Mayor Olivia Chow's Toronto

[PinkLucy]

Chow has said she won’t use the strong mayor powers but does that mean she won’t ever use them? Or only sometimes? That remains to be seen.

 

[rbt]

Chow has said she won’t use the strong mayor powers but does that mean she won’t ever use them? Or only sometimes? That remains to be seen.

I'm not sure she needs to use them for her priorities. The TTC and Community Housing committees aren't going to object to having additional funding for Chow priorities.

Also, getting additional funding (material impact to the budget) isn't something strong mayor powers can do AFAIK. Council as a whole still sets both the budget size and how it's divvied up.

Strong mayor powers are well oriented to preventing Nimby council members from attempting to constrain or delay, via amendment, a public housing proposal in their ward.

 

[toonderly]

Strong mayor powers are well oriented to preventing Nimby council members from attempting to constrain or delay, via amendment, a public housing proposal in their ward.

Are any of the strong mayor powers designed to prevent council from rising up and punishing the mayor for, say, lying about a crack tape? Or could what happened to Rob Ford in November of 2013 still happen?

 

[rbt]

Are any of the strong mayor powers designed to prevent council from rising up and punishing the mayor for, say, lying about a crack tape? Or could what happened to Rob Ford in November of 2013 still happen?

No. The mayor does not have the authority to hire/fire the Integrity Commissioner, Auditor, Clerk, treasurer, Police Chief, Fire Chief, or several other positions.

Veto and agenda modification powers only apply to furthering legislated provincial priorities: currently roads, housing, transit. Provincial priorities could be anything, but it's difficult to imagine a province wide priority that would help protect the mayor from the integrity commissioner.

If the province did desire to project a specific mayor from council at all costs (politically to themselves), it would be easier for the province to simply dissolve council and appoint the former mayor as Emergency Manager [this is the term in most USA states, I forget the Ontario name for the position]. Emergency Manager, a position that exists to handle municipality bankruptcy* type problems, has the full power of council to themselves and answers to the Minister of Municipal Affairs.

* Municipalities in Canada cannot legally go bankrupt (no creditor protection). The province backstops all debt. As a result, no province allows their municipalities to use debt for operating expenses (including interest payments). I don't know the Canadian term for Emergency Manager because it's extremely rarely used; the province always fixes runaway municipal debt problems by restructuring municipal boundaries before it's an issue.

 

[DSC]

No. The mayor does not have the authority to hire/fire the Integrity Commissioner, Auditor, Clerk, treasurer, Police Chief, Fire Chief, or several other positions.

Veto and agenda modification powers only apply to furthering legislated provincial priorities: currently roads, housing, transit. Provincial priorities could be anything, but it's difficult to imagine a province wide priority that would help protect the mayor from the integrity commissioner.

If the province did desire to project a specific mayor from council at all costs (politically to themselves), it would be easier for the province to simply dissolve council and appoint the former mayor as Emergency Manager [this is the term in most USA states, I forget the Ontario name for the position]. Emergency Manager, a position that exists to handle municipality bankruptcy* type problems, has the full power of council to themselves and answers to the Minister of Municipal Affairs.

* Municipalities in Canada cannot legally go bankrupt (no creditor protection). The province backstops all debt. As a result, no province allows their municipalities to use debt for operating expenses (including interest payments). I don't know the Canadian term for Emergency Manager because it's extremely rarely used; the province always fixes runaway municipal debt problems by restructuring municipal boundaries before it's an issue.

This City document explains more https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/u...rs-Factsheet-FINAL-for-External-Web-Nov25.pdf

Not clear if this would allow Olivia to fire Rick Leary from the TTC - though I have reservations about the whole idea, this is something that is long overdue!

 

[ShonTron]

Though Chow can (and I’d argue should) choose her own committee chairs and executive committee, she does not have the power to unilaterally appoint a new speaker.

So we’re likely stuck with that ghoul unless the mayor decides to chair council herself (which she can do).

 

[DSC]

Though Chow can (and I’d argue should) choose her own committee chairs and executive committee, she does not have the power to unilaterally appoint a new speaker.

