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Rob Ford's Toronto

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i was waiting for someone to post this, but since no one seems to be, i guess i will.

Durno was “not persuaded” disclosing some intercepted communication would break a law that “permits the private communications to be disclosed in search warrant applications that are presumptively open to the public,” he wrote.

This runs in sharp contrast to a decision from Justice Phillip Downes, who decided the wiretaps in search warrants relating to the Project Traveller raids this past spring should stay under wraps because asking a judge for a search warrant wasn’t a formal enough criminal proceeding to make it public.

And Durno’s ruling will be a boon to media lawyers trying to overturn that Project Traveller decision.
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http://globalnews.ca/news/873682/jo...rain-terror-plot-search-warrants-judge-rules/
 
this article about it is worth the read too...

“Durno (is) one of the most experienced judges there is and clearly had no difficulty finding that it was a criminal proceeding,†said the Star’s lawyer, Ryder Gilliland, who made arguments in the Project Traveller case. “It’s 100 per cent what we argued.â€

Media lawyers are now preparing to file for a judicial review of Downes’ decision, which could see a Superior Court judge side with Durno’s interpretation.
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http://metronews.ca/news/canada/811...an-access-some-via-rail-terror-plot-evidence/
 
Chris Stockwell has been selected by Etobicoke York Community Council as their choice to take Doug Holiday's vacated seat. Needs to be approved by council.

It was down to him and John Nunziata. Really disappointing that with dozens of nominees they narrow it down to two political vets instead of some fresh faces. Nothing screams "Respect for Taxpayers" than appointing a chum from the Etobicoke old boys club.
 
mjl08 said:
Chris Stockwell has been selected by Etobicoke York Community Council as their choice to take Doug Holiday's vacated seat. Needs to be approved by council.

It was down to him and John Nunziata. Really disappointing that with dozens of nominees they narrow it down to two political vets instead of some fresh faces. Nothing screams "Respect for Taxpayers" than appointing a chum from the Etobicoke old boys club.
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But what are they really supposed to do? Replace Doug Holyday with an untested newcomer? They need someone that can come in and perform the job solidly for a year before the election - you don't want anyone who needs to learn the ropes in that position, if you're to truly "respect the taxpayers". It's one thing for an entire community to vote together to take a chance - but the Community Council isn't going to do that on their behalf, it would be irresponsible.
 
guitarchitect said:
But what are they really supposed to do? Replace Doug Holyday with an untested newcomer? They need someone that can come in and perform the job solidly for a year before the election - you don't want anyone who needs to learn the ropes in that position, if you're to truly "respect the taxpayers". It's one thing for an entire community to vote together to take a chance - but the Community Council isn't going to do that on their behalf, it would be irresponsible.
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From Wikipedia:
On June 17, 2003, he resigned from cabinet in the wake of a controversy concerning the misuse of expenses.[1] An inquiry under Justice Osborne found that Stockwell had breached the Members Integrity Act with expenses claimed on a trip to Europe. His riding association had paid for his family to accompany him, using tax-deductible political donations; it was also alleged that Stockwell charged $10,000 to Ontario Power Generation as part of the trip. Previously, he had claimed $3000 in bar bills for himself and his staff as government expenses.[1]
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/begin troll
Seems like a great guy. Then again, I suppose it'd be tough to find any conservative without "misuse of expenses" somewhere in their bio these days.
/end troll
 
animated said:
From Wikipedia:


/begin troll
Seems like a great guy. Then again, I suppose it'd be tough to find any conservative without "misuse of expenses" somewhere in their bio these days.
/end troll
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Nah. That's called respect for taxpayers. I mean, who hasn't claimed a trip to Europe as a work expense? He's just one of us. Just like RoFo. :rolleyes:
 
According to The Torontoist, see this link,
Stockwell was elected to Queen’s Park in 1990 after spending almost a decade as a municipal politician in Etobicoke. He remained in office until 2003. His run-in with Doug Ford Sr. happened during the 1999 election. The Mike Harris government had reduced the number provincial ridings, forcing some incumbent MPPs to battle over seats. There was a bitter nomination battle, and Stockwell prevailed.
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Winning against Rob Ford's dad puts Chris Stockwell in my okay book. Maybe not my good book, but just okay.
 
Straight from Mark Towhey. Could be useful if future candidates want to know how to position themselves in regards to Ford.

Pull up a very expensive chair, it’s going to be a fun ride
Posted on September 28, 2013 by towhey in Blog exclusives

Friday’s hot news item at Toronto City Hall was a Toronto Sun exclusive by Don Peat revealing city staff spent almost $75,000 to replace 30 aging “heritage†chairs with replicas. It was a “non-story†argued many serious and much-respected journalists who hadn’t covered it themselves. Yet, many of us — myself included — spent much of the day talking about it. We did that because it is precisely this type of issue that enrages taxpayers, motivates voters and elects mayors like incumbent Toronto mayor Rob Ford.

