Barber: Hazel Takes Up Charge for Municipal Funding

[CDL.TO]

Indeed. Postal codes can be very specific. They often refer to specific apartment buildings as well.

Here's the map of first-three letters of postal codes (PDF). You want page 75.

 

[The Mississauga Muse]

Indeed. Postal codes can be very specific. They often refer to specific apartment buildings as well.

Here's the map of first-three letters of postal codes (PDF). You want page 75.

Oh man, THANK YOU, CDL.TO! I just had a look and it will be good enough for what I needed. For example, the less affluent area of Cooksville really does have a different postal code from (say) Gordon Woods. And the vulnerable sector of Lakeview is indeed separate from the million buck mansions near Rattray Marsh.

And Malton is easy too.

Thank you thank you thank you. I now know it'll be worth the $17.00 it'll cost me for a list of those attending the Stephen Lewis thingie. I was also told that City of Mississauga employees who'd happened to have used their Civic Centre addresses would be identified as such.

Neat. Now all I'll have to do is document 900 or so dots on that map you so kindly provided.

My hypothesis remains the same. The affluent showed up and most of it from The South.

We'll see.

All the best.

 

[The Mississauga Muse]

I hate Hazel as much as the next guy, but is it really necessary to call her a Quebecker?

It's been about a week since I read this comment. It bothered me from the moment I read it but I just felt it best to let it go. But it's been pricking at my conscience so clearly I can't.

I'm not sure what McCallion may have done to you to "hate" her. On Sunday I was at the Remembrance Day ceremonies in Streetsville and there she was.

I shot video of her through a crowd of uniforms and people milling about (I'm short so I didn't get much).

But it was pretty much the end of the ceremonies when anyone else who'd like to place a wreath gets to come up and place a wreath.

It was the only time that I really got a good shot of her. All I got was telephoto of her waiting --a private moment if McCallion can ever had such a thing.

Anyway.

I viewed the video yesterday and watching her ...well, I wondered what she was thinking.

Me, I figured when you're 86, you've got to be wondering if this might be your last Remembrance Day. I know my dad (85) does this kind of wondering.

Like her, like her politics or no, she's still extraordinary and even now, after all I know and have researched on Mississauga, there are still those moments when I feel pride we have such a powerhouse as mayor.

And no, this isn't me on too much wine or other substances typing. Or some religious re-awakening.

The thing is, for me, no matter what, when I look at her or listen to her... she IS Mississauga.

I just hope that no one ever interprets my Mississauga posts as "hate". Rather, they are in response to decades of Corporate "We're wooooooooonnnnnnnnnddddddddderful" spin and then (since February 2007) dozens of Freedom of Information results showing what is.

Nobody cares. Nobody.

 

[ShonTron]

People do have a right to privacy. In an urban area the postal code could be used to identify specific buildings or locations. I sure as heck wouldn't want them giving out my postal code to a member of the public who requests it.

...but for that matter I usually give out fake postal codes anyway. Hello A1B 2C3!

I give out fake postal codes all the time. I used to give out M5W 1E6, a postal station code (the one the CBC uses and directs snail mail to on the air), but one or two got wise when the computer rejected the M5W FSA. Some retailers can be very demanding, and I especially hate that, because I do geocoding all the time, and a postal code can give an almost exact address. It should be quasi-private, and can not believe that so many people don't think twice. Try typing a postal code in Google Maps, and it's very accurate.

Note: The letters D, F, I, O, Q, U are not used in a postal code.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

From the Post:

McCallion backs off, joins Miller's fight
'One Cent' Campaign
Chris Wattie, National Post
Published: Saturday, November 17, 2007

OSHAWA - Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion has backed down over her attempt to supplant the "One Cent Now" campaign led by Toronto Mayor David Miller to wring one cent of the federal GST from Ottawa to fund Canadian municipalities.

Ms. McCallion emerged from a lengthy meeting yesterday of the mayors of Ontario's 15 biggest cities to announce that she is now willing to support the campaign, although she won some concessions from her fellow mayors.

The final resolution from the Large Urban Mayors Caucus of Ontario calls for the federal government to share the "equivalent of one cent of GST with Canada's cities and communities," with the word "equivalent" underlined.

It also recognizes that the national campaign should support local initiatives "including the Cities Now! Campaign in Mississauga."

In return, Ms. McCallion agreed to lend her support to the One Cent campaign, which Mr. Miller has championed for the past year.

"It was a hot meeting, but a cold seat," Ms. McCallion told reporters gathered at the chilly Oshawa hockey arena where the meeting was held. "But I want to assure you that the decision ... was unanimous."

The Mississauga Mayor last week launched her own campaign to win more federal funding, which she called "Cities Now!" after expressing concerns over the idea of dedicating one cent of the GST to fund the country's large municipalities, a plan that was endorsed last year by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

Mr. Miller said the mayors' agreement to qualify the "One Cent" campaign by demanding "the equivalent" of one cent from the GST will not dilute the message to the federal government.

And he insisted there was no real difference between Mississauga's campaign and the one he has been pushing for more than a year. "We've agreed unanimously that local municipalities can support that campaign in innovative ways, like Mississauga's Cities Now! campaign," the Toronto mayor said. "It's the same thing."

Mr. Miller shook his head when asked about the two campaigns. "They're complimentary. Mayor McCallion and I are in complete agreement. It's very helpful when Ontario's longest-serving Mayor speaks up and says that we need this funding now," he said.

"It's the same message from all of us. It may be expressed differently locally, but it's the same thing."

John Gray, the Mayor of Oshawa, said after the three-hour meeting that the discussion among the 15 mayors was cordial, even between Ms. McCallion and Mr. Miller, who are sometimes at odds over policy and direction for their competing cities. "I wouldn't say there were fireworks," he told reporters. "There were some discussions and some points were made -- everyone has their program that they want to promote.

"Hazel acquiesced and she understands that there has to be one voice .... Hazel understands the big picture."

"We need the money," Ms. McCallion said. "The needs of all the municipalities, right across the country not just Ontario, is even greater than our [Mississauga's] needs."

© National Post 2007

AoD

 

[unimaginative2]

That's an excellent compromise. The "equivalent" is a no-brainer, since that's what's already been done with the gas tax.

 

[The Mississauga Muse]

That's an excellent compromise. The "equivalent" is a no-brainer, since that's what's already been done with the gas tax.

Question. (and it's a genuine question based on video I shot of the Mississauga CITIES NOW 5% debate)

It's better for The Mississauga Rich to have McCallion go with the 1% gas tax than a 5% Infrastructure Levy, right?

 

[Anth]

Mississauga News: Peel wants a special infrastructure tax, too

While many Mississauga taxpayers are still trying to get their minds around a five per cent infrastructure levy imposed unexpectedly last week by city council, they now face a similar one per cent tax from the Region of Peel.

Treasurer Dan Labrecque has told Peel councillors that they should consider imposing a special tax of one per cent in each of the next 10 years to pay for infrastructure, especially roads, which are estimated to cost $290 million in that period.