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Morning Brew: Ford and Harper go fishing, the mayor wants to be judged by voters, new Harbourfront parks, police examine remains, and rumblings at Toronto Zoo
Looks like the mayor and the PM are closer than we thought. Rob Ford told Newstalk 1010 yesterday that he and Stephen Harper take regular fishing trips on Harrington Lake, the prime minister's official country retreat. According to the mayor, between hauling in bass, the pair discussed the new federal ridings for the GTA. Not like there's anything else to discuss, right?
Oh, wait, the conflict-of-interest case. In the same interview, Ford told the radio station he doesn't like the idea of a court deciding his fate as mayor, saying he'd rather voters chose whether to boot him out of office the old-fashioned way at the next mayoral election in 2014.
The first sign of a rebirth of Toronto's waterfront was unveiled yesterday near the Harbourfront's York Quay Centre. Canada Square and Ontario Square, two green spaces that will include "miniature forests" of giant redwood trees and public artwork, will be built on top of a recently-completed, underground parking lot beside the cultural centre.
Police have yet to say whether "remains" found beside the Gardiner Expressway near Grand Avenue last night are human or animal. The westbound lanes of the highway were closed while police investigated the material which was spotted by a driver.
According to The Star, several Toronto councillors are worried the Toronto Zoo board is looking to sell or lease the attraction. Various parts of the site are owned by Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, the City of Toronto and the zoo itself, which is seen as an obstacle to any sale. The paper reports board members could be consolidating land ownership.
Finally, here's Toronto soul trio Falling Androids performing their new single Indie In Passion. The video incorporates the "Play Me, I'm Yours" piano project that wrapped up last month.
IN OTHER NEWS:
- Bautista out for Blue Jays season with left wrist surgery [The Star]
- Suspect in dismemberment case had been on police radar early in investigation [Globe and Mail]
- Toronto police shoot dog [CBC]
Photo: "Construction" by lifes ill in the blogTO Flickr pool.
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That's why we have courts.
I can't stand the guy, and think he's the worst thing to happen to Toronto in quite some time, but if he goes down over what is essentially a relatively minor procedural matter (even though he is completely in the wrong), it is going to play into the narrative that his supporters espouse of him being "bullied" by the "socialist elites" who resent his attempts to "clean up" City Hall. This jackass needs to be beaten on election day so everything is infused with a sense of legitimacy, and we're not subjected to constant whining from the usual suspects (the brothers Ford, "Ford Nation", conservative talk radio, the Sun, the Post, Sue-Ann Levy etc.)
I personally support Ford and Harper and think your opinion is null and void. If you agree with me, I'll call you a fascist and then dance insults all over the internet all day long.
While you're right that Ford has got people talking about politics again, it is for all the wrong reasons. Including this current ethics violation, which may well cost him his job. On the bright side, he has galvanized the opposition, and those who reject his mean-spirited and petty vision of Toronto have never been more motivated, and frankly, powerful.
And for the record, nobody "got rid of" David Miller. He stepped down, undefeated in both mayoral elections he contested. And the polls showed that he would have STILL beaten all of the candidates last time around. Ford's only halfway through his first term, and polls already have him losing to hypothetical opponents (ie. Olivia Chow) by significant margins. As awful as the mental image is, the emperor truly has no clothes.
All he has to do is say a few catchphrases, and a million Sun-reading voters instantly forget everything he's done wrong.
Politicians decided to write a law that defines what conflict of interest is and stipulates the punishment for violating it. Rob Ford decided to do something that appears to have violated that law. A citizen decided to exercise his civil rights by bringing this issue to light. How else should this be decided?
This isn't "backdoor." Ford violated the law. That has consequences. If he doesn't understand that, it's his problem. Rookie councillors in Palookaville know better than to vote on issues where they have a conflict of interest. A two-term councillor and mayor in a major metropolis has absolutely no excuse. Conflict of interest legislation exists to prevent abuse of power. Maybe the amount here is small potatoes, but how much abuse of power should we tolerate? $3000? $30,000? $3,000,000? You have to draw a line somewhere, and the elected politicians who passed this law decided the right amount is zero. I can live with that.
Actually the evisceration of the manufacturing industry and subsequent loss of jobs and tax revenue in Ontario has crippled this province. Corporations choose where they manufacture goods, and governments don't have much of a say in that. So really, it is not due to McGuinty. As if any one person could have that much of an effect on a whole province. Wise up, will you?
If Miller had done the same thing, the very people currently insisting that this is "no big deal" would be out for blood. Yesterday on AM 640 Arlene Bynon was taking calls on the matter, and her listeners (surprise, surprise)almost unanimously chalked the whole thing up to political "bullying" from "lefties". One caller dared to point out that he was found guilty or wrongdoing by the integrity commissioner, and Bynon's response was to question the integrity of the integrity commissioner! "It was for charity", "It was only $3000", "He was helping keep kids off the streets" - everyone seemed very unaware or uninterested in the fact that he broke the law.
Frankly, if he loses his job over it, he deserves it. But selfishly, I don't want to read or hear from his pissed off suburban base about how he was "unfairly" taken down, every day for the next 2 years. I'd rather just get rid of him once-and-for-all at the next election. No conspiracy theories, no complaining, he'll just be gone.
I'm hoping that by the next election someone good will run for mayor. Even if we're stuck with another bad mayor at least council has learned how to govern without one.
Let me stop you right there, before you start comparing two different classes of office entirely as if they are equal, which wouldn't make a whole lot of sense.
“Do you have a memory of the handbook?” Ruby asked.
“I just answered that question,” Ford replied.
“You said 'I have a memory in my mind.' What is it you have in your mind?” Ruby asked.
Ford replied: “I can remember what I ate for breakfast.”
'Nuff said. No regard for the rules or the law or the process to prove his guilt or innocence. Ford really does think that the rules don't apply to him.
Standing downwind here and it stinks.