Looking Through ORNGE Coloured Glasses

What next for ORNGE? After the unceremonious exits of most of the higher-ups at the provincial air ambulance service, the OPP have been called in to investigate the agency’s operations.

The province is now preparing to restructure the outfit, something that is long overdue. And now people are calling for Health Minister Deb Matthews’ resignation. Matthews’ defense has been that her ministry has not had enough oversight to ORNGE and that the service will be put on tighter reins in the future.

What might be most mind boggling about the whole thing is the lack of interference from the Premier. When a provincial agency comes under criminal investigation under your watch, shouldn’t we expect Dalton McGuinty to come out railing against said agency and demanding explanations from those responsible?

It seems like Dalton doesn’t care. Oh, wait…

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The Easy Part's Done

Released yesterday, the long awaited, much anticipated Drummond Report outlines 362 recommendations for the provincial government to eradicate the deficit.

Very little of the report, if any, could be called ‘nice’. It might be the bitterest pill we’ve ever had to swallow.

To Drummond’s credit, the report is non-partisan in approach. Some people have already indicated that just having the need for the report points to the lack of leadership in this province over the last decade.

The big question remains: can we as a province collectively swallow this pill; or will we continue heading down the same road? Unfortunately, that road leads to Athens, not Rome.

Some of the recommendations may not be overly palatable, but where’s the harm in at least having the discussion?

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The Internet Is A Wonderful Thing!

CUPE Local 416 President Mark Ferguson has had an email conversation with a union member show up in the press. In it, he criticizes the Ford Administration and chastises the union member for his ‘armchair snivelling’.

Ferguson blasts the city in the email, while at the same time explaining to the union member that public attitude towards unions is at an all time low; and that Ferguson has done what he can in terms of negotiating the best deal possible.

The union member, a paramedic, was also upset that no paramedics were used in any of the CUPE television spots. Ferguson maintains that a paramedic was asked to come to the casting call and didn’t show up.

Ferguson explains his side fairly clearly but the big problem with the email is the tone used, for which Ferguson has since apologized. There’s no doubt that Ferguson composed the email under some ...

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LCB O-ver?

The provincial government is considering the sale of LCBO headquarters, located just west of us here at Corus Quay in downtown Toronto. It sits on fairly coveted waterfront property that could generate $200-million for Queen’s Park.

While the Liberals are looking at selling just the building, selling the LCBO in its entirety has long been a contentious issue.

The general consensus is that privatizing the LCBO would result in lower costs for the consumer but the flipside of that is the government would lose millions in much needed revenue. And right now, governments can’t afford to lose any revenue.

If the Province of Ontario is looking at ways to fight the deficit via the LCBO, there must be other routes available.

For one, the LCBO is a monopoly. Where is the need for a monopoly to advertise? They have zero competition and we have no option to shop anywhere else.

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No Tax Hike = User Fees

Members of the Royal York Baseball League in Etobicoke received a little shock treatment when registering for this season.

Charges for use of the field have been added to player costs, pushing the cost into the $200 range, up significantly from $130.

City council passed a new user fee policy last September, a policy which calls for more emphasis on rates reflecting the cost of the service(s) provided. This is a cost recovery move; users are essentially paying for the maintenance of these fields.

Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday has stated that the fees may require a second look, believing that the charges snuck through in the budget and nobody realized the potential outcome.

The city of Toronto could certainly benefit from a much needed property tax hike but failing that, user fees have to be implemented.

Given that user fees only hit a certain circle of people, while a property ...

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Offensive Or History Lesson?

Some items from one of mankind’s darkest moments are going up on the auction block. Apparently these items are remains of inmates of Treblinka concentration camp, but have yet to be tested for authenticity.

The auction house has not offered these items to any Holocaust museum, as they feel they will ‘end up in a drawer somewhere…forgotten’. But the auction house will forward all proceeds of the auction to a Holocaust memorial.

Regardless of their origin, selling human remains smacks of creepiness. And if they are the genuine article, then all sorts of Jewish custom have been ignored as well.

Authentic or not, is this offensive or is it, as the auction house claims, a reminder of the horrors of WWII and therefore a lesson in history and mankind’s ability for cruelty?

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Transit City Resurrected?

Transit City may have gained a new life. Council voted yesterday in support of TTC Chair Karen Stintz’ plan for an above ground (where possible) LRT route on Eglinton Avenue East.

Stintz’ point is to spend money as wisely as possible on the Eglinton line. She claims that going above ground could save as much as $1-billion; monies which could then go to fund other TTC projects such as extending the Sheppard subway.

Mayor Ford is convinced that the citizens want an underground system and believes he can sway the Premier to build a subway instead.

Regardless of which plan gets the nod, it’s just refreshing to finally see some movement on TTC expansion. That is only about thirty years overdue.

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XL Pipeline: US Election Issue?

Both Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have criticized Barack Obama for not moving forward with the XL Pipeline from Canada.

PM Harper is currently in China, talking business, trade, and yes, oil. Gingrich believes Harper has been driven to China by Obama’s ‘short-sighted’ decision to nix the pipeline for now.

Romney and Gingrich can’t figure out why President Obama would put off a project that would create long term American jobs and at the same time lessen their dependence on oil from the Middle East.

Gingrich has gone on record saying that the XL Pipeline is a day one approval should he be elected to the White House.

Obama hasn’t fully killed the Pipeline deal, but he has put off the decision until after the November election. That choice may prove to be a factor in his re-election campaign.

