gets an earful, I saw a couple of these confrontations last night. People are getting really angry, how can apartment buildings not be prioritized by day 6?
I can't find any pleasure in seeing him get ripped, but at the same time I don't feel bad for him either.
Some (many?) sleazy contractors are now flooding into the city for a quick buck to do inspections before hydro is re-connected to homes that's normally about a $200 charge but they are asking for upwards of a $3K deposit. There's sure to be plenty more sleaze buckets out there taking advantage of vulnerable people in other ways too.
This whole thing is out of control. I've written my Councillor to ask that there be an investigation into this mess by an independent, second party and determine whether Ford made the correct decision not to declare a SOE, and I copied every other City Councillor. I'm hearing Wynne moving her language more towards "the Province is doing everything possible... we have this, we have that in place blah blah..." as if the Province has taken over and not even acknowledging the City or Ford anymore. We need truthful, correct answers here.

http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/ID/2427125121/

Can you paste your letter here please?

 

[W. K. Lis]

Apparently Norm Kelly is getting crap for leaving ... which I think is absolute ridiculous ... the crap he is getting that is ... so what if he takes off for a day ... a statutory holiday at that ! How is is presence even required, he's not helping get the power on ... his silly updates could be given by anyone ...

I think people are really silly in situations like these, where they need someone to assign blame, when clearly there is rarely a single person.


Flip the story around a little, lets say Toronto Hydro couldn't get enough workers back because they were on holiday (and you clearly cannot be forced in) and the only way to get outside help is to declare a state of emergency (which is NOT true .. clearly ..) and we didn't ... that would be something you could justifiably get angry at .. how about the head of hydro one leaving for a day (at least somewhere where he's out of reach), again something I could folks having issues with if it slows down the decision process.

So true. Its like those movies where the leader of a nation (IE President) takes control of a jet plane to attack an alien invasion. Not going to happen.

I do not expect the Mayor or Deputy Mayor to climb up a pole to reconnect wires that came down, either. They are not linesmen.

The real heroes during the ice storm:
[video=youtube_share;QynK5IDalmA]http://youtu.be/QynK5IDalmA[/video]

 

[mrtinfoilsocket]

Mark Towhey published a blog post explaining the details of "State of Emergency". I know a lot of people dislike Towhey and will discount it out of hand but it's mostly written using facts and not opinion.

http://www.towhey.com/?p=242

It speaks for itself but he backs up the opinion that an SOE is simply a legal definition used to transfer council's power to a single individual and also to give authorities sweeping power to enforce civil order - force evacuations, impose curfews etc. As we've already discussed here a SOE does not automatically "shut down" the city but it could be used to do so if required. It has nothing to do with securing more resources from the province.

Also not mentioned by him (on twitter): An SOE would automatically open the city's "Emergency Operations Center" but that was done anyway on Saturday morning before the storm.

 

[SecretSquirrel]

Mark Towhey published a blog post explaining the details of "State of Emergency". I know a lot of people dislike Towhey and will discount it out of hand but it's mostly written using facts and not opinion.

http://www.towhey.com/?p=242

It speaks for itself but he backs up the opinion that an SOE is simply a legal definition used to transfer council's power to a single individual and also to give authorities sweeping power to enforce civil order - force evacuations, impose curfews etc. As we've already discussed here a SOE does not automatically "shut down" the city but it could be used to do so if required. It has nothing to do with securing more resources from the province.

Also not mentioned by him (on twitter): An SOE would automatically open the city's "Emergency Operations Center" but that was done anyway on Saturday morning before the storm.

I agree that this blog post by Towhey is useful & informative. The man is complex: he's knowledgable, an asshat, thoughtful, an enabler, intelligent, a promoter of stupidity, funny, depressing, etc. etc. I mostly just wish that someone with his obvious talents and mental acuity would have coupled himself to something other than the Gravy Train.

Towhey is correct that many people are conflating 'emergency' (which he correctly and immediately says this is) and 'State of Emergency'. However, even after reading this posrt, I still don't understand what the downside of declaring SoE would have been.

 

[tiffer24]

Here's the problem with the SOE issue. For so long, Ford has used opinion and emotion to convince Toronto of his populist ways. Now that he needs people to believe a few facts about the ice storm and the effect of declaring an emergency, it's emotion and opinion that will continue to overrule the day. Live by the populist sword, die by the populist sword.

 

[pw20]

I agree that this blog post by Towhey is useful & informative. The man is complex: he's knowledgable, an asshat, thoughtful, an enabler, intelligent, a promoter of stupidity, funny, depressing, etc. etc. I mostly just wish that someone with his obvious talents and mental acuity would have coupled himself to something other than the Gravy Train.

Towhey is correct that many people are conflating 'emergency' (which he correctly and immediately says this is) and 'State of Emergency'. However, even after reading this posrt, I still don't understand what the downside of declaring SoE would have been.

I think the downside is mostly psychological. It could send people into a hoarding tizzy and could generally disrupt business more so than already disrupted.

I think the whole SOE situation would be null if a different mayor would be in power. Not because they would have called a SOE, but because the desire for Ford to call a - is really reactionary not to our situation as dire as it may, but to Mayor Ford. Ford is an asshat and incompetent, so the desire for him to declare a state of emergency is truly a desire for him to reduce his powers.

For anyone who lived in Montreal during the ice storm - the city was shut down. Downtown was completely impassable. Since Monday, Toronto (even for the majority of those without power) has functioned. I harboured some family members beacuse I had power and it was a bit cozy - we had fun. That being said - the streets were busy, people went to work, the streetcar system was turned on, the subway worked. Loblaws wasn't overrun with people stocking up on running water. It wasn't a "state of emergency" in whatever sense one thinks of it. (not to be a debbie downer, but I suspect this isn't the last of crazy weather we'll see in our lifetime).

In my opinion the call for the Mayor to declare a state of emergency really had nothing to do with the impact of declaring a state of emergency, which as Towey points out is meaningless, but has to do with our general dislike of our Mayor and a desire to power to transition from him to Norm Kelly in a SOE. This is all fine and dandy, but let's be somewhat sincere with our motivations.

The huw and cry and ad hominem attacks against people for saying the past week was not a "state of emergency" doesn't seem, in my opinion, to be reflective of actual sentiment. The SOE has more to do with Ford then anything else. That he possibly didn't declare a SOE out of his own malicious need for power is further indictment of the man himself... but that's really par Ford the course.

 

[mrtinfoilsocket]

I agree that this blog post by Towhey is useful & informative. The man is complex: he's knowledgable, an asshat, thoughtful, an enabler, intelligent, a promoter of stupidity, funny, depressing, etc. etc. I mostly just wish that someone with his obvious talents and mental acuity would have coupled himself to something other than the Gravy Train.

Agreed completely. Sometimes he infuriates me whereas other times I find him informative, fair and well balanced.

Towhey is correct that many people are conflating 'emergency' (which he correctly and immediately says this is) and 'State of Emergency'. However, even after reading this posrt, I still don't understand what the downside of declaring SoE would have been.

Yeah I can understand that - it's a perfectly reasonable point of view.

Another good point I saw Towhey make on twitter was: "SOE also doesn't ensure good leadership, management or judgment. Those are sep issues." That kind of goes towards what I was saying before. We can completely agree this crisis was handed poorly... the mayor was MIA half the first day, he said stupid, ridiculous things, he either lied or misunderstood what an SOE was, he was far too interested in campaign style photo ops, etc. But all that can be separate from the question of whether or not an SOE should have been declared.