The Star: "Last Chance to Fix This City"

[Grey Towers]

Good column by Hume. It's high time the apathetic masses in this city got angry. This city and province create a good proportion of the country's wealth, but must beg for crumbs from the Feds just to keep the basics running. Meantime, the Feds are too busy prostrating in front of Quebec and the Maritimes.
The province is to blame too, vis a vis Toronto's financial straits, but it is also struggling with its finances and being shortchanged by the federal government.

Last chance to fix this city

Mar 28, 2007 04:30 AM
Christopher Hume

What this city needs is a new country.

Toronto, like Vancouver, has emerged as a 21st-century city stuck in a 19th-century nation.

While our federal and provincial leaders play the same old political games – games that haven't changed substantially since the 1800s – Toronto, the Cash Cow of Confederation, sinks ever deeper into the mire of civic poverty and infrastructural rot.

Both Ottawa and Queen's Park made it consistently clear they believe Toronto can be safely ignored, except, of course, for the $14 billion in income taxes alone we send to them annually.

As the city the rest of Canada loves to hate, Toronto makes an easy target for most other governments in the country, especially Ottawa and Queen's Park.

Needless to say, this is old news, but the recent federal and provincial budgets only made a bad situation worse.

Indeed, we have reached the point where the mayor of Toronto is talking publicly about suing the province to force it to pay the social services bills it has dumped on the city.

Bills the province is required by law to pay.

How dysfunctional can we get?

That's why it's time to revive the discussion about a Toronto Charter, a polite way of saying Toronto independence. The recent changes to the City of Toronto Act were a good start, but there's a long way to go still. Though the city can now levy certain taxes – on booze, parking, roads – and alter its system of governance, the big issues of fiscal sustainability and self-determination remain unresolved.

In her introduction to the 2000 book, Toronto: Considering Self-Government, Jane Jacobs writes:

"In Canada, cities were initially dependent, minor subsidiaries of the provinces but ... their development can no longer be constrained by the tutelage of the past. (Cities) are not only a country's economic engines, they are places where everything comes together and then is disseminated, again and again and again. And they – like most children – will certainly outlive the circumstances of their parents. To shed old dependencies in order to take on increased responsibilities and more self-reliance is not a sign of failure of either parents or children."

The city-region discussed in the above-mentioned volume recognizes that urban centres are a country's primary economic and social generators. The idea isn't to weaken the confederation, but, in fact, to strengthen it.

One of the few non-Toronto politicians to grasp this city's essential role is the former mayor of Winnipeg, Glenn Murray. He liked to point out that a healthy Toronto helped Manitobans and other Canadians cover the costs of their basic services.

How ironic then that Toronto can't cover the costs of its own basic services.

After more than a decade of deferred maintenance, the question arises about whether the city can ever recover.

As urban planner Joe Berridge notes in Toronto:

"We could, of course, decide not to compete, keep on cutting capital budgets and trimming services, and make no big or bold moves. Many once-great cities have declined to purely local regional stature: Liverpool, Bordeaux, Detroit, St. Louis, Philadelphia and Montreal. The social and cultural cost to Toronto would be enormous. Our children will choose not to live here."

Michael Mendelson, senior scholar at the Caledon Institute of Social Policy, calls cities, "the constitutional orphans of Canada."

He suggests the creation of a regional government to deal with the issues of the GTA – transportation, waste disposal, the environment, and the like.

He admits, "It has the disadvantage of requiring a thousand-and-one compromises and the end result may not resemble what is actually needed."

The recently relaunched Greater Toronto Transportation Authority represents a step in the right direction, but it remains to be seen how effective the body will be.

And as the GTTA's only non-political member, former Toronto chief planner Paul Bedford quickly made clear, "This is our last chance to get it right as a region."

And, he might have added, a city.

[monkeyronin]

I don't normally like Hume, but its good to see him (and others) trying to popularize the notion that we are getting screwed. And the more we see, the better.

[LordMandeep]

really i think the Mayor knows he won't get one cent of the Gst, but it has brought the issube to the mainstream.


Even Lastman bitched about this in his last year. Everyone says Lastman never increased taxes and bitched, but in his last three years, he raised taxses 5%, then 4% then 3%. Thats really high for a conservative mayor. I would bet that if a more conservative person did come into power, they would still increase taxes by a lot.