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Reciprocity Goes A Long Way

Afghan interpreters who were offered Canadian citizenship in exchange for assistance have been given a second lease on a new life.

More than one hundred Afghans had their citizenship applications denied after being promised fast-track processing, even though they had performed their duties to the Canadian government successfully and admirably.

One of the prerequisites of the deal placed the onus on these Afghan assistants to prove that their lives were going to be in constant danger if they remained in Afghanistan.

The PMO has since rescinded that condition, thereby streamlining the process.

These Afghans put an awful lot on the line serving our troops while we were in that country. They acted as liaisons and interpreters for our benefit. It’s only fair that they get a fair shake and that we hold up our end of the bargain.

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Both Sides Seem Happy

The deadline came and went. Twice. Early Sunday morning, it was announced that the city of Toronto had reached a tentative deal with the outside workers.

The deal is yet to be ratified, but does the union really have an option in that regard?

Public sympathy for unions is at an all time low, severely cramping any tactic that CUPE might be willing to employ.

Both sides were adamant in avoiding any sort of labour disruption, which is what may have kept them at the bargaining table long enough to hash out this deal.

Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday believes that this whole process will now become a template for other jurisdictions and Mayor Ford is obviously jubilant, calling it a victory for taxpayers.

Given the constant and consistent bashing Mayor Ford has received during his tenure, he should consider this one a victory. Easily the most important one thus far.

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TTC Shakeup In The Works?

Councillor Doug Ford has suggested that the TTC needs a little rearranging. He went so far as to say it needs ‘a complete enema’.

There should be little doubt that the TTC is bureaucracy heavy and could stand some trimming. Doug Ford wants it to be run more like a business, as it likely should be. If it had been run as a business lo these many years, chances are they’d have some cash reserves built up, requiring less propping up from the various levels of government.

This shakeup idea comes hot on the heels of a recent disagreement with TTC Chair Karen Stintz. Stintz wants the Eglinton LRT line to be above ground wherever possible, in a bid to save some cash and direct those savings to other TTC projects. Councillor Ford and other like-minded types wish for the entire Eglinton line to run underground, so as not to ...

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Something Odd About Groundhog Day

The whole set up behind Groundhog Day has always had something nonsensical in its philosophy.

We all know the story of Punxsutawney Phil and/or Wiarton Willie. These groundhogs are meant to come out of their winter time hidey-holes and ‘pontificate’ on the remaining duration of our winter.

As the folklore goes, should one of these furry beasts see their shadow, we’re in for six more weeks of winter and if they do not see their shadow, it is supposed to mean an early spring.

That folklore has it a bit backwards from a certain perspective. If the groundhog sees its shadow, then we can presume that the sun is out. And if the sun is out, then we can presume that the earth must be getting closer to it. And if the earth is getting closer to the sun, then that should indicate an early spring.

Not seeing the shadow ...

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They Did Budget For It...

So it appears city council can be forward thinking after all. But it seems to happen only when it concerns their pay packets.

Included in the city’s 2012 budget: a 2% pay raise for all 44 councillors and Mayor Ford. Councillors currently earn $99, 619 a year. The 2% raise would put them into six digit territory.

Oddly enough, council voted to freeze wages as part of the 2011 budget.

Considering all that is going on at city hall in terms of service cuts and trying to renegotiate contracts with outside workers, taking this pay hike would come across as a touch hypocritical.

Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday concedes that the raise could and should be vetoed.

It’s a shame that this type of forward thinking never seems to apply to other areas of council’s jurisdiction like public transit.

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Nothing Rotten In Denmark

However, there is something awfully foul in Mexico. The strange story of Sheila Nabb took an even more bizarre turn over the weekend.

A press conference was held to display Jose Ramon Acosta Quintero, the man who has confessed to beating Sheila Nabb while she was vacationing with her husband in Mazatlan on the west coast of Mexico.

Evidently, this sort of press conference is the norm in Mexico, trooping out the accused, who has to sit there and face a line of questions while being flanked by heavily armed Mexican Federales.

What raised the suspicions of most Canadians was the lack of any sort of bruising on the hands of Senor Quintero. Beating somebody to near death with one’s bare hands is bound to leave a mark.

A lot of Canadians have seen this as an attempt by the Mexican authorities to assuage our fears of traveling to Mexico ...

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Honour? What Honour?

Is anybody surprised by the verdict reached by the jury in the Shafia murder trial?

All three defendants were handed life sentences yesterday after a highly publicized trial.

To classify these as honour killings is just not in the Western mindset. We have no such concept in our society which leads us to have extreme difficulty trying to understand it.

As medieval as the practice is, does it not come across as overly heavy handed? How badly would you have to screw up for your parents to feel the need to eradicate you? Most of us were just kicked out of the house when we got out of line. How could a parent go so far as to remove their own progeny from existence?

There is a great line from the HBO show Six Feet Under and it sort of applies in these circumstances: ‘You know what I find interesting? ...

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To The Moon, Alice!

Republican candidate hopeful Newt Gingrich made more than a few heads turn when he promised a permanent base on the moon by the end of his second term as President.

Talk about getting ahead of oneself. Fairly presumptuous of Gingrich to expect that he will (in order): win the Republican nomination, win the election and become President, and then win a second term as Commander In Chief.

Furthermore, he’s expecting to win the Republican nomination with this ridiculous moon promise of his as a part of his platform.

Space travel is hardly top of mind for most folk, especially in a nation that is nearly drowning in economic woes.

Where were Newt’s advisors on this one? Lost in space, maybe?

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