Sheppard Subway to be Mothballed?

[JasonParis]

But he is so risk averse that he couldn't bring himself to spend the "political capital" he had amassed at a time when it would have done the city real good.

I still like Miller, but he's starting to remind me of Paul Martin and that's not a good thing!

 

[Observer Walt]

^ Very well taken point. Martin was afraid to take a stand on almost anything and came across as wishy-washy to the extreme. Who knows what he really stood for, after he was through trying to be all things to all people? Miller runs a real risk of going the same route.

Miller really needs to step up aggressively, in advance of the coming provincial campaign, and put McGuinty's and Tory's feet to the fire. (Maybe Harper and Dion as well, but that's not so urgent at the moment.) What will they do for the cities? What reaponsibilities if any are they prepared to upload back to the senior levels of govt., or what revenues are they prepared to download?

So far, about all we've seen from Miller is "one cent of the GST", an idea which was doomed from birth, and he knew it. What kind of a politician sets himself up for failure like that?

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

The problem is that municipal issues by and large doesn't "stick" to politicians in the senior levels of govenment. For all the "New Deal for the Communities *ahem* City", at the end of the day, it isn't what getting them elected.

So yes, Miller can expend political capital and supposedly holds them to "the fire", with what? Press releases? Circus antics? And what fire? Unless he is willing to break the law and unleash some really unpleasant confrontations, there is really little to turn this into a front page news that sticks. People by and large doesn't care about details - which is exactly where the Greg Sobara "we are giving x million dollars more than the previous government" soundbite comes in. Not to mention, without the other big 4 taking part in this scheme, it'd be far too easy to dismiss this as a Toronto cry-baby antic.

Breaking the laws is exactly how it should be done - controversize the issue as much as one can, frame himself as a "tragic hero", rally the citizens, giving the senior levels of govenment a hot potato that glows like plutonium - like honestly, what are they going to do to the mayor of a city with 2 million people? Arrest him?

AoD

 

[JasonParis]

there is really little to turn this into a front page news that sticks.

Which is where I think the sentiment for a "general strike" comes from. Toronto's infrastrucutre and city governance has been languishing since 1995 and operating from crisis-to-crisis. Despite much talk, 12 years later and nothing has really changed. Moreover, there's no sign of anything changing. Maybe it is time to get creative with our response to this. If not a strike, then something else to make this "stick."

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Darkstar:

I have a feeling this one has to be started by the citizens - with the mayor taking advantage of the situation as a rallying cry. That said, it will be very difficult to achieve anything if half of the city think everything is a-ok, and that all the problems has to do with waste only (and you can hear the senior levels of government "activating" this line of thought to deflect criticisms ALL the time).

AoD

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

The other thing that really riles me is how none of the Toronto area MPs had to answer for all these municipal issues - like honestly, are they mute or something?

AoD

 

[JasonParis]

Oh I agree, but even if Toronto's government were wasteful and even if our workers were overpayed, it still wouldn't even begin to address the constant budgetary problems Toronto has. Yet, the media never seems to ask why.

 

[JasonParis]

"Uploading" should be the magic word in the coming provincial election in this city, but I fear it won't. My opinion is that if you aren't supporting the uploading of historically administered services, then you shouldn't get Toronto's vote.

I would even consider voting for Tory if he agreed to upload those services and to start funding transit's operating costs at historic percentages....well until he made his religious schools announcement today.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Darkstar:

With illustrious media outlets like CP24, Sun Media and the Star, it is no surprise. Like any of them ever look at the issue critically. Besides, both the province and the feds have far more media machinery in place, and have honed matters into an art - that, coupled with the public's obsession with politics at the highest level of govenment (thinking that they have more power to affect policies than they actually do) makes for really poor outcomes for getting municipal message across.

AoD

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Darkstar:

I don't really care about uploading, downloading, shovelling things sideways or otherwise - these are all symptoms of a system that doesn't recognize the reality of urban primacy. It does absolutely nothing to address the historical ill of power being vested at a level that is totally ill equipped to handle urban issues. None of the big 3 provincial parties are prepared to address that - depending on their largesse is like hoping for rain in a desert. Worst, whatever largesse they deliever is geared towards their needs, not the actual wants of the city.

And before someone tells me the city has just receieved these powers - yeah, right - downloading additional costs to a city and mandating what services the latter need to provide while refusing to pay for the provincial/federal share, saying the city can pay for them with the new powers is the ultimate BS.

AoD

 

[Hydrogen]

"Uploading" should be the magic word in the coming provincial election in this city, but I fear it won't. My opinion is that if you aren't supporting the uploading of historically administered services, then you shouldn't get Toronto's vote.

If you run on that, you'd have my vote.

I don't really care about uploading, downloading, shovelling things sideways or otherwise - these are all symptoms of a system that doesn't recognize the reality of urban primacy.

True, by downloading, the province has failed to discharge its own responsibilities. Because the city exists at the pleasure of the province, the province found the perfect place to drop these responsibilities onto without adequate funding or control - all in the name of cutting taxes and looking good. Downloading is a direct symptom of the province failing to recognize the reality of urban primacy. Had they actually cared about the programs they shed onto the city, they would have provided not only the money, they would have handed policy control over those programs to the city. But they didn't. That would have made the city begin to look too much like a province.

 

[unimaginative2]

The best thing the city could do is take up Sorbara’s offer to send in experts to look at the books. If they do find some reasonable savings, that’s clearly a positive. Even more valuable, though, is that they would unquestionably report back that forcing the city to pay for social services is one of the main causes of the structural budget deficit. With the province’s own experts saying it, there would be even more pressure to remedy the situation.

 

[Hydrogen]

I'd prefer "experts" not associated with the provincial government. Then again, there have been reports stating that attempting to cover provincial programs downloaded to the city with municipal taxes and meagre provincial grants is unsustainable. Sustainable funding for social programs that can apply to all Ontarians in all possible regions of the province should be raised and manged by the provincial government.

 

[brettrobinson]

The best thing the city could do is take up Sorbara’s offer to send in experts to look at the books. If they do find some reasonable savings, that’s clearly a positive. Even more valuable, though, is that they would unquestionably report back that forcing the city to pay for social services is one of the main causes of the structural budget deficit. With the province’s own experts saying it, there would be even more pressure to remedy the situation.

I agree. At least then the whole debate about the city getting its own finances in order would be out the door. If there are savings to be had then it is a win win situation and if there are not then the Province has no leg to stand on.

 

[ShonTron]

Yes, but accepting Sorbara's patronizing offer would allow the province to wait until after the election is over for the "experts" to come back (this won't be a quick in-and-out job), find out what everybody already knows, and then perhaps another four years of this crap.