Robyn Doolittle talks Rob Ford and Crazy Town

Toronto Star reporter Robyn Doolittle discussed her new book Crazy Town -- about the drama surrounding Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, the investigation that led his belated admission to having used crack cocaine (once, probably during one of his drunken stupours) and how the Ford phenomenon  cane to be -- with Twitter Canada managing director Kristen Stewart at the Bloor Docs Cinema in Toronto on Monday evening.

I attended, and came home with my own copy of the book. I got a few chapters in on the subway and its a fascinating read so far, with a lot of interesting revelations about Doug Ford Sr. already that were news to me. And just the timeline at the front of the book is something. We all lived through the events, but to see it all listed there on the page -- the racist comments at city council, the drunken profanity at the Leafs game, the Florida arrest, the Garrison Ball, the crack video -- it staggers the mind to see it all in one place.

I last heard Doolittle speak in September on a Star panel on city hall at the Word on the Street event. At the time, they seemed pessimistic the proof would come out, and suspected the video had been located and destroyed. It's been quite the turnaround since then.

Below are my live tweets of the night's event, along with some tweets and pics from others that caught my eye. Doolittle and all the team at the Toronto Star have been very courageous and tenacious in their coverage, which is definitely far from finished. They deserve our support for still practising good, old-fashoned journalism. Crazy Town is an excellent read so far, but I suspect the last chapter on the Fords won't be written for some time yet.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

Ontario's NDP lines up behind Toronto Mayor Rob Ford

Here's an example of some pretty cynical political pandering from Ontario's NDP, as it decides to sidle up to Toronto's crack-smoking mayor Rob Ford in a misguided attempt to score political points.

Back in November, when there was discussion about whether the province should intervene in the drama surrounding Ford and Toronto's city council, Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath rightly said it should be up to the council to decide how it wanted to proceed.

"At this point, I think it's really important to maintain a position of respect for that council. They were elected by their local community, the mayor and city councillors. This is something that they have responsibility for, and I respect their role," she said.

And council acted, deciding to strip Ford of the bulk of his powers and hand the running of the city over to deputy mayor Norm Kelly, leaving Ford with just ceremonial duties and interviews with U.S. sports radio stations.

Fast-forward to this week. Ford wants a meeting with Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne to discuss provincial help for the city dealing with the aftermath of the holiday ice storm. Wynne says, in accordance with the wishes of Toronto's city council, she'll meet with Kelly, but not Ford.

Re-enter the NDP's Horwath, with these comments today:

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said that even if city council has stripped Ford of many of his mayoral powers, the polite thing to do would be to take the meeting.

“I was raised in a family that common courtesy was an important value and so I think the common courtesy of a response to a mayor’s request for a meeting is something that’s pretty easy to fulfil,” she said.

I disagree with Horwath here. Toronto city council has been clear -- Norm Kelly is running the city, because Ford has become a distracting embarrassment. Kelly is the person Wynne should deal with.

Hmm, how should I put it?

"I think it's really important to maintain a position of respect for that council. They were elected by their local community, the mayor and city councillors. This is something that they have responsibility for, and I respect their role."

Exactly, Ms. Horwath from two months ago. Exactly.

Its patently obvious that Rob Ford is out to score political points by either getting a meeting with the Premier to show he's still running things, despite the clearly expressed wishes of council, or playing the victim if she respects the wishes of council. This is about his re-election campaign.

Ford has enough enablers. Horwath shouldn't be one of them. Yet she is, just to take a shot at Premier Wynne.

From someone who seeks to be Premier herself, it's a pretty poor example of leadership.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

Reaction to Rob Ford at Argos game more carnival freak show than show of support

There I was, minding my own business just after halftime in a section 129 aisle seat at the Rogers Centre as the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tigercats clashed on Sunday in the CFL’s Eastern Division final, when I ended up with a ringside seat for the circus that has enveloped the City of Toronto. Yes, I came face to face with Rob Ford.

He was right beside me as I recognized the cause of the commotion, his hand thrust out at me. I shook it out of instinct and my deeply-bred Canadian politeness, still somewhat in shock and not thinking clearly. As he moved on, an aide put a gold-embossed business card and an infamous “Ford for Mayor” fridge magnet into my hand and the circus continued down the aisle. He was mobbed as he moved to his seats about 5 rows in front of me, around the 10 yard line. My first thought? You’d think he’d have better seats.

