[jml]

Forum poll shows Olivia Chow up, Tory a bit down from last time a poll was done:

http://www.thestar.com/news/city_ha...how_leads_pack_in_poll_done_after_launch.html


Edit: Goddamnit, King of Kensington, beat me to the punch by like a second.

Depressing to see Soknacki still way down at 2%.

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

For comparison, how was Miller and Ford polling at this point in the campaign?

His[Ford] approval rating, at 42 per cent, trailed those of Chow and Tory (57 per cent each), and it was only slightly better than the ratings for presently uncompetitive Soknacki (38 per cent) and Stintz (37 per cent). The approve-or-disapprove question was asked of people who said they had heard of the candidate; a relatively low 77 per cent said they had heard of Stintz, and only 56 per cent had heard of Soknacki.

Well if there is any good sign, those who have heard of Soknacki, like him better than Stintz.

 

[salsa]

Well if there is any good sign, those who have heard of Soknacki, like him better than Stintz.

That really says a lot about Stintz, when she can't even beat Soknacki despite being well known during her time at the TTC.

 

[GenerationW]

Could someone please list all of the funding commitments that Karen Stintz got out of Ottawa for Toronto transit?

Don't know if it's true, but one account claims she met with federal officials last summer/fall.

She definitely was, along with Councilor De Bearemaker, the person most responsible for convincing the Scarborough Liberal MPP caucus to pressure the provincial government to go from LRT to subway.

 

[Riverdale Rink Rat]

It's a parliamentary system

Where are the results of her being a Transportation critic, with all this influence you ascribe her.

An NDP opposition to a Conservative government with a majority. An opposition that is currently polling third.
What favours can the NDP grant in the next year before they are no longer the opposition?

You can't look for the 'Olivia Chow Megacash for Municipal Governments Act'. The influence is in committee, and being an annoying buzz in the Transport minister's ear. However, I'd bet the goofy Fed $$$ for the BD extension can be ascribed to her as much as it can be to the provincial Libs and city council. The Conservatives were getting yelled at to fund municipal transit, saw a way to help Ford/Hudak/Flaherty and stick it to their critics. Total reactionary call, poor planning, and turned out to be not great politics. But it was pure Conservative politics, so you have to ask who were they trying to knife? My best guess was 'help Ford, hurt the possible other candidates', most widely rumoured being Chow. It could just as easily have been a purely stick the provincial Liberals thing, though.

Anyway, y'all will not be convinced as you don't like Chow. So I'll stop now.

 

[Admiral Beez]

There are more than 500,000 Italian Canadians in the GTA and close to 1 million in Ontario. Certainly the percentage of elected officials exceeds their share of the population.

At what stage do we stop referring to groups by their ancestry? I would fathom to guess that well near 90% of what you're identifying as Italian Canadians are Canadian born and raised, with many have little to do with Italy. Most of my friends who have Italian grandparents have married with other cultural groups, are their children still within your Italian Canadian group, or perhaps they count as half?

I was born in England. That makes me an English Canadian. Does anyone keep track of how many of us there are? My children were born in Canada to a Canadian-born mother. They are Canadian, full stop.

 

[ehlow]

At what stage do we stop referring to groups by their ancestry? I would fathom to guess that well near 90% of what you're identifying as Italian Canadians are Canadian born and raised, with many have little to do with Italy. Most of my friends who have Italian grandparents have married with other cultural groups, are their children still within your Italian Canadian group, or perhaps they count as half?

I was born in England. That makes me an English Canadian. Does anyone keep track of how many of us there are? My children were born in Canada to a Canadian-born mother. They are Canadian, full stop.

Probably when people are so mixed racially that you can't differentiate it, is the stage at which we stop referring to groups by their ancestry. However, at that point it's possible that newer large groups of immigrants will be arriving, and they will be a distinct group.

From a historical perspective it's interesting. I took a class on the History of Toronto and we devoted a long section on different immigrant groups and their experiences in Toronto, Chinese-Canadians, Italian-Canadians, Irish-Canadians, Jewish-Canadians. Back then, different groups had very different experiences and faced discrimination and discriminatory laws. For example, some stores would have signs that say "no Jews".