[b13]

I encourage everyone on this forum who is a Toronto resident to unite and to write e-mails to out governments and oppostion leaders expressing our concerns! I'm getting really fed-up with they way Toronto is treated in this country, I think it's Bull Shit! We need to let our politicians know that we are not taking this anymore! We need to tell them that we won't allow them to strip all of our hard earned money and not leave any here in Toronto so we can actually run a proper city. If they do not want to listen to us then we MUST threaten to vote them out of power, we must tell the oppoistion what we want and what we expect from them in order to vote them into to power! It is time we unite as a city and take a stand, if these politicuans still ignore us then we must create a spratist party jus as how Quebec did. If we still don't get what we want then we must have a refrendum. Canada knows that they needs us to survive, so they need to show it. I think its bad that the the TTC, the 3rd largest transit system in North America can bearly provide good service to Canada's most populas city. I think it's bad that Toronto cannot afford to fix its crumbling sidewalks, and roads. I think it's bad that Toronto cannot afford to buils good architecture because we have a limited budget. I think it's bad the the economic power house of Canada, which is Toronto has to hike up taxes on majoe businesses which is forcing them to re-locate and do business else where. I think it's bad that a city like Toronto who strives to be a world-class city falls up short because we cannot keep the money we earn in this city and that we have fund other provinces of Canada but we cannot fund ourselves. We need to do something about this and the time is now!!!! So everyone who is reading this send your concerns to out governments and let them know we are not going to take their crap any longer! We are the city of Toronto, the centre of the universe and if we have to go as far as to create a sepratist party then we will. So lets unite together and get our message heard!! Here are some important e-mails:
Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper - pm@pm.gc.ca
Opposition leader Stephane Dion - Dion.S@parl.gc.ca
Premier Dalton Mguinty - https://www.premier.gov.on.ca/feedback/feedback.asp
Opposition leader John Tory - http://www.ontariopc.com/email_john.asp?SectionID=7
TORONTO SHALL NOT BE IGNORED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IF YOU CANNOT RUN A CAR WITHOUT GASLOLINE THEN HOW CAN YOU RUN A CITY WITHOUT MONEY????????????????????

[leaf345]

Of the three major federal and provincial parties, are any of them pro-urban? Because I don't think they are.

As for threatening seperation , I don't want Toronto to be the next Montreal.

[b13]

^ were not trying to be the next montreal but we need to lets these governments know that we are nnot going to take their crap anymore!

[kettal]

I think we need to register a provincial party and call it the Bloc Toronto, to fight for Toronto issues.

The latest provincial budget was a swift kick in the nuts for this city. They took away the suburbs' obligation to pay for social housing but left Toronto to foot the bill.



But most importantly, we should vote for electoral reform in the referendum this October. Proportional representation means the provincial parties can't win by just appeasing to farmers.

[SerfDude]

Instead of "One Cent Now," what the city should do is organize protest marches and chants:

"What do we want?"
"The Federal Government to transfer tax points to the provinces, say for example, by increasing the maximum a person can earn tax free before tax become applicable and all the provinces could then step in and scoop up the tax room so that the provinces can deal with the matters that they have constitutional jurisdiction over in an effective manner!"
"When do we want it?"
"NOW!"
etc.

Perhaps the city should just slash spending? How's that for nuts? How about making priorities and putting infrastructure near the top of the list? And how about we agree that everything is not infrastructure (and that infrastructure is not everything) Yeah- too damn sensible!

From the Globe MArch 28 , 2007


The property-tax well
1. Toronto's city council doesn't know the meaning of delivering value for money. Which is why it can propose a steep hike of 3.8 per cent in property taxes for homeowners -- more than double the city's effective rate of inflation -- without adding any services. Businesses, which already pay quadruple the rate of homeowners, face an increase of 1.3 per cent. Once again, beleaguered property owners are being told they will have to shoulder the burden of heavy city spending, even though the city has new taxation capabilities at its disposal.
No one denies that keeping Toronto running is an expensive proposition, made even more so by the costs stemming from welfare and other social services. But such services are designed to cope with disparities in income and should not be funded by property taxes.
Mayor David Miller is right to demand that the federal and provincial governments meet their fair share of the costs of administering these programs and maintaining such vital services as public transit. But he and his fellow councillors also have an obligation to do more than whine incessantly about senior levels of government or order Torontonians to dig ever deeper into their pockets. They have to rein in their own profligate spending.
The mayor vowed during last year's municipal election campaign that he would keep increases in line with inflation. He is breaking that promise, and is showing little interest in belt-tightening. His budget includes a 9.3-per-cent hike for municipal departments and agencies and a whopping 29.7-per-cent jump in the operating budget for his office. That is unacceptable

[HousBinPharteen]

As good a show as it may be for our mayor to be screaming for more funding, what steps have they undertaken to work on the cost side of the equation?

Asking for a handout is the easy way out. They are avoiding having to tackle some tough decisions like avoiding the issue of contracting certain services where it might make sense.

Its an overused phrase by now, but it is quite apparent that certain career councillors are living in a culture of entitlement. What kind of leadership and message is being sent when the very people who are having difficulty with the city budget vote themselves an immense pay raise? I find it so hard to believe that the citizens of Toronto found that acceptable and voted the culprits back in office.

[SpatulaCity]

Originally Posted by SerfDude

Instead of "One Cent Now," what the city should do is organize protest marches and chants:

"What do we want?"
"The Federal Government to transfer tax points to the provinces, say for example, by increasing the maximum a person can earn tax free before tax become applicable and all the provinces could then step in and scoop up the tax room so that the provinces can deal with the matters that they have constitutional jurisdiction over in an effective manner!"
"When do we want it?"
"NOW!"
etc.