The circus show quickly overshadowed the game, as people crowded down to touch Ford’s cape (actually he wore the infamous Mayor Ford Argos jersey), offer high-fives and pose for photos. Our section was quickly invaded with everyone standing watching Ford, making watching the game near impossible. A Hamilton touchdown shortly after his arrival passed with scant notice from our section. In fact, the Argos would go scoreless after Ford’s arrival, losing their half time lead, as the Ticats punched their ticket to the Grey Cup.

Media also descended on our aisle from the press box to document the madness, and security moved in to try to move people back to their seats and ticketed sections as fans, particularly Hamilton fans, grew increasingly irate at their inability to watch a pretty good football game. Toronto Police removed a few fans who got abusive with a security guard, but otherwise they managed to settle things down. Ford would leave with under two minutes left, and the Argos still making an ultimately fruitless last-chance drive.

To answer the obvious questions: I did not see him consume any beverages or eat anything (make your own joke on the last one) and I didn’t witness any booing or negative comments. Everyone either wanted a picture or a high five, or just wanted to watch the damned football game.

I bet Ford, other than being disappointed with the Argos loss, left the game feeling pretty good about himself, and like he had a lot of support. And that would be a mistake. While there were undoubtedly some Ford Nation diehards present, I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the case for most.

For most, it was a carnival, a circus freakshow with Ford as the main attraction. Like many pseudo celebrities, he’s become famous not for his accomplishments, but for his misdeeds. He’s an ongoing train wreck we see nightly on our televisions. It’s our own reality show, and it has gone global. Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, Anderson Cooper 360 – it’s that crack guy they’re mocking on TV, let’s get a photo with him and Facebook it, will be hilarious.

I tweeted the other day that I never knew the Alateen meetings my parents made me attend as a teen would later give me such insight into municipal politics. I wrote about Mayor Ford a few months ago. We didn’t know the crack allegations were true then, but we knew enough. At the very least, we know the man is an alcoholic. He’s an addict, and he needs help. He needs to come to that realization on his own and he clearly hasn’t yet. The apologies offered are far from genuine – they have all the hallmarks of political calculation. And he seems to be surrounded by enablers unwilling to be truthful with him – anyone who would has been chased away.

Mayor Ford needs to hit rock bottom, before he can acknowledge his problems and truly begin to work them. He’s not there yet, and I worry, with all that has happened already, what rock bottom for him will look like. But I hope he gets there soon; for his own sake, and for the city’s.

Until it does, the circus will continue. And to the degree it ever was funny, it’s becoming less so every day. Now, it’s just sad.

What football game? All eyes on Rob Ford.

The media, including this CP reporter, invade the aisle to document the madness.

This fan did not make friends with Rogers Centre security trying to keep the section free of lookey-loos.

Toronto Police escort fans from the game.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

Talking Rob Ford and Toronto Politics at Word on the Street

Continuing my run of political Sundays, I spent the afternoon yesterday in the shadow of Queen's Park in downtown Toronto, where a number of panels and discussions at the Word on the Street took on a political theme.

Up first was the Toronto Star tent, where the city's paper of record gathered some of its political reporters to talk about their respective beats. And opening things up was "Mayor Rob Ford and the Year at City Hall" with city editor Irene Gentle, columnist David Rider and reporter Robyn Doolitte.

As you'd expect, given the character that is our Mayor and what some would term the Star's obsession (others would say its job) with documenting his activities (he refuses to talk to the Star, so the feelings are mutual), the Mayor was a frequent topic during the panel. It wasn't all a Ford fest though; development, transit, and other more substantive issues also made the cut.

The panel wasn't as negative on Ford as you may think; they even, tounge in cheek, endorsed his re-election -- they say he sells newspapers and is saving journalism. But more seriously, they praised his skills as a politician, and said he has a very good chance at re-election. They would like him to talk to the press more, and not play favourites.

The infamous video alleged to show crack smoking also got much discussion. They said they walked about buying it and did negotiate, but they were concerned about the price and, more importantly, where the money would go. Would their money be putting more guns on the street? They think the video will probably eventually come out, and implied there's more to the story they're not able to report yet. They did shoot-down two video-related rumours: they don't believe a Toronto lawyer for one of the accused has it, and they don't believe the police (allegedly through Project Traveler) have it either.