To put things in perspective, $75,000 is less than 0.001% of Toronto’s annual operating budget. These chairs are expected to last 30 years — the originals lasted almost 50. At just under $2,500 per chair, that’s an expected $83 per year per chair. Sure, you could buy much cheaper chairs almost anywhere, but would they last as long? Would they be cheaper in the long run — over a 30 year lifecycle? Could they possibly be as ugly?

There’s also the heritage nature of the chairs to consider. The original chairs, designed by Warren Platner in the 1960′s, were selected by City Hall’s architect as the ideal artistic compliment to the building’s unique iconic yada yada. Toronto City Hall is, truly, an iconic building. And, when I say iconic, I mean it literally — not in the haphazard way many politicians throw the word around these days when they’re talking about spending money on big, expensive buildings. And, as we are constantly reminded by people who are far too accustomed to spending our money, not theirs: heritage is priceless. But, I digress.

The political reality is that none of this matters.

What matters is that $2,500 and $75,000 represent amounts of money that everybody can understand. Everyone who read the story in the Sun, or heard it on morning talk radio, or saw it on TV news, can relate to these sums. We can all do the math in our head and count exactly how many months, weeks, hours we have to work to earn $2,500 or $75,000. Most households in Canada don’t make $75,000 in a year. Everyday people know how hard they have to work to earn $75,000. They know how many pay cheques they have to bank to save up $2,500 for a planned purchase. And, the vast majority of those people can’t believe anyone would spend that much money on chairs.

Toronto mayor Rob Ford understands this. He has an innate understanding of this type of financial-political calculus. His competitors wax apoplectic about tens, hundreds and thousands of millions of dollars while the eyes of average voters glaze over. Ford knows better.

Ford became a folk hero by ranting on talk radio for years about expenses like $30,000 spent on fancy sandwich trays for City Councillors and an $80,000 full-time “plant waterer.†People related to those numbers and they were outraged. No one knows whether $1 billion is a good deal for a subway. Everyone knows $80,000 is an egregious amount to pay someone to water plants.

During the 2010 election campaign, the biggest break Ford caught was when outgoing Councillor Kyle Rae threw himself a $12,000 retirement party at taxpayer expenses. You could hear heads exploding right across the city, and you could watch the polling numbers rolling upwards for Ford — the standard-bearer for fiscal restraint.

So, this chair business is a huge deal for Ford. First, because he’s built his brand on fighting exactly this kind of spending. So, it’s right up his ally. Expect him to beat the drums long and loudly — using this as an excellent example of why voters need to send him back into the mayor’s office in next year’s election with an even stronger mandate to “stop the gravy train.†â€My work is not done.†â€I need your support to get it through their heads at City Hall that you’re serious.†â€Lorem ipsum dolor sit etc. etc.†You get the idea.

But, it’s also a double-edged sword. This happened on Ford’s watch. And, it’s exactly what he promised to stop. In nearly the same breath on the Jerry Agar show on Newstalk1010, Ford said first that he had no idea about this purchase — that it had happened without his knowledge — and then claimed he watches every dime that goes out of the building. It’s the kind of Fordian non sequitur that makes his opponents’ heads spin. But the literal inconsistency is transparent to most listeners who look past Ford’s words and understand his intent and his passion.

So, I expect to hear more about these chairs (and whatever other furniture may be purchased in the next 12 months) as the 2014 election campaign starts to heat up. It’s going to be a long, interesting ride. Might as well be comfy, If only, I had a cozy arm chair…
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http://www.towhey.com/?p=71
 
animated said:
/begin troll
Seems like a great guy. Then again, I suppose it'd be tough to find any conservative without "misuse of expenses" somewhere in their bio these days.
/end troll
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Since you didn't notice - I wasn't advocating for the people that they're putting in, just addressing the "seasoned experienced person vs. new and untested" question. Sure, once you're picking from the experienced guys you've got to do your homework and pick a good one - but I'm merely pointing out that Community Council pretty much has to pick from the seasoned vets, not the fresh new faces.
 
guitarchitect said:
Since you didn't notice - I wasn't advocating for the people that they're putting in, just addressing the "seasoned experienced person vs. new and untested" question. Sure, once you're picking from the experienced guys you've got to do your homework and pick a good one - but I'm merely pointing out that Community Council pretty much has to pick from the seasoned vets, not the fresh new faces.
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I noticed.
And I agree with you.
It's just sad that Stockwell is the best they could come up with.

I suppose it's just a very limited field.
Candidates for the job must be: 1. arch-conservative. 2. public figure. 3. willing to do the job. 4. have no ethical baggage.

Three out of four ain't bad, I guess.
 
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