Today, there's obviously much less overt discrimination, but you can still look at various immigrant groups and trends. You can see that a lot of Chinese immigrants are settling in Markham or Scarborough for example, it's quite visible by the stores, the people and the language they speak. On the other hand, some people of Chinese descent are pretty much completely integrated with Canadian culture, so the integration process is happening.

 

[adma]

I was born in England. That makes me an English Canadian. Does anyone keep track of how many of us there are?

David Miller, for one.

Incidentally, given that I (and others) have blown the horn for Kristyn Wong-Tam as future mayoral-candidate material, does anyone find that Olivia Chow's striking a bit of a dead-serious practical-minded KWT tone in this here bid?

 

[King of Kensington]

Miller was born in San Francisco. He did however spend his early years in England and has a bit of a mid-Atlantic accent.

 

[urbandreamer]

Is Mayor Chow Mean?

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

Probably when people are so mixed racially that you can't differentiate it, is the stage at which we stop referring to groups by their ancestry. However, at that point it's possible that newer large groups of immigrants will be arriving, and they will be a distinct group.

From a historical perspective it's interesting. I took a class on the History of Toronto and we devoted a long section on different immigrant groups and their experiences in Toronto, Chinese-Canadians, Italian-Canadians, Irish-Canadians, Jewish-Canadians. Back then, different groups had very different experiences and faced discrimination and discriminatory laws. For example, some stores would have signs that say "no Jews".

Today, there's obviously much less overt discrimination, but you can still look at various immigrant groups and trends. You can see that a lot of Chinese immigrants are settling in Markham or Scarborough for example, it's quite visible by the stores, the people and the language they speak. On the other hand, some people of Chinese descent are pretty much completely integrated with Canadian culture, so the integration process is happening.

I think what matters a lot is upbringing. Those groups, Italian-Canadian, Irish-Canadian, Jewish-Canadian (and indeed Polish, German, Portuguese, etc.) upbringing have over the decades became synonymous with Canadian upbringing, at which point you do not need to refer to those groups by their ancestry. You identified the same process with Canadians of Chinese descent probably because it holds true. However, the fact that immigration from those countries are still ongoing and we are still receiving many first-generations makes the tag "Chinese-Canadian" still relevant.

Not so sure if the impetus is for one to be so racially mixed that you can't differentiate. I myself am born in Canada but my dad raised me European (Polish) while I look Latin (from my mothers side), which is a confusing hodgepodge to explain even to myself. I still identify with my fathers country (I actively support their national team and clubs in soccer for example) irregardless. Then again, both my parents were first-generation immigrants too. I'm very curious what any children I do have will identify with, probably nothing but Canadian.

 

[adma]

Is Mayor Chow Mean?

Is that a "Chow Mein" joke?

 

[urbandreamer]

I just noticed John Tory and Rob Ford share the same birthday: 28 May.

Also Olivia Chow and Rob Ford are both year of the rooster born.

Perhaps it's time for a Year of Dog mayor? aka Karen Stinz.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Is that a "Chow Mein" joke?

Ha! I just got that too.

Well, if we're going to oft times with glee accept satiric misspelling of Ford, such as Mayor Fraud, then we have to in fairness accept silly names for Chow, in the main.

 

[Johnny Au]

I think what matters a lot is upbringing. Those groups, Italian-Canadian, Irish-Canadian, Jewish-Canadian (and indeed Polish, German, Portuguese, etc.) upbringing have over the decades became synonymous with Canadian upbringing, at which point you do not need to refer to those groups by their ancestry. You identified the same process with Canadians of Chinese descent probably because it holds true. However, the fact that immigration from those countries are still ongoing and we are still receiving many first-generations makes the tag "Chinese-Canadian" still relevant.

Not so sure if the impetus is for one to be so racially mixed that you can't differentiate. I myself am born in Canada but my dad raised me European (Polish) while I look Latin (from my mothers side), which is a confusing hodgepodge to explain even to myself. I still identify with my fathers country (I actively support their national team and clubs in soccer for example) irregardless. Then again, both my parents were first-generation immigrants too. I'm very curious what any children I do have will identify with, probably nothing but Canadian.

See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irregardless