Five things we learned from Rob Ford’s year-end interview with the Globe
The mayor’s first big meeting with city council was a marathon affair in which he got everything he wanted. Rob Ford’s plan for the new year is more meetings like that; even if he doesn’t get everything he wants, he sure plans to keep council busy. According to a year-end interview with the Globe and Mail, the mayor has a bunch of priorities for 2011. Here, five not-entirely-unpredictable things we learned from his Fordship.
1. Remember yesterday’s exciting speculation about elevated rail? Well, forget it
That was a fun 12 hours: for about a morning and an afternoon, we were all excited about elevated rail. What was it? Would it be cheaper, better and uglier than Transit City? And was Metrolinx serious about it? Apparently, we can all stop talking about it now because the mayor has made his decision: “No, everything’s going underground. I want to do subways. Every poll you see, over 80 per cent of people in the city want subways compared to LRT or streetcars,” he told the Globe. Who cares what Metrolinx thinks? It’s only their money.
2. Gravy-bashing, this time with more facts
One of Ford’s signature issues is waste cutting, and his demand that city staff find efficiencies in how they run things. Apparently, the new year is going to bring us a report from the city auditor about how poorly run the city actually is. “I can’t tell you what that is right now, but there’s a lot of waste… I’m not happy with what he found, but he did his job and I’ll have to deal with it,” Ford says. We hope that, at the very least, this means we’ll stop hearing about Kyle Rae’s retirement party.
3. Get ready for a fight with the cops
As part of his “no sacred cows” promise, Ford says he’s willing to tackle the city’s police budget—nearly a billion dollars. How he can do that while filling his promise to put 100 new cops on the street is left unanswered, but that might just go out the window, seeing as the police don’t want the extra staff anyway.
4. Privatization—it’s what’s for dinner
Ford has already let it be known that he wants to open up garbage collection for privatization, as they did in his hometown of Etobicoke. He’s also got his privatization sights set on park maintenance, because, as he says, “There’s a lot of grass to be cut.” Why not just get in on the urban farming boom and let people graze their goats in the parks? (Note to council: we might need a livestock diaper law.)
5. Remember the 2009 strike? Ford’s willing to roll the dice again
Speaking of privatization, Ford says he’s going to pursue it even if it results in another strike, and the TTC is going to be an essential service even if it means more work-to-rule campaigns like ATU leader Bob Kinnear has threatened. Ah, labour relations in Toronto—they always seem to be about six months from Lord of the Flies–style anarchy.
• No intention of toning down in 2011, Ford says [Globe and Mail]
The commentary and carping since RF was elected makes me hesitant to say I’m a socialist. It’s been non-stop student politics stuff. It’s time the “pinkos” owned-up and admitted that all was not well under DM. The sore losers (TO twitterers and lefy bloggers) are trying to mask what a terrible job they did these previous 7 years.
The mainstream media did an even poorer job, but at least some of them are moving on from the first 5 minutes of the new Administration at CH. Just maybe, perhaps, considering that the Fords might actually make a good go of things.
Remember, small minds attract small audiences.
I’m all for not hearing anything else about Kyle Rae’s retirement party – assuming he repaid it. If so, great – the put the receipt in the file and archive it, and we’ll never raise it again. Also, there needs to be regs in place to ensure this doesn’t happen again. Ford capped how much they can spend, but not how the spend it. He also needs to clamp down on flimsy excuse travel junket and taxi voucher abuse. After all, these people get a free Metropass AND $100K a year.
BTW, I love how TL pleads for an end to tedious discussion of the Rae bacchanalia but links the story so we can all relive it, once again with feeling! Nice touch.
Subways are the only way to go. We need a 30 stop subway across Eglinton from Pearson to Kennedy and eventually to UTSC. One from Jane/Finch via Sheppard to Malvern Town Ctr. Another from Seneca College down Down Mills to Coxwell/Queen, across Queen to Parkside Dr and up to Weston Rd. We also need extensions to B-D (Sherway to Scarb. Ctr) and YUS to Steeles – Thornhill can pay for its own subway if it wants an extension that far north.
We’ll never achieve the network I’ve described above unless we start building now and never stop. Just reassessing the taxing system alone could afford Toronto billions per annum to self-finance subways itself without assistance. And P3s are a good idea too. With luck, Transit City will be left just a bad memory. If Ford manages to accomplish his subways and nothing else, he’ll still be a greater Mayor than Miller ever was.
If RF wants to really impress me get rid of the 50 over law. its a violation of our rights as canadians. taking someones car for speeding. the point here is the cops are the judge at the side of the road. lets just cram up the courts with some more nonsense. give me a ticket if i’m doing 50 over let me decide if i will pay or if i need to see you in court. dont take my personal belongings. thats my vehicle not anyone elses. this law needs abolishing. money grab? 100%. if i was talking on my cell phone would you take that and hold it for ransom too?
Uh, rrp, the Highway Traffic Act is a provincial statute. How exactly is the mayor of Toronto going to repeal it, pray tell? And there’s no “right” to speed, nor even a right to property in the Canadian constitution.
God help us when Fox News North gets on the air…
John’s mentality is not so different from Millers and explains why Ford experienced the landslide he did. Metrolinx’s money? I believe it’s the people who were polled money.
They don’t print the stuff at city hall…
wow… what an idiot Ford is. we’ll be a 3rd world city by the time he’s finished.