Below are a selection of live tweets from the panel, and a few pictures as well.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

Rob Ford needs to seek help himself

For those whose families have been touched by alcoholism, as mine has, the story in this morning’s Toronto Star “Rob Ford: ‘Intoxicated’Toronto mayor asked to leave military ball” will ring familiar.

Looking back at a long pattern of behavior it would seem obvious to all that Mayor Ford may have a problem. Obvious to everyone, that is, but Mayor Ford. Based on the article, it would certainly seem that it’s obvious to those close to him, who have been urging him to seek help. It’s also implied that some of those close to him that are speaking out, albeit anonymously, are doing so with the hope it will finally spur him into seeking help.

As anyone with any experience with this disease can tell you though, the realization and admission that you have a problem is something the person has to come to on their own. Until they’re ready to take that first step, there’s nothing you can do to spur them toward it. Realizing that is the first step toward maintaining your own sanity.

The only thing, and the best thing, that those around someone in this situation can do is to not be an enabler. Don’t make excuses for their behavior, don’t cover it up, don’t live in denial – it will only prolong their denial, and drag you into their illness as well, and the pain and damage it creates. And in the long run, you’re not doing them any favours.

Not that politics should enter into this, but I think most Torontonians would understand and respect a genuine  admission, and decision to seek help. And I know I would look dimly on those who would seek to profit politically from someone's addiction, particularly one that so many Canadians, and their loved ones, are suffering with.

I didn't vote for Rob Ford in the last election and if he runs again, I’ll vote for someone else. That’s solely based on his policy and decisions as mayor, with which I fundamentally disagree. But as someone who has seen first hand the damage that alcoholism does to families, I hope he admits that he has a problem, and that he seeks the help he needs. Both for himself, and for his family.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

We're the Rob Ford campaign team and we're super-awesome geniuses

A number of rather interesting stories have been percolating out of the Rob Ford campaign team since they successfully steamrolled their man into the Toronto Mayor's office a few weeks ago. They're to do with the strategies and tactics that helped turn a right-wing councilor who few gave a chance to win in Canada's most liberal city into a political end the gravy train movement.

I'm certainly very interested in their strategy around messaging and communications. Their message discipline and definition of narrative was admirable, and as a political communications junkie I think there are lessons to be learned from the Ford campaign.

But some of the revelations and tactics that his campaign team are putting out there and freely discussing? Well, they'd be better left undisclosed.

We've already had lots of coverage of the fake Smitherman-supporter Twitter account that the Ford campaign created to (successfully) obtain an audio recording that was potentially damaging to Ford, as well as try to subtly influence the online discussion:

Rob Ford's campaign team created a fake Twitter account and wrote more than 150 messages under the guise of being a George Smitherman supporter during the Toronto mayoral campaign.

The news came to light this week in and extensive profile by The Globe and Mail that a deputy communications director set up the fake account to flush out a potentially damaging audio tape.

Fraser Macdonald, 24, created a fake profile for a fictional woman named Karen Philby.

Through the account, the user appealed to a man who had an audio tape of Rob Ford seemingly promising to buy him OxyContin off the street, in order to do damage control.

But Philby's profile remained active, smearing mayoral candidates throughout the campaign, including Smitherman and Ford, all while posing as a Smitherman supporter.

For the full details on the Twitter initiative, read the features from the Globe and from Macleans, and Torontoist has the full stream.

And today we have another revelation from the Ford dirty tricks team:

The Rob Ford campaign had one of its members anonymously call John Tory’s radio show and berate him about his integrity as part of a successful strategy to keep Tory out of Toronto’s mayoral race.

Nick Kouvalis, Ford’s deputy campaign manager and now the mayor-elect’s chief of staff, told a forum Friday morning that his success in preventing Tory from reconsidering his decision not to run “was a huge victory for Rob, so he took John out and Rob won because of it.”

Now, I'm not going to pretend for a moment that these were unique situations. Sneaky, underhanded, even morally unquestionable tactics are hardly unheard of in the annals of political campaigning. So these revelations aren't unique in that regard.

No, what's unique is that they're talking about them. Nay, boasting about them. These stories aren't being leaked, or unearthed by investigative journalists. Senior members of the Ford campaign team members are openly boasting of their dirty tricks successes.

Such stories aren't unique. But boasting about them certainly is. It's rather astounding, frankly, to see these backroom boys out there boasting about their awesomeness. I'm sure it feels great for them to feed their egos and see stories about their awesomeness, but that's just not how this business is supposed to work. They call it the backroom for a reason.