I'm not picking on you, I swear... but that is quite possibly the best chant ever! I could just imagine hundreds of rowdy protesters "chanting" that...

awesome.

[Filip]

Hahahaha!

It's no surprise we're getting screwed. All it takes is a mayor with enough balls to say ENOUGH. The collective city of Toronto should have enough power to keep, let's say, the 13 billion in Toronto - to the Feds: Too bad. Ask Montreal.

[Electrify]

During one of the debates during the last election, Jane Pitfield said to Miller, "Rather than try and blame everyone else for our problems, let's try and see what we can do on our level." There is no doubt Toronto needs more funding, but the way Miller approaches it he comes off as a big whining baby!!! As soon as we get a share of the gas tax, he then wants 1% of the GST. As soon as we get over $2 billion in funding for a subway expansion, he reveals a $6 billion LRT plan. It is for these reasons why the rest of Canada hates our guts!!!

I'm not one who is generally against tax hikes, but have all the avenues been researched??? Have we considered cutting back spending and contracting out some services??? No. Have we considered opening a gambling or red light district to earn extra revenue??? No. The only avenue Miller has examined is to produce over inflated budgets and pass the burden on to the tax payers because he is a NDP socialist douche!!! Actually, it is unfair to compare him to the NDP: The NDP run platforms based on equality and prosperity, Miller runs campaigns entirely on trivial issues (ie: Downtown airport bridge, waterfront revitalization) and tries to make it sound like it is the only thing that is important.

But hey, you guys re-elected him, so enjoy your new taxes and over budget spending...

[Taller, Better]

Originally Posted by HousBinPharteen

As good a show as it may be for our mayor to be screaming for more funding, what steps have they undertaken to work on the cost side of the equation?

Asking for a handout is the easy way out. They are avoiding having to tackle some tough decisions like avoiding the issue of contracting certain services where it might make sense.

Its an overused phrase by now, but it is quite apparent that certain career councillors are living in a culture of entitlement. What kind of leadership and message is being sent when the very people who are having difficulty with the city budget vote themselves an immense pay raise? I find it so hard to believe that the citizens of Toronto found that acceptable and voted the culprits back in office.

It is NOT a handout. We only want less money to be drained from us every year by the provincial
and federal governments. It is OUR money and we are artificially being turned into a poor city that has to borrow billions of dollars. Will Torontonians ever grasp this or will they forever continue to blame City council for what is happening?
@ Electrify :Jane Pitfield couldn't have done a damn thing but make matters worse. Blaming this on Miller is foolish. Try blaming Chretien, Paul Martin , Steve Hooper, Mike Harris and McGuinty if you want to find the culprits instead of kicking the cat.

[kettal]

Whoever came up with the One Cent Now campaign was on crack.

[LordMandeep]

rally is he that socialist, he has poured massive amounts of money into the police...

[ssiguy2]

Toronto screwed up in the first place by not demanding the ability to place extra taxes on gasoline. When I was back in Toronto last summer I couldn't beleive how cheap gas prices were.
Translink has the ability to raise gas taxes for transit and has turned out to be a real cash cow.

Toronto now has the ability to raise new revenues, well why the hell haven't they started to as opposed to doing yet another study.
Why the hell haven't they placed tolls on the Gardiner or DVP??? It wouldn't effect many Torontonians but would pound 905ers and the prov and especially the feds desperatly need those suburban votes. Why not toll ALL city roads coming into the city from the 905?? Its about Toronto started to act like a big city and grab some backbone.

Why don't they give the province 3 months notice and then completly stop providing social services that the province is suppose to pay? The province won't let the services stop as the political backlash would be extreme and the province would magically find the money.

I have said this a thousand times. Stop whining about Quebec and instead learn a lesson from her.............blackmail works.

[leaf345]

Originally Posted by Electrify

As soon as we get over $2 billion in funding for a subway expansion, he reveals a $6 billion LRT plan.

Eh...that subway expansion is not going to benefit any(or few) Torontonian. The LRT plan is. Its a perfect example of the province and federal government reaching out to the suburbs and ignoring the city.

[Taller, Better]

@ssiguy People are too happy pouring the blame on ourselves to get organized enough to demand our city gets it fair share.

[kettal]

Originally Posted by ssiguy2

Why the hell haven't they placed tolls on the Gardiner or DVP??? It wouldn't effect many Torontonians but would pound 905ers and the prov and especially the feds desperatly need those suburban votes. Why not toll ALL city roads coming into the city from the 905?? Its about Toronto started to act like a big city and grab some backbone.

Do you have any idea how many roads go into the city? Taxing the expressways will just cause more gridlock on the arterial roads.

[rbt]

Taxing the expressways will just cause more gridlock on the arterial roads.

What will not taxing them (the "Do Nothing" option) do?