THE TORONTO PARTY Monthly Musings

January 2010

Standing Up for Toronto

At its January meeting, City Council voted to "rescind" the $65,000 payment it had previously approved for Councillor Heaps' legal expenses in defending a defamation action - well, sort of. Council actually didn't vote to rescind its prior vote. Instead it played more political games, which included attacking the City lawyer who had provided clear opinions to council, attacking Ms. Michelle Berardinetti (a resident who could not defend herself on the floor of the Council Chamber), and attacking the Toronto Party (for a Better City), an organization of ordinary city residents who are engaged and interested in the municipal political process. The issue of whether taxpayer money should be used to pay expenses incurred by councillors for things other than city business is the defining legacy of this Council and is a primary issue in the 2010 election campaign. We know that the people of Toronto want a responsible government and want politicians who will respect them and the taxes they pay to the City. We know this because our Party has received tremendous support from the public for commencing a legal action against the City and 23 councillors. Council is now going to investigate whether a fund can be created to protect candidates against legal expenses in the future. In mid-January, the Party recommended that insurance be considered or that Council support the introduction of formal civic parties who could pay the legal expenses of their candidates when they get into trouble on matters such as compliance audits. Will these ideas be discussed and will we be invited to provide input? Probably not. In the meantime, our lawsuit continues, and so does our goal of bringing accountability to City Hall through the election of Toronto Party candidates in the 2010 election.

Transit City - How much will it cost?

A recent report on the construction of the St. Clair Right of Way shows that taxpayers paid double what the original cost was suppose to be. And now the city is embarking on the costly Transit City plan despite opposition from residents. Based on the cost over-runs experience on St. Clair, Transit City is a boondoggle- waiting-to-happen. It is a short-sighted plan that in our opinion will only cause more gridlock and loss of business. The answer in public transit lies in building the appropriate subway network for our City. This is a long-range plan that does not interfere with road space and that will move more people. The Toronto Party supports a subway network of public transit over Transit City.

Party sues City and 23 Councillors

The Toronto Party for a Better City has sued the City of Toronto and 23 councillors for passing three resolutions which compensated Councillors Mammoliti and Heaps for legal expenses incurred in relation to acts which were unrelated to city business. The resolutions were passed notwithstanding legal advice from the city's lawyer that the payments would be vulnerable to legal challenge. The Toronto Party has had enough of the waste of taxpayer money. In this election year it is now incumbent on the people of Toronto to rise up and bring a tidal wave of change to City Hall. We will elect a new Mayor and we need a group of new councillors who are dedicated to standing up for the little guy and gal - you the hard-working taxpayer of Toronto.

December 2009

City Council puts itself above the law

In another outrageous act of City Council, 21 councillors voted to give Councillor Adrian Heaps a $66,000 "bonus" so that he could pay his legal fees and applicable taxes arising out of a defamation action. City lawyers cautioned the councillors that such a "reimbursement" was illegal. Yet the 21 councillors who passed the motion chose to ignore their own solicitor's legal advice. Notwithstanding Councillor Luby's statement that Council reigns supreme, politicians are not above the law. The Ward 4 councillor's attitude demonstrates once again that it is time she follow Mayor Miller and Councillor Rae and get out of municipal politics. The Toronto Party has targeted Ward 4 in the next municipal election and will be working very hard to make sure that Councillor Luby is not elected again.

Rossi in; Councillor Rae out!

With the start of the 2010 municipal election one month away Mr. Rocco Rossi is expected to announce that he will be running for Mayor next week. Mr. Rossi has recently been instrumental in rebuilding the fundraising arm of the federal Liberal party, but is this enough to make him Mayor? Mr. Smitherman spoke at the Toronto Board of Trade earlier this month and outlined in broad strokes his vision for Toronto. The speech, however, lacked any policy detail and so the jury is still out on where he wants to take Toronto. Expect others to soon join the race. Meanwhile veteran councillor Kyle Rae is calling it quits. This is one less left-winger Torontonians will have to worry about in next year's election. Councillor Rae's Ward has been a target of The Toronto Party for the past year.