And they're doing their candidate, the soon to be mayor, a disservice. Ford's job now, and it's going to be a big one, is to try to bring the city and a divided council together to get support to pass his agenda, and address the not insignificant issues facing the City of Toronto. He needs to grow the tent. These sorts of stories don't help. John Tory is reportedly interested in taking a role at city hall to help Ford. I wonder how he'll react to these revelations?

These guys have forgotten that it's not about the staffers. It's about the candidate. People don't want to see how the sausage is made. And, frankly, no one cares about process stories anyway. There's only downside here.

The truly awesome don't need to brag about their awesomeness. They let the results speak for themselves.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

Finding it hard to get excited about Toronto’s mayoralty race

I’ve lived in Toronto for five years now after moving out from British Columbia for a journalism job, and I’m finally starting to feel at home. I still hate the Maple Leafs, but I no longer look away from the CN Tower in an effort to fool myself into thinking I’m not really in Hogtown. I even read the Toronto Star every now and again.

Still, I’m finding it hard to work-up the energy or interest to get excited about our race for mayor or to get engaged by any of the candidates. It’s not that I don’t care about any local issues – transit is my big one – but all the candidates thus far have struck me as either crazy, timid or panderers. It’s hard to be excited about any of them in the mayor’s office, and at this point I still have no idea who I’ll mark an X for in October.

I can safely cross Rob Ford off the list, for reasons so manifold and obvious I shan’t bother to list them. As much as some of his populist pap may strike a chord that is resonating in the polls though, I think his numbers have as much to do with the unimpressive performance of his opponents.

The two obvious choices for me to support based on my political leanings would be George Smitherman and Rocco Rossi. Sadly, I haven’t been much impressed with either of them.

I met Rocco a few times when he was briefly executive director of the federal Liberal Party. He seemed like an accomplished fellow, bursting with energy and ideas. I was pleased when he entered the race, even if he was leaving unfinished business back in Ottawa. But then he started making announcements.

I’ll give Rocco credit for one thing. While Smitherman has been too timid to say muchof substance as the (in his mind) frontrunner, as the scrappy challenger Rossi has been putting plenty of stuff out there. The problem is, I don’t really like any of it. He seemed to hew right so sharply when he launched I found myself wondering if it was really the Liberal Party he was formerly executive directing.

He supports empty populist pap that echoes the Reform Party of old and sounds nice but will do nothing to confront the issues facing Toronto, like cutting the Mayor’s pay or implementing recall legislation. Selling-off Toronto Hydro, besides getting rid of a valuable asset, just temporarily papers-over deeper budget issues. I can get behind putting garbage services to tender. But he loses me on the issue that matters to me most: transit.

First he wanted to freeze Transit City, a plan already funded and in the works that would see LRT lines soon crisscross the city, in favour of studying other options. We need more transit now, this plan is ready to go, and preferring an imperfect plan to more delay I opposed this. Now he wants to take the money from selling Toronto Hydro and put it toward expanding the subway. Subway is better than LRT, but a few problems. First, I don’t support selling off assets to do it. Two, subway is a lot more expensive than LRT, which means less of it, which means many areas will wait much longer for service improvements. Third, he assumes the other levels of government that have committed funding to Transit City will allow it to be ported over to this new plan. That’s a large assumption.

Still, while I don’t agree with most of them, Rossi is at least out there talking policy. Which is more than I can say for Smitherman. As someone who hasn’t followed the race super-close, the impression I have of George is that he seems very reluctant to take firm positions, sometimes gets angry, and went for a long walk down Eglington. So I went to a Web site and, while he offers a little more substance there, traffic wardens and service review don’t exactly set hearts a’flutter. And on transit, he seems to want to do LRT and subway but I don’t see how he’ll pay for it.

Then, there are a handful of other candidates. Apparently someone named Joe Pantalone is running; I know this only because Jack Layton just endorsed him (Jack appears no less than thrice on the front page of his Web site). There’s also a Sarah Thompson who may or may not be slightly conservative and has no political experience. And there was some guy that wanted to build a casino or something but I think he dropped out.

There are our choices for mayor in Canada’s largest city. Any race where people were excited about the prospect of John Tory's potential entry has problems. Maybe I should start averting my gaze from the CN Tower once more. Will any of the candidates step up and impress?

