nfitz
Superstar
Wow ...
Perhaps we should have some kind words for John Baird too ... what a useless piece of shit!
Perhaps we should have some kind words for John Baird too ... what a useless piece of shit!
The bigger picture is that mayor David Miller cant stand anyone in the Upper Government.
The bigger picture is that mayor David Miller cant stand anyone in the Upper Government.
Sorry Buddy, get your shit together.
"What goes around comes around"
Yeah, right.
Toronto forget to check off box b in subsection ii, part v of form 6, so therefore it won’t get money
*SNARRRRRL*
Love the picture that The Star put with it. Since when did a f*cking bridge to America become Canada’s #1 infrastructure priority? I wonder which Tory riding that is...
1-Miller and Giambrone are incompetent if they indeed screwd up their bid... The only one out of 2700 is shameful.
2-I always said it was pure stupidity that they did not include DRL and Sheppard in their bid. Not only we wont get DRL for another decennies but the city will have to pay for the streetcars...100% of the invoice...
Will Miller increase the taxes of others services fee? Or maybe the Metropass?
3-Miller doesn't deserve to be reelected.
4-As far as Baird is concerned, I will f--k off and gladly vote liberal.
The City of Toronto asked for only 2 things from the stimulus funding, 1/3 of the streetcar, and 1/3 of the new barn in the Portlands for the streetcar. That's not a dozen things, let alone a zillion ... and a lot shorter list than I've seen from much smaller towns, which got down to the detail level of line-painting on roads.And yes, if you submit proposals for a zillion things, you are just as liable to get the f*ck off comment - and certainly, the Feds have no qualms about funding the far more dubious proposition of Sheppard LRT, in comparison to legitimate case of replacing the streetcars.
I hate John Baird. I hated him when he was the Environment Minister, and now as the Transport Minister. He is an incompetent fool. I hope there is an election again this summer/autumn.
Here is one of my favourite videos of Baird as Environment Minister.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_t_Qv1lYk8
Skip to 1:15 for the good stuff.
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/647877
Mayor David Miller failed to properly sell Toronto's infrastructure request to federal Transport Minister John Baird and Ontario infrastructure minister George Smitherman, some city councillors are saying.
The councillors were reacting to a Toronto Star story today in which Baird was overheard telling aides that Toronto stood alone in not meeting the technical criteria for federal infrastructure cash, yet was complaining about Ottawa dragging its feet.
Toronto sought money to replace its aging streetcar fleet by submitting just one application while most municipalities submitted long lists of infrastructure projects ranging from bridge repairs to sewer upgrades.
Mayor David Miller said Toronto simply wants funds to buy 204 streetcars from Bombardier, to be built at a cost of $1.2 billion. The proposed deal will expire June 27 and will collapse if federal and provincial money isn't forthcoming by then.
Councillors said today that a better sales job on Baird was needed because the request for streetcar funds doesn't meet the rules that say the money must create local jobs this year and next.
Under the streetcar deal, vehicles would roll out of Bombardier's Thunder Bay plant from 2011 to 2018.
"If this were the one project we wanted to fund, it would have been important to speak to the minister in advance to ensure that this was the right project," said Councillor Karen Stintz.
"It certainly appears that that didn't happen, which is unfortunate."
Earlier, Smitherman had also expressed frustration with Toronto's single request for streetcar money, which differed from other municipalities that submitted a list of projects, Stintz said.
"With the streetcar contract, we've seen the province has been caught off guard. Now, the federal government has been caught off guard.
"Based on George Smitherman's comments a few weeks ago and now Minister Baird's comments, it appears the city didn't take all the steps it could have taken. And the mayor didn't take all the steps he could have taken to communicate that this was the one project that meant a lot to Toronto."
While Baird expressed concern that the request doesn't create jobs in Toronto, that's incorrect because a better functioning transit system is good for the local economy, said Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone.
"I think everybody will benefit from this streetcar deal because it allows mobility in the Toronto area and ensures a future that will be more prosperous.
"So it does create jobs in Toronto. It's a false assumption to say there's no employment benefit for Toronto."
Miller has said that he is optimistic about the prospects of receiving funding from Ottawa. "If this isn't infrastructure stimulus, I don't know what is," he said recently.
Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, who has sparred with Miller over fixing Toronto's roads, said the city would have no difficulty finding projects that clearly qualify for the $300 million-plus in federal funds that Toronto is seeking.
That may be why Baird is frustrated, Minnan-Wong said.
"I think the language he used was clearly inappropriate and regrettable (Baird was overheard using a profanity while discussing Toronto's request), but it also — I think — reflects a level of frustration over not being able to fund projects that meet the guidelines," he said.
"I think he (Baird) wants to invest money into the city of Toronto for programs and projects that qualify. It's very difficult to give the city of Toronto money when they submit a single application that doesn't meet the requirements."