N
nassauone
Guest
The most interesting part of this is the uncanny resemblance to Miketoronto with here Quote:
"They feel this has contributed to the decline, especially of the downtown core,"
Ah HA! The true doppleganger has shown their face.
Homeless panel votes to oust Pitfield
Panhandling issue sparks friction
Advocates for homeless angered
May 16, 2006. 05:36 AM
JOHN SPEARS
CITY HALL BUREAU
Her efforts to control Toronto's panhandlers has mayoral candidate Jane Pitfield battling the city's homeless advocates.
During a raucous meeting yesterday members of the city's homelessness advisory committee voted to remove Pitfield as co-chair.
But Pitfield says only city council can remove her from the post. And she said she won't quit voluntarily in the face of opposition to a motion she has presented in city council seeking tougher measures against panhandling.
Some members of the committee walked out after voting 28 to 4 in favour of asking the city's community services committee to begin the process to have Pitfield removed as co-chair.
The homelessness committee's rules are informal, allowing all those who attend meetings to vote.
"Not having confidence in the co-chair leaves us in a bit of a conflict of interest in staying in a meeting with a co-chair who shouldn't be there," explained Beric German, a member of the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee, which led the charge against Pitfield.
Pitfield will present a motion at next week's city council meeting asking for several reports from city staff about what can be done to curb panhandling.
One asks whether the city can pass a "quality of life" bylaw making it illegal to "impede any other person's reasonable enjoyment of day-to-day activities through panhandling."
Her motions were prompted by an incident April 26 when Councillor Michael Thompson was "aggressively approached by a panhandler" in Nathan Phillips Square.
Dan Heap — a former Toronto councillor and MP — presented a motion of non-confidence in Pitfield's leadership of the committee, calling her proposal "a bylaw to oppress the poor."
"Taking an action against panhandling is a mistake," Heap, now 80, explained in an interview outside the meeting.
"Panhandling is not the cause of the trouble. The cause of the trouble is some of the people who are working are sometimes not paid enough to pay the rent and feed the kids.
"That's what has to be dealt with: Low, low incomes."
Pitfield originally ruled Heap out of order, because she's appointed by city council, not the committee. That touched off a series of angry outbursts that caused Pitfield to call a recess for tempers to cool. When the meeting resumed, Heap's motion was redrawn as a recommendation to council to unseat Pitfield.
Tom Smarda of the Toronto chapter of the Council of Canadians said her motions are simply part of her campaign for the mayoralty in November's municipal election.
"Her motion can be moved as a publicity strategy to garner right-wing votes on her behalf while hurting the sick and marginalized even further," he said.
But some committee members supported Pitfield remaining co-chair. Greg Paul is executive director of Sanctuary, a Christian outreach agency serving street people.
"I don't think we do ourselves a service by insisting that everybody have the same view about how to address issues of poverty," Paul said.
"The reality is Mrs. Pitfield — although I may disagree with some of her politics — has been there and she's been present and she'd stepped up when some councillors who have a more progressive reputation have not."
Pitfield (Ward 26, Don Valley West) told her opponents that counselling and job training — not panhandling — are what the city's street people need.
Panhandling isn't necessarily a homelessness issue, because some panhandlers have homes, and even cars, she said adding that most people in Toronto are worried about the extent of panhandling.
"They feel this has contributed to the decline, especially of the downtown core," she said later.
Pitfield said her motions shouldn't result in a police crackdown on the poor.
"(I see) this more as a decision by our council to do more, to do better and say we want to help people off the streets."
"They feel this has contributed to the decline, especially of the downtown core,"
Ah HA! The true doppleganger has shown their face.
Homeless panel votes to oust Pitfield
Panhandling issue sparks friction
Advocates for homeless angered
May 16, 2006. 05:36 AM
JOHN SPEARS
CITY HALL BUREAU
Her efforts to control Toronto's panhandlers has mayoral candidate Jane Pitfield battling the city's homeless advocates.
During a raucous meeting yesterday members of the city's homelessness advisory committee voted to remove Pitfield as co-chair.
But Pitfield says only city council can remove her from the post. And she said she won't quit voluntarily in the face of opposition to a motion she has presented in city council seeking tougher measures against panhandling.
Some members of the committee walked out after voting 28 to 4 in favour of asking the city's community services committee to begin the process to have Pitfield removed as co-chair.
The homelessness committee's rules are informal, allowing all those who attend meetings to vote.
"Not having confidence in the co-chair leaves us in a bit of a conflict of interest in staying in a meeting with a co-chair who shouldn't be there," explained Beric German, a member of the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee, which led the charge against Pitfield.
Pitfield will present a motion at next week's city council meeting asking for several reports from city staff about what can be done to curb panhandling.
One asks whether the city can pass a "quality of life" bylaw making it illegal to "impede any other person's reasonable enjoyment of day-to-day activities through panhandling."
Her motions were prompted by an incident April 26 when Councillor Michael Thompson was "aggressively approached by a panhandler" in Nathan Phillips Square.
Dan Heap — a former Toronto councillor and MP — presented a motion of non-confidence in Pitfield's leadership of the committee, calling her proposal "a bylaw to oppress the poor."
"Taking an action against panhandling is a mistake," Heap, now 80, explained in an interview outside the meeting.
"Panhandling is not the cause of the trouble. The cause of the trouble is some of the people who are working are sometimes not paid enough to pay the rent and feed the kids.
"That's what has to be dealt with: Low, low incomes."
Pitfield originally ruled Heap out of order, because she's appointed by city council, not the committee. That touched off a series of angry outbursts that caused Pitfield to call a recess for tempers to cool. When the meeting resumed, Heap's motion was redrawn as a recommendation to council to unseat Pitfield.
Tom Smarda of the Toronto chapter of the Council of Canadians said her motions are simply part of her campaign for the mayoralty in November's municipal election.
"Her motion can be moved as a publicity strategy to garner right-wing votes on her behalf while hurting the sick and marginalized even further," he said.
But some committee members supported Pitfield remaining co-chair. Greg Paul is executive director of Sanctuary, a Christian outreach agency serving street people.
"I don't think we do ourselves a service by insisting that everybody have the same view about how to address issues of poverty," Paul said.
"The reality is Mrs. Pitfield — although I may disagree with some of her politics — has been there and she's been present and she'd stepped up when some councillors who have a more progressive reputation have not."
Pitfield (Ward 26, Don Valley West) told her opponents that counselling and job training — not panhandling — are what the city's street people need.
Panhandling isn't necessarily a homelessness issue, because some panhandlers have homes, and even cars, she said adding that most people in Toronto are worried about the extent of panhandling.
"They feel this has contributed to the decline, especially of the downtown core," she said later.
Pitfield said her motions shouldn't result in a police crackdown on the poor.
"(I see) this more as a decision by our council to do more, to do better and say we want to help people off the streets."