If voters like me are so uninspired we don't bother to vote, that's how Rob Ford wins. But just being the "not crazy alternative" won't cut it either.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

On Adam Giambrone, morality vs. privacy, and the media as gatekeeper

Reading the Toronto Star’s stunning tabloidesque story this morning that may doom Adam Giambrone’s Toronto mayoral bid in its infancy, a number of thoughts come to mind around just how much we have a right to know about the private lives of politicians, whether such considerations should be relevant to our voting decisions, and the powerful role the media plays in deciding what is “newsworthy” and what isn’t.

Myself, I wasn’t going to vote for Giambrone anyways, so these revelations don’t change that. His political experience, and inexperience, were enough for me to make that decision. Frankly, I’ve been underwhelmed, if not very disappointed, by what I’ve seen from all the mayoral candidates so far.

Still, academically-speaking, are the revelations in the Diebel story relevant, do we have a right to know? That’s a tough one. I think politicians are entitled to a private life. As long as it doesn’t impact or interfere with their jobs, as long as it’s between consenting adults and doesn’t break laws, then it’s not relevant.

Maxime Bernier and Julie Couillard was relevant because of a) her potential ties to organized crime, and b) he left confidential documents at his apartment. Elliott Spitzer was relevant because prostitution is illegal. Mark Sanford was relevant because he traveled on government funds, was absent from his job, and his staff lied to the media.

At first blush, the Giambrone story does appear to pass this relevancy test, if only barely: he shared confidential information with his mistress, Kristen Lucas, about the upcoming TTC fare hike. Absent that one minor breach (that we know about), I’d say this affair concerns only Giambrone and the two women involved, Lucas and his partner, Sarah McQuarrie.

The other question that speaks to relevancy is honesty. We have two very divergent descriptions of the relationship from Lucas and Giambrone. We’ll see in the fullness of time which one is being more honest here. But for Giambrone, full disclosure and honesty up front is the only way to get through this (if he even can). Get caught short later and it’s definitely over. But the two accounts do strain credulity. Lucas alleges a sexual affair. Giambrone alleges the relationship was only “text messages and conversations in public places only.” If that’s really the case, one wonders just what he’s apologizing for.

Whether such revelations are relevant or not though, and whether or not they should have gone public in the first place, the fact is voters will decide for themselves what they consider relevant, and what they will base their voting decision on. While I’d question whether we truly should know these sorts of things about politicians, the fact is once known they absolutely will impact my voting decision. It speaks to character and integrity. I don’t expect politicians to be perfect. But if someone is dishonest or duplicitous in their personal lives, it does make me question their fitness to make good decisions in the public interest.

Which brings me to the media. Despite the rising prominence of new media and blogging, by and large it’s still the mainstream media that act as gatekeepers, deciding what they feel we have a right to know about the public lives of politicians, and what we don’t.

And make no mistake, they are making these calls regularly. There’s one major affair in Ottawa that, although it’s widely known in political and media circles, the media has made a conscious decision not to report. It could well be career-ending but, although there could be incidents of the matter crossing into the job performance area, the media collectively have decided it’s a private matter that just isn’t news, so it goes unreported.

So when I read stories like the Giambrone one it makes me wonder just what criteria the media use to make these decisions to report or not. Is it better to just have everything out there and let the chips fall where they may, letting the people decide relevancy for themselves instead of the media? Or should we trust the media to continue making these calls on our behalf?

Certainty, the media has been trending more and more towards publish it all over the years. There was a time when private was decidedly private. The obvious example was the lack of coverage of John F. Kennedy’s many affairs back in the day. The media regularly turned a blind eye to that sort of thing here too for many years. Gradually, that began to change. I think the emergence of a less chummy, more professional relationship between the media and those they cover was one factor. The shortened news cycle probably another.

Myself, I think such stories often aren’t news and I don’t really need to know, as long as it doesn’t impact job performance, involve illegality or use of public resources. But I also don’t like the media picking and choosing what it thinks I should know about, and what I shouldn’t. Especially when its done without transparency, seemingly by arbitrary or unknown standards.

While such coverage may be tabloidesque, marginally relevant and have no bearing on my voting intention, frankly, I think I’d rather make that decision for myself.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

Bad math: Toronto giveth, but Toronto taketh more away

Some recent events leave me more befuddled than ever at the state of affairs in our fair City of Toronto, and wondering more than ever if intelligent leadership may emerge in time for next year's municipal election. Heck, I may actually have to pay attention to local politics for a change.

