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Toronto Life should lose some subscriptions over the embarrassing inaccuracies in their article, and no doubt will apologize and retract some of their assertions in an upcoming issue.

42
 
When my issue arrives I always read the letters, then read the urban decoder, and then browse quickly through a few feature articles before keeping it next to the WC for a month, mostly unread.
 
A few things on the city's rebuttal annoy me....

The story says the City was sued by the Royal Canadian Mint. The Mint has not sued the City of Toronto. The Mint has sent the City an invoice for use of the image of the Canadian penny and the words “one cent.†The City and the Mint are working together to resolve the matter and no legal proceeding was ever undertaken.
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Splitting hairs IMO. Why didn't the city find out if they had the rights to use the penny beforehand? Are there no legal or copyright experts at city hall?
Much of the story speaks to the conduct of audits but fails to provide any real context. Readers should know that over the years more than 80% of the Auditor General’s 800 recommendations have been implemented.
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Sorry, that glass is half empty. 20% non-compliance with the Auditor General's recommendations is dreadful. And, what are those 20% of non-implemented recommendations? Are they for really big and potential wasteful or corrupt items, or something small. Why are not 100% of the AG's recommendations implemented. If some of them are crap or unrealistic, then this rebuttal should say so.

Honestly, this city is in a mess, and is in need of real leadership.
 
re: One-cent campaign

Considering how much the Mint is charging the city, it probably cost less than sending this matter to the lawyers to sort out re: copyright issues.

20% non-compliance with the Auditor General's recommendations is dreadful
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Is it dreadful by default? Do you have any idea, for example, what percentage of recommendations from Gomery Inquiry was complied with? I can tell you for one it is far lower than 80%.

The city is messy, but if you want "real leadership", you'd have to look for a different governance structure that actually allows for a strong mayor system.

AoD
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
The city is messy, but if you want "real leadership", you'd have to look for a different governance structure that actually allows for a strong mayor system.
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How does Mississauga do it? They've got the same mayoral system, but like her or not, there's no one who'd claim that that city does not have a strong and powerful leader.

I still think 20% non-implementation of the AG's recommendations is dreadful, unless the city can tell us that the remaining recommendations are small, of little impact either way, already in process, or too expensive to implement on the current budget. The AG is the province's top accountant, IIRC, so his recommendations on economic policy at the city IMO carry more weight that Gomery.
 
For those who ripped Toronto Life for their reporting on the City, the Mayor's Panel specifically referred to them in their report (PDF, at page 44):

Consequently, many people are critical of the governance of the City: there are jokes that it is the City that had to call in the army to clear snow or to police certain highly sensitive regions; that a photo op for Councillors had to be cancelled because of a squabble over who got to sit in the front row; that the City’s budget woes and what Toronto Life magazine recently termed “down the toilet†spending practices mean it must be perpetually bailed out by senior levels of government.
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It does not say that TL was wrong to say so.
 
Admiral Beez said:
How does Mississauga do it? They've got the same mayoral system, but like her or not, there's no one who'd claim that that city does not have a strong and powerful leader.
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Admiral, I've been researching Mississauga governance since June 2006. And I mean researching as in sitting on every Council/Committee meeting that I can and videotaping. I'm not only the only outside person to ever sit in on an Audit Committee meeting, aside from senior staff, I've spent more hours in there than any elected official including McCallion herself.

I also cover Peel Regional Council as well.

By far the most important single resource to getting at the truth is Freedom of Information. I've filled out dozens of them.

Here's a Mississauga Thumbnail Sketch.

First, let's not forget that Mississauga (and Peel for that matter) is one of *thee* richest communities in Canada. Even they'll admit that themselves.

Once you know that, and you think of Mississauga as $rich$, imagine a city not just $rich$ but powerful. Now imagine that city slooped into ONE PERSON.

ONE PERSON who's been leader for three decades. ONE PERSON who've never had a serious challenger to his/her power.

Not just a "serious challenger" to McCallion in mayoral races.

But no "serious challenger" in terms of oversight. Mississauga doesn't just rule Mississauga/Peel but also much of The Province.

I'm convinced, for example, that Ontario is "dead last" in provincial oversight (Ombudsman's words, not mine) BECAUSE of Mississauga. OK, let's call the shots here. Because of Hazel McCallion. (As of right now she was mayor when Castro was Castro and what with Castro now stepping down, McCallion even outlasted Castro! There's a MESSAGE there.)

McCallion has had thirty years to influence in provincial legislation. Last week, she stated herself how she'd sat in on all meetings of the amendments to the municipal act to make sure "we" got what we wanted.

That "we" are the municipalities. Municipalities wanted more power. To balance power there should be "accountablity" so they put in an "accountablity mechanism".

And then McCallion (Association of Municipalities of Ontario) lobbied for a loophole --allow municipalities to choose their own "investigators".

You can go a long LONG way when you can choose your own auditors (Brampton, Caledon, Mississauga, Peel and if memory serves, even Toronto hires the same auditng company) and "investigators".

The original 2001 Municipal Act must surely have "Mississauga"'s fingerprints all over that one. That's got to be how "natural person status" got in there.

Add to that just how many MPP's are former councillors and mayors themselves and there's no serious opposition and oversight even at the provincial level. They're not about to call each other out on municipal oversight --I suspect that they're scared shitless of what they'd find.

Recall John Tory's reaction when I asked him how he felt about the Ontario Ombudsman getting into municipalities.

