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Rob Ford's Toronto

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W. K. Lis said:
Why is Doug Ford acting as if he was the deputy mayor, or at times the mayor? Could he be the real power behind the throne?
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Rob Ford is doing exactly what he has done all his life. That is, to react, retract and rely on his family to get him through it all.
 
Jonny5 said:
Really? He has been a councillor for how long? Harping about waste and gravy trains for how long? Yet when his moment finally comes he defers for a year. What has he been doing all this time if not identifying what to cut?
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Similarly Doug claiming recently that even after only two months, he'd found more 'gravy than Thanksgiving'. However instead of identifying said gravy and doing something to drain the gravy boat, he wants to spend money on outside consultants to tell him where the gravy is buried. What is it? Has he found the gravy or hasn't he?
 
ssiguy2 said:
I'm getting a little ticked off with all this bitching about Ford. It's not like Miller did much. He can sit and talk about the new streetcars but it's easy to do when you aren't paying for them.
This is the guy that had no trouble letting the city become a dump by letting the garbage pile up because he wouldn't say boo to his union buddies.He took credit for balancing the books which had nothing t do with him but rather Queen's Park by uploading some services. He s so proud of getting the City of Toronto Act to o things like extending drinking hours but no progress there. For all bitching abut needing o control the city's destiny he did nothing with it.
He was so proud of TC but Torontonians never really took to the idea but that was irrelevant , it a going ahead regardless.He kept saying the people wanted but I don't recall a plebesite, Hell, it was not even voted on in City Hall.
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Oh come on ... we're being played. No one is really ignorant enough to write this. It seems to be quite deliberately written to be the exact opposite of what really happened. Someone's fishing here ...
 
ssiguy2 said:
I'm getting a little ticked off with all this bitching about Ford. It's not like Miller did much. He can sit and talk about the new streetcars but it's easy to do when you aren't paying for them.
This is the guy that had no trouble letting the city become a dump by letting the garbage pile up because he wouldn't say boo to his union buddies.He took credit for balancing the books which had nothing t do with him but rather Queen's Park by uploading some services. He s so proud of getting the City of Toronto Act to o things like extending drinking hours but no progress there. For all bitching abut needing o control the city's destiny he did nothing with it.
He was so proud of TC but Torontonians never really took to the idea but that was irrelevant , it a going ahead regardless.He kept saying the people wanted but I don't recall a plebesite, Hell, it was not even voted on in City Hall.
Do I like Ford? No but he has only been in power for 3 months.
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It's pretty sad to see people rewriting recent history using their own twisted views of the truth. Miller was possibly the most progressive mayor Toronto has had in a long time. Progressive for ALL the people in the city, not just those with lots of cash in their pocket. Ford seems to be catering his policies to the folks who can afford a car, own a home and take vacations. He only pretends to give a rat's ass about the rest.
 
Fine, you guys tell me what Miller accomplished in his first 3 months in office?....................and I really do want an answer to that question.
Like I said I don't like the guy but give him some slack for god's sake.
 
On the garbage, how many companies are actually qualified to take on what is probably one of the largest garbage contracts in North America? Waste Management, and the cost of keeping it in-house? This contract is almost an order of magnitude larger than Doug Holyday's heroic past efforts. What are the chances of getting real competitive bidding there?
 
lafard said:
On the garbage, how many companies are actually qualified to take on what is probably one of the largest garbage contracts in North America? Waste Management, and the cost of keeping it in-house? This contract is almost an order of magnitude larger than Doug Holyday's heroic past efforts. What are the chances of getting real competitive bidding there?
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I don't know, but nonetheless it will be good to find out. In the very least it will remind city garbage workers that GTA residents are willing to drop them if possible.

IIRC Calgary put it out for tender, and the existing city workers still got the contract, but it was actually for a decent price. I don't claim to know all the details though.
 
Eug said:
Ford today to formally declare his intention to put Toronto garbage collection out for tender.
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With privatization, that means the companies or shareholders expect to get a return on their investment. They'll want more than the current return in the money markets, term deposits, or mortgages. If the unions want to compete, they'll have to tender an amount that excludes that return, but still gives the workers a fair wage.
 
It's a populist move and not one I can really blame them for taking, but it will have minimal impact on the part of the budget people care about. (ie. The part that is paid for via property taxes.)

The important part is what comes next: the tender process and criteria.
 
I wonder if the city would lease out some of the equipment. I also wonder if some of the workers would work for the 3rd party companies.

Both of the above would be a severe kick to the nads for the city and its workers, but I've seen stranger things happen.

EDIT:

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/934406--ford-moves-to-privatize-more-garbage-collection?bn=1

CUPE’s current contract, which expires Jan. 31, guarantees all permanent full-time permanent workers will be moved to another city job if their positions are contracted out.

There are no such provisions for the many temporary and part-time solid waste workers that the city employs.

.

What proportion are full-time permanent workers, and what proportion aren't?

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Last month, in a meeting with Star’s editorial board, Holyday said the current CUPE contract does not allow wholesale garbage privatization like that in Etobicoke, but there is nothing to prevent the city from expanding the territory of the private contract there.

“Eventually what we end up with is a situation where we are going to be able to compete in a large part of the city, contractor against our own workers . . . maybe west of Yonge St. will be picked up by contractor and east of Yonge St. will be picked up by the city workers,” Holyday said.

Ford has stressed the CUPE 416 will be able to compete for any garbage pickup contracts. But Mark Ferguson, president of the union local, has said his workers will not compete for their own jobs.

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I wonder just how ugly this is going to turn.
 
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