A few weeks ago I arrived home to my Scarborough apartment to find a letter addressed to "current tenant" from the City of Toronto. Great news, the letter and accompanying brochures and backgrounder heralded: my rent is being reduced!

Yes, the city elders have seen fit to lower property taxes in Toronto the good. As an apartment renter, of course, I don't pay property taxes directly: they're part of my rent, and are paid by thge property owner. By law, though, when property taxes are decreased by 2.49% or more, I get an automatic rent decrease.

How much, you ask? Why starting December 31, 2009, I can reduce my rent by a whopping 0.55%! For me, that amounts to a reduction of $4.34/month. Or, for the year, $52.08. Not much but hey, better than nothing right?

Then a few days later I went to buy my January Metropass, because the TTC is how I commute between my office and my luxury pad in Scarberia. And, as reported earlier, the TTC has raised prices. A lot. So the Metropass that cost me $109 in December cost me $121 for January. An increase of $12/month. Or $144 for the year.

So when you net out my property-tax driven rent decrease with my Toronto's massive funding shortfall-driven TTC fair increase, I'm in the hole by $7.66/month, or $91.92 over the year. And since I don't have the pleasure of working for the city I don't get an automatic pay increase that will cover it. Actually, we all took pay cuts this year due to the economy.

So thanks for nothing, City of Toronto. And by the way, why would you cut property taxes AND jack-up TTC fares? Obviously the city has money troubles, that was your justification for the fare increases. But then why would you cut property taxes?

I thought David Miller was supposed to be some kind of socialist or something. I didn't major in poly sci, so perhaps the nuance escapes me. But the logic of cutting property taxes, which will disproportionately benefit wealthy property owners (who probably don't take the TTC, I'd bet) while jacking-up TTC fares, which disproportionately hurts the less wealthy that can't afford to drive (and probably aren't big property owners) escapes me. It seems more like Reganesque trickle-down economic theory than anything else.

Are there any adults left at city hall?

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

The TTC is on crack

Most cities want people to take public transit. They see value in getting people to park their cars and take the bus or subway. They even encourage such behaviour. Not so in Toronto. In Toronto, transit users are an annoyance to the transit system, something to be barely tolerated, and even loathed.

Yes, the TTC is set to hike fares again, and I don’t mean by a little. They’re proposing major fare hikes that will, bizarrely and stupidly, hit Metropass holders the hardest.

The cash fare for a single trip is proposed to rise by a quarter, fro, $2.75 to $3. Token fares would also go up by a quarter, from $2.25 to $2.50. A weekly pass would rise from $32.25 to $36. And the big daddy, a monthly Metropass, would skyrocket from an already pricy $109 to a ridiculous $126.

The problem, according to the TTC? It seems too many people are taking transit. The horror!

I accept that riders do need to pay their fair share to fund the transit system but it’s worth noting that the TTC already gets 71 per cent of its revenue from riders, one of the highest percentages in North America.

The TTC needs to control costs internally, and the province and feds need to step in with stable operating funding. They’re quick to do flashy capital acquisition photo-ops, but operating funds keep the trains running.

There’s a reason we as a society subsidize transit: it gets cars off the road, reduces congestion, and is good for the environment. Maybe less money on highways and more money on transit would be an idea.

But back to the TTC. Even if you accept the need for fare hikes, the decision to disproportionately punish Metropass holders, your best and most loyal customers, is asinine. You want to be encouraging people to buy Metropasses, not discourage them.

Already a pretty shitty deal, under the new fare regime a Metropass holder needs 50 trips to break even over token fares. That’s a round-trip to work every weekday, and at least another roundtrip every weekend. And THEN you start to have a better deal over tokens. That’s an exceedingly shitty deal that is only made less shitty, ironically, by the Harper government’s transit pass tax credit, which lowers the break-even number to about 42 trips.

(Although, it’s worth noting that the credit is also part of the problem: it encouraged people to buy passes, yes, but with no more operating funds for the TTC it leads to congestion and the need to either lower service levels or hike fares, thereby driving some back to their cars.)

It’s stupid for the TTC to be discouraging pass holders like this. They should want to incent people to buy passes. It’s better for them. They get the money in one hit at the beginning of the month, instead of having to collect it over the course of the month in cash and tokens, that cost them money to process. Pass holders generate steady, predictable revenue and are loyal customers. Most transit systems price cash, token and pass fares to encourage pass buying over tokens, and tokens over cash. Not the TTC.

