'Citizen' Smitherman leads garbage cleanup
Deputy premier denies interfering in strike, says he and others are demonstrating pride in Toronto
George Smitherman is usually called deputy premier of Ontario, but today he insisted he was simply Citizen Smitherman as he and about 30 residents patrolled the streets of his riding picking up trash that's piled up because of the civic workers' strike.
Smitherman insisted his morning's work wasn't intended as an intervention in the strike that has seen debris pile up on the streets for more than three weeks.
"It's about expressing our pride as citizens in this city we love very much," Smitherman said of the clean-up,carried out in conection with an organization called OneToronto, which styles itself as a "grassroots group of local residents."
"I am a representative of the people of Toronto Centre and I'm an MPP. There's no intervention here (in the strike) except the intervention of citizens demonstrating their pride in their city."
Smitherman insisted that the morning cleanup wasn't intended to be part of talks to end the strike between the city and two locals of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.
"There's obviously people focussed on a labour negeotiation and that's their responsibility," he said."We're not part of that."
"We're taking one side and one side only — the side of clean streets in our city," he said.
"You have to recognize that citizens cannot be told that public spaces are not the domain . . . like me and these folks, who want to do a little bit to make a difference.
"We know the stakes are high, and people are negotiating. But here as citizens we express our desire in making sure that public spaces that we enjoy and that we live in are kept in an appropriate level."
Smitherman said he's trying to encourage morecitizens' groupsto make a big push to clean up the city this Saturday.