doady, what good are rights when the only way to get them are by paying for a decent lawyer? That's the other thing I've been documenting --what a mother of an At-Risk Youth would have to go through just to defend her kid. There are no accountability measures in place for municipalities...

Appreciated. I just have a lot of problems dealing with it --the hypocrisy and the absolute disregard of Human Rights. I can't go into what I mean by that because I have over a dozen Freedom of Information requests that aren't back yet with answers. I can tell you this. That the media...

This goes back to my previous email about our illusion of "public space". It's just illusion. It's actually the private property of a municipal corporation. You are correct. A council can do whatever it wants INCLUDING barring cameras and even audio recorders. There is no more effective...

Just thought I'd provide an update before I reply to your responses. Yesterday, someone left me a comment in my Blog about Niagara Region having a "public meeting": The St Catharines Standard article states: So yesterday I called Niagara Region and confirmed the time. I then told...

Hi there, unimaginative2 Just wondering if some people would be interested in how Tasers are used with Peel Regional Police. Last week (December 18th) I attended a Peel Regional Police Services Board meeting. And there was a presentation on the use of Tasers in Peel. It was an...

The reality is that people haven't a clue about these awards. You need to go to the World Leadership Award website to see What Is. Last year, Mississauga applied for the Health Category using their Healthy City Stewardship Center Ensuring a Healthy City" thingie. Mississauga was...

"what goes on in Peel stays in Peel" This is a portion of the email I sent to the mayors and all councillors of Brampton, Caledon and Mississauga (Peel) plus Peel Regional Chair, Emil Kolb. "To repeat, my interest in coming to Caledon pertained exclusively to documenting how your Council...

Dear Urban TOers. Just letting people know that on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 I attended Caledon Council to document with videotape their debate on the hiring of the "closed meeting investigator" under the Bill 130 Transparency and Accountability provision. A councillor challenged me about...

Citizens of Fort Erie are asking citizens to show up at Council this evening in support of the public's right to videotape public meetings. Far as I know there are only two people who do this in Ontario. This guy in Fort Erie (with council now making moves to restrict/deny public...

I think the Feds know exactly what's happening in cities (at least cities in Ontario). They know what's going on. And that's why they're so anti-city. I suspect that's also why Royson James got So-Finally-Had-It with Toronto councillors. Seems to me that cities demand taxpayers' money...

OK, Took the subway to Yonge and Bloor and then decided to walk down to Union Station and take the GO back to Mississauga. I wanted to walk to get a feel for what the last speaker of the Mississauga Speaker Series meant by a 5mph city vs. a 60-mph city. Such an eye opener. I just...

Nahh... Mississauga just has to keep their Spin Department cranked to high and keep their Freedom of Information Department strangled to a trickle and it'll stay pretty much the same. How do I know? I just got back two FOI's today asking specific questions regarding communication and...

If you could resurrect someone --reach back into the past to lead the 905-Golden Horseshoe, who would you pick? I'm asking because I spent over three decades not paying municipal attention... *blush*.

I understand about Toronto, but not Hamilton. Please, I'd like to learn more. And would appreciate one other example --would Buffalo be one? Like, developing over a long time.

AGREE ..yeah, 100% Let me know when you're runnin' for Mayor, dude. AGREE WITH EVERYTHING --AND: GOOD. That was some dog of a Mississauga-speech. Mayor was gushing all on-about the Inspiration that is the Jr. Trudeau. Glad it wasn't just me... I'll let you know. I have the...

Both my husband and I are retired only we're both busier than ever. Just finished a book --on sea turtles, that will be published by the University of Hawaiian Press. It's the story of a group of Hawaiian sea turtles that we've monitored since 1988. Longest underwater study in the world...

I'm going by something that was suggested at the Cities Now budget meeting. I can put the actual footage online for you. But when the 5% "infrastructure levy" was raised for debate, the Ward 2 councillor raised issue saying that she supported a 1% levy. No problem with that. Then she said...

Hey there, doady. I think that's one of the things that really bothered me about those four speaker series nights. If you didn't know anything about Mississauga, you'd conclude that only three things mattered. Port Credit, Clarkson and Streetsville. (not Cooksville) Port Credit...

Save for Stephen Lewis and Roberta Bondar, all other speakers --and so much of the entire 21stconversation is about buildings. Lewis emphasized "the human condition" --that we are moral beings. Our moral obligation to help all our citizens. And then somewhere the conversation skidded into...

THANK YOU, Thou Walkin' 'Round With Eyes Open! However Les Rich in Wards 1 and 2 can take heart. Mississauga does its best to encourage them to move to Toronto.