Archive for November, 2008
Toronto Public Employees Deserve Family Day
Sometimes the City of Toronto acts with a collective stupidity that residents of our City just can’t understand. I think news that City Council is taking Family Day away from unionized employees just before entering a round of contract negoiations is one of those moments.
Family Day was created by the Provincial government last year, and given to City workers last year, but now the City hopes to play politics with it. These guys are great at brinksmanship, and for people who claim to be progressive they do love a fight with organized labour.
I strongly support all City workers, whether CUPE 416, 79, ATU 113, or part of the emergencies services getting Family Day without having to make any concession for it. It bothers me that Council in it’s collective wisdom will nickel and dime and wage PR battles against it’s own employees, while at the same time growing spending on utter crap at such an alarming rate.
It is the members of the Toronto Public Service that provide our services and make our City work to the degree it can with the management it has. They should be commended and at the very least, treated with respect during contract rounds.
Let’s hope the City recognizes the current game of hard ball they are embarking on is colossially stupid and backs down before any real damage is done at the table. The example they are setting as a public service employee risks Family Day for everyone else and they should be ashaimed. I know I would be if I was a member of that body right now.
4 Comments »Who Steals A Poppy Collection Box?
It really upset me when reading the Scarborough Mirror to read that 15 poppy collection boxes were stolen from businesses in the Morningside area in Scarborough. It is a totally disgusting act to think that anyone would steal money from Veterans services.
Apparently the first knowledge that this was happening was when an Apartment superintendent found a poppy box in a building garbage can.
The affected branch of the Royal Canadian legion is Branch 258 in Highland Creek.
Below is a link to the article from the Scarborough Mirror.
No Comments »Karen Stintz + Public Speaking
Posted November 12th 2008. Updated January 8th 2009.
Karen Stintz is a member of David Miller’s vocal opposition. She is known for her right wing positions and could well possibly become the Jane Pitfield of her generation. But it appears twice elected Stintz has a problem. That problem is with public speaking. Don’t let the fact that she was able to beat an incumbent in 2003 and win re-election with a solid margin in 2006 fool you. It appears to be so bad, by Stintz’ own admission she needs to travel thousands of miles to seek a solution. It appears it took Lynda Spillane (whose website no longer exists – to solve the problem).
Stintz used $2650 US of Toronto taxpayer dollars, money designed to help her carry out her responsibilities as Councillor for Ward 16, to get public speaking lessons in Colorado for two days in June 2008. I find it absolutely ridiculous that anyone would honestly believe that their $53 100 office budget was intended for things like “public speaking coaching”.
Councillors receive a salary of just under $100 000 a year. If Councillor Stintz felt her public speaking skills were this poor after five years in elected office, she should have used her own money to correct that problem. She may also want to not be making speeches to the Economic Club of Toronto regarding “…four years of missed opportunities for cost-containment, revenue generation and meaningful partnerships” like she did in 2007. Someone please explain to me how Stintz’s decision to blow taxpayer money on something this silly is not a missed opportunity for cost containment…
Below is some text from Councillor Stintz’ website regarding City Finances.
“Encouraging Efficiency and Effectiveness at the City of Toronto
Residents have experienced above average tax increases over the past three years. I voted against the last two city budgets. I have worked to ensure that the taxes you pay result in improvements to services you receive. I will continue to be an advocate for improved budgeting at the city, improved service delivery and accountability and transparency.”
What improvement do residents receive from Stintz’ public speaking coaching coming from the budget designed to work with constituents and not her own pocket? I have yet to write Councillor Stintz an email on this subject, but if you believe this is an inappropriate use of public money, I would encourage you to write Councillor Stintz and encourage her to reimburse the City for this expense. Her email address is councillor_stintz@toronto.ca
Below is her letter requesting the City cut the cheque for this “service” she received. Note it is Lynda, not Linda – even still her website is no longer exists. Clicking “karen-stintz-letter” will open a .pdf file with Spillane’s invoice to Stintz and Stintz’s letter to the City asking them to pony up the dough. I am doing my part to make sure you can believe what you read in this blog, regardless of Stintz’s office claims.