These hikes will undoubtedly encourage many to just go back to their cars, as the TTC is making the transit value proposition less and less attractive. Which may be their goal; those pesky transit users only clutter up the subway cars.

But for many, such as me, there’s no choice but to take the TTC. Buying a car isn’t really an option right now. So we’re held hostage to the TTC and its ridiculous fare hikes. And it’s hard to see any sanity on the horizon.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

A Layton quote to remember

In an interview where NDP leader Jack Layton rules-out any intention to seek the Toronto mayoralty following the decision of the unpopular incumbent, David Miller, no not seek re-election, he also graces us with this gem:

Mr. Layton said that while Mayors typically do not emphasize their partisan connections, Mr. Miller's record serves as an example of how New Democrats govern.

You heard it here folks, and don't you forget: David Miller's tenure is an example of how NDPers govern. Next election, let's not forget that statement.

I know Torontonians won't.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

Mayor David Miller overthrown?

As the Toronto garbage strike continues with no end in sight, I, for one, welcome our new raccoon overlords. After the last mayor, they could be a definite improvement...

Message from the Toronto Raccoon Insurgency from openflows on Vimeo.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

Severe weather + mounds of rotting garbage = fun!

I'm a big fan of extreme weather. Particularly when I don't have to venture outside but can just watch it from the comfort of my home or office. So this advisory for Toronto this afternoon is interesting:

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH: City of Toronto Issued at 11:04 AM EDT THURSDAY 25 JUNE 2009

LOCALIZED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON WITH LARGE HAIL, DAMAGING WINDS, TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS, AND FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. THIS IS AN ALERT TO THE POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. MONITOR WEATHER CONDITIONS..LISTEN FOR UPDATED STATEMENTS. IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES TAKE IMMEDIATE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS.
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO AFFECT PORTIONS OF THE ABOVE REGIONS. SOME OF THESE STORMS WILL CONTAIN LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. TORRENTIAL RAIN OF 50 MILLIMETRES WITHIN AN HOUR AND INTENSE FREQUENT LIGHTNING WILL ALSO ACCOMPANY THE STORMS.

And add extreme wind, rain, thunder and hail to mounds of smelly rotting garbage dotting the city on day 4 of a city workers strike, and its a recipe for much interesting developments to be sure.

Have a fun afternoon, Mayor Miller.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

Why do Conservatives hate Ontario?

Conservative finance minister Jim Flaherty famously called Ontario the worst place in Canada to invest. Helpful to remember on a day when we get more bad news for the province's beleaguered manufacturing sector. And now its transport minister John Baird talking down Toronto:

In an unguarded moment, Baird told aides Toronto stood alone in not meeting the technical criteria for federal cash, yet was complaining about Ottawa dragging its feet.

"Twenty-seven hundred people got it right. They didn't. That is not a partnership and they're bitching at us," he said.

"They should f - off."

Stay classy, John Baird. And once again, we see the Conservatives showing an impressive aversion to accountability for their own words and actions. Much like the Raitt tapes, the Conservatives are saying Baird's words were private and not meant for public consumption. Never mind the fact he was at a major conference with hundreads of representatives of Canada's municipalities, and made the comments as he (accidentally, he says) walked into the media room, where he was overheard by a reporter.

Whether Baird meant the comment to me heard or not, it doesn't change the fact that he was. It doesn't change the face that he said it. And it doesn't change the face that the feeling is mutual, John. So instead of whining that it was a private comment, man-up John and either own it or apologize.

Oh, and by the way my Conservative friends who will dismiss this little story, I ask you to consider what your reaction would be if take this story but change it to a Liberal minister speaking about Alberta. Would it be a non-story then?

John should just apologize, and move on. Work with Toronto to address whatever issues there were with their application so Canada's largest city can get the stimulus and transit assistance it needs. His comments do, however, speak to a pattern of disdain for Toronto and Ontario within the CPC party that won't be easily forgotten.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

I left my heart in San Francisco...

...or so it seemed when I read the news once I got back from the left coast last week about the TTC's fare hikes.

I took transit, called MUNI, a few times while in San Francisco to get around the city and the fare was pretty reasonable. Indeed, compared to the TTC it was crazy cheap. Cash fare is US$1.50, and that's good for 90 minutes in any direction unlike the TTC, where transfers are one-way. I checked their Web site, and a monthly pass can be had for US$45.