So we’re likely stuck with that ghoul unless the mayor decides to chair council herself (which she can do).

I am not so sure you are right. I read the following to mean a Speaker ("Head of Council" ) can be appointed 'by the City with the Mayor's approval. The City of Toronto Act reads:

Role of the mayor as head of council​

133 (1) It is the role of the mayor of the City, as the head of council,

(a) to act as chief executive officer of the City;

(b) to preside over meetings of council so that its business can be carried out efficiently and effectively;

(c) to provide leadership to council;

(d) to represent the City at official functions; and

(e) to carry out the duties of the head of council under this or any other Act. 2006, c. 11, Sched. A, s. 133 (1).

Same​

(2) Without limiting clause (1) (c), the mayor’s role includes providing information and making recommendations to council with respect to council’s role under clauses 131 (d) and (e). 2006, c. 11, Sched. A, s. 133 (2).

Substitution​

(3) The City may, with the consent of the head of council, appoint a member of council to act in the place of the head of council on any body, of which the head of council is a member by virtue of being head of council. 2006, c. 11, Sched. A, s. 133 (3).

 

[Fresco]

This will be Olivia Chow's first big test. TTC safety

 

[000]

I watched the complete stabbing video from yesterday and it was absolutely terrifying. I think Olivia's response was weak.
We need to come up with a better solution than hiring private security guards.
Private security doesn't have the same power as police, their use of force training is to basically make a citizen's arrest which carries all sorts of liabilities https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/other-autre/wyntk.html
Why doesn't the TTC have live monitored security cameras on every train?
A panic alarm should have gone off without anyone needing to press it and police should have been waiting at the next station.
I feel sorry for the people of Toronto.

 

[zang]

Better video. The guy in white threw the first punch

Please don't retweet Andy Ngo. Aside from being an unsavoury defender of white supremacy, he's also notorious for re-posting other people's videos without credit and has been sued for doing so on several occasions. Especially egregious for someone who claims to be a "journalist". He is not the original poster of this video.

 

[tiffer24]

Suddenly a lot of conservatives have noticed that this city has a hostile and angry under class problem. According to them, six weeks ago life in this John Tory city was good. Amazing.

 

[Northern Light]

Why doesn't the TTC have live monitored security cameras on every train?

The TTC has no ability, currently to send those images. There is no form of wi-fi/cell coverage in most tunnels; that will change w/the Rogers investments, though I imagine capturing live images in real-time from a train moving at high speed may still present some challenges.

In any event, who would monitor the cameras? If each train required one person monitoring it, you'd have to hire hundreds of new staff across all shifts. There isn't even a facility that can accommodate that currently.

A panic alarm should have gone off without anyone needing to press it

Huh? Perhaps I'm lacking familiarity w/the technology in question, what is this alarm than spontaneously activates w/o anyone touching it, and what transit systems world wide currently deploy this?

How does this/would this work?

 

[zang]

Suddenly a lot of conservatives have noticed that this city has a hostile and angry under class problem. According to them, six weeks ago life in this John Tory city was good. Amazing.

When Andy Ngo and the Post Millennial jump on something, you know they're just going to pump coal as hard as they can into that outrage engine.

After the next three years the entire TTC could be 10x more safe, but it won't matter. Every single incident will be pinned to Chow's shirt and [insert name here] right-wing candidate will proclaim they're the only person capable of "cleaning up" the crime on the TTC by instituting service cuts and increasing the already bloated police budget.

It's how the conservative machine runs now, and it's been working for them so far.

 

[000]

Cell service works on other subway systems just fine.
Nobody should be pulling out a knife on a train. Security cameras systems can use ML/AI for object detection and there are models available for weapons (knives, guns). This isn't impossible.
If you have police at every station, false alerts are not a big deal, the public will feel safer.

 

[Northern Light]

Cell service works on other subway systems just fine.

Yes, we're getting cell service, no one said we were not.

I asked about your real-time cameras on trains w/live monitoring idea, and your touch-free panic alarm notion. Please answer the questions asked of you.