JOHN TORY on letting the Ontario Ombudsman into Municipalities (YOUTUBE)

Former Minister of Municipal Affairs? John Gerretsen (Former Mayor of Kingston)

Current Minister of Municipal Affairs? Jim Watson (Former Mayor of Ottawa)

McCallion not only out-trumps any of them (and that includes Miller) but she does so federally.

How "Mississauga" does it? Be a growth city with a growing tax base and take advantage of that wealth by creating a reputation (and I do mean "creating") of strong fiscal management.

Be in a place with no media.

Ensure through by-laws and policies that any outside challenge (citizens) be limited.

Ensure through by-laws and policies that any outside challenge (candidates) be rendered ineffective.

Above all make certain that you have one HELL of a P.R. Department. Admiral, the Mississauga P.R. Department is the one thing (and only thing) that I know IS world class. Sometimes that P.R. Department is "hired contract help".

Crack Legal Team too --both Prosecutors and Defence. Create a reputation for using them. Think political activist Donald Barber and his one-and-a-half-years of legal banned-from-city-hall hell.

Make sure your Freedom of Information department is a trickle.

Then, when it becomes clear that after decades of growth, your incoming wealth is a year or two from going south, blame the province for cutbacks or --(new) blame the Federal Government for not supporting cities.

Had to laugh at some headlines about McCallion "calling out" Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and challenging him to debate "head to head".

McCallion did her Mississauga-thing to Flaherty about Mississauga's "best management" etc etc and her willingness to fling open Mississauga's "books" for Flaherty to inspect to see where he could find inefficiencies.

One day I'll call McCallion out. Challenge HER to open those same books to the Ontario Ombudsman.

Then watch what happens.

Going back to your original question, "How does Mississauga do it?" Admiral, Mississauga does it by making sure that no one knows how they "do it".

And then there's the fawning media that swallows the P.R. And a media who praises McCallion et al to the roof without bothering to find out how Mississauga does it.

Mississauga governance is not something to be proud of if you're Canadian. There's more stuff but I don't want to "telegraph" my areas of investigation.

Then there's Mississauga's keeping of records. They don't. Mississauga doesn't have a public complaints system for example. Keep no record of public complaints. Many of the polices and procedures --even "guidelines" are just that. Paper.

Paper policies that look great to hold up and say "We in Mississauga have a strong policy to ensure [name of community concern] and then you drop down a Freedom of Information on it and believe me, Admiral, your ass would fall off.

They write their own history --minutes of meetings.

A decades-long ruling class --a Company Town. Media, Board of Trade, all on the same page. Mississauga really isn't even Mississauga --it's mainly Port Credit (to some extent Clarkson) and Streetsville. And it's the rich and educated of those towns who are the policy drivers.

Should the province manage some legislation to assist people who really need assistance, Mississauga seems to sniff out what's minimumally legal and go with that. perfect example, snow removal. Meet the minimum but brag about "Trust, Quality, Excellence".

Far as I can see the poor are something you talk about when it's politically expedient but primarily Mississauga's strategy seems to be to ghettoize them. Or better yet, encourage them to move to other muncipalities (through paper policies) so the poor can become S.E.P.s (From Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy --Someone Else's Problem).

There's the Mississauga Image. (Their Visioning Symposium just completed. "Thousands of Ideas. One Vision) and endless talk talk talk and even a T-shirt on "Embracing Diversity". I saw little Diversity over those two days.

And I've been researching Mississauga now long enough to recognize "The Actors". The same people who come to public meetings where there's money involved. Port Credit was there. Definitely Streetsville. TONS of talk about the Waterfront. About the Arts. About a Vibrant Downtown Core. (That's how you know the poor weren't at this Visioning Symposium.)

There was even token talk about Diversity and Inclusiveness and how everyone --EVERYONE is welcome and EVERYONE has a voice and a ROLE to PLAY.

Admiral, Saturday, during the morning Question Period (room of 79 people) and the closing evening Question Period inside Hammerson Hall, I asked the Question, "Anyone here from --live in-- Malton"?

NOT A FREAKIN' ONE.

Not one person from Ward 5 --Malton. And what gets reported in the media??...

And THAT, Admiral, is how Mississauga "does it".

Here's me asking "Anyone here from Malton?" inside Hammerson Hall in the closing minutes of Future Mississauga (Community Engagement Visioning Charrette)

Mississauga ---WHERE'S MALTON????!

P.S. Forgot to mention that Mississauga is forever a city only to happy to SHIT all over Toronto any chance it gets.

I blame the "media". It's also why I no longer get my news from newspapers or TV. I investigate it myself.
 
Royson James has always had a hard-on for Miller. I don't know why he hates him so much...oh wait now I know, it's cause Royson James buys his furniture at Bad Boy and puckers up for Mel-who??

What an uninformed asinine reporter he is. Glad to see Miller finally ripping him a new asshole.
 
Admiral Beez said:
The question is, is everyone else sick of him sufficiently to remove him from office next election?

The next municipal election will take place on Monday, November 8, 2010. In less than 36 months Torontonians will get their chance to decide if Miller's worthy of their continued support.
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Is this a joke? Miller is the bet thing that has happened to Toronto! Haha vote him out? No way - Canadians would rather vote for David Miller to be Prime Minister! He is so popular no one can even come close, he has done so much for Toronto (within his capabilities) he has a vision and he takes it beyond the borders of partisan politics. David Miller is an internationally recognized figure, he won't be voted out any time soon.

Miller until 2022!!
 
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