Then I get back to Toronto, and I read this:

In November, 15 cents will be added to the cost of tickets and tokens, bringing the price to $2.25.

Riders will also pay much more – $109, up from $99.75 – for the Metropass, which was exempted from last year's fare increase. TTC chair Adam Giambrone resisted a recommendation from staff to increase it to $111. The $2.75 cash fare will remain the same.

I already find TTC fares incredibly high, and now they're jacking them up even higher? I've only been here a little over two years and this is at least the second, if not the third, fare hike in that time. I'm a regular transit user, I buy a Metropass each month, and now that's going to cost me $109? That's inane! The break-even point on tokens vs. Metropass is already too high.

And what do I get for that $109? I get to squeeze onto an overcrowded bus that comes far too infrequently. My bus in the morning doubles as a school bus, which means if I try to catch it between 8:05am and 8:40am, if I'm lucky enough to get on board (they often fly by full) I'm hanging onto a railing for dear life. So I either get to work very early, or late. It's the same in the peak going home, and yet frequency is still extremely low.

The idea with public transit, and the public subsidization thereof, is supposed to be to get people out of their cars and onto transit, to reduce gridlock and reduce emissions. When you have an overburdened system though, for which you keep jacking-up fares to crazy levels, you make it very hard for people to want to leave their cars.

Now, I'm sure this all has to do with the ongoing Mayor Miller vs. The World battle at city hall, and us poor plebes are just caught in the middle. Although, the fact the TTC chair says even if the mayor gets his tax hikes these fare increases are here to stay hurts that case a tad. Still, clearly the city, province and the feds need to put more money into the system. They're asking riders to pay too great a share.

By the way, this serves to expose the uselessness of the Harper government's tax credit on transit passes. That's not what the system needs, and it's of absolutely no help. What it needs is more base funding to lower fares and increase capacity, which will encourage people to ditch their cars.

And finally, they increased Metropass and token/ticket prices, but they left cash fares unchanged. Why? Why punish your most loyal customers, the ones that give you a steady revenue stream each month? Is it because you know they're less likely/less able to stop taking the TTC because of the increase than the casual, cash fare customer?

Probably. It's basically the TTC giving the finger to its most loyal customers. They may not lose many current customers, but people thinking of switching to transit will be thinking twice. More cars on the road, more gridlock, more emissions.

I should have stayed in San Francisco.

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers

Bite me David Miller

I've never really cared much about Toronto municipal politics or really paid much attention to then but I'm going to have to start, because this news on transit cuts coming-out of city hall yesterday is total BS, and completely irresponsible political posturing by Miller and company.

Near as I can tell there’s a pissing match going on between the right wing and left wing factions at city hill, most recently over balancing the budget. When the right wingers embarrassed Miller and won a rare motion the other day to defer a vote on tax increases, Miller decided all of a sudden massive budget cuts were needed, primarily to the TTC. For some reason, he never mentioned this before the vote…

In addition to reducing hours for libraries and community centres, the biggest cuts are to the TTC including a major one, the mothballing of the Sheppard Subway line, plus the cancellation of 21 bus routes. And on top of that, a 25 cent fare increase.

Don’t remember Miller and his cronies campaigning last year on slashing transit service either…

This is though, this is all politics. One the one hand, it’s designed to turn public opinion against the right wing councilors that voted against Miller’s $350 million tax increase. Never mind the fact Miller’s side refused to even consider a symbolic pay cut for councilors, calling it a stupid stunt.

But more than that, this is about the upcoming provincial election, and it’s about the fallout of the downloading of the Mike Harris era. Miller wants more money from the province (and feds) to address systemic structural funding shortfalls and help him balance the budget.

This splashy scare mongering is really aimed at Dalton McGuinty and John Tory. Miller wants to make this a provincial election issue, hoping with the pressure of the campaign trail one or both of them will promise to pony-up big cash, saving the city from its manufactured fiscal crisis and letting the subway trains keep rolling.

I’m not unsympathetic to the arguments around downloading, I think it’s a real issue that needs to be seriously addressed. But recklessly playing games with the transit system at a time ridership numbers are finally starting to rise is not the way to do it. Just the news today alone is going to be sending many people back to their cars, clogging the highways and belching exhaust.

David Miller needs to grow-up and approach this responsibly. Is there any adult supervision down at city hall?

Recommend this Post on Progressive Bloggers