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EDITORIAL

Councillors getting free ride from mainline media


December 9, 2002

The mainline media is remiss when it comes to assigning the blame for the City of Toronto’s shameful MFP financial scandal.

In commenting in an editorial about the long-awaited judicial inquiry into the much talked about computer scandal, the Toronto Star advises the public to "look no further than the inquiry’s first witness for a big clue of how the fiasco got its start–the hear-no-evil, see-no-evil management style of Toronto mayor Mel Lastman."

Lastman, of course, repeatedly professed himself innocent of certain knowledge when he took the stand. His Worship claimed not to know anything about the wining and dining of staff by computer company lobbyists nor even to be aware that MFP had donated $50,000 to his own charitable causes. The mayor’s stance appeared to blame everyone else, including former budget Chief Tom Jakobek for making a motion to extend the terms of the computer contract.

This year marks the traditional campaign for next year’s municipal election, and it seems that the political dailies are jumping the queue in lining up support for their particular preferred mayoral candidates.

To be fair, it isn’t just the Star taking the blame-the-mayor tack. Municipal writers for the National Post are doing the same.

These same newspapers have quoted the supporters of mayoral candidates on the basis that they "demanded" an inquiry into the 1999, $80,000-million computer scandal.

Why wait two years for election year to demand a probe?

When referring to the fiasco, the dailies repeatedly report that the scandal went down without council’s approval–or knowledge. The perception here is that councillors are innocent by virtue of not having been brought into the loop.

Horse feathers!

How is it possible that a mayor and 43 incumbent councillors, (only one ran as a non-incumbent) restored to public office by voters last election day did not know that the City of Toronto had entered into a deal leasing computes for $43-million that ballooned up to $80- million?

Councillors got no hint of something being wrong with this picture, no sense of unease or whiff of corruption among 44 municipal politicians whose job it is to protect the taxpayers of the Corporation of the City of Toronto?

Bottom line is the computer deal led to a $58.7-million overpayment from the public purse. This at a time when the city is hobbled by crippling debt.

If councillors did not know about that $58.7-million overpayment, then we should all be asking what else do they not know.

With another municipal election looming, there is not better time to ask than right now.

Nor is the City’s former CEO Mike Garrett, who followed the mayor on the stand any hero all for admitting aloud, that if something went wrong on his watch, then he must take responsibility.

Sounds good, Mr. Garrett. But your words come after the horse was already out of the barn.

All well and good for newspapers to mention in a single reference about "the shocking ignorance of city councillors."

What about the councillors’ responsibility to the taxpayer?

Daily newspapers carry an awesome responsibility to their readers. To leave them with the impression that an $80-million deal went down "without the approval–or knowledge–of city council" is irresponsible.

On the MFP scandal, city councillors are being given a free ride by the mainline media. And this time the free ride is taking them all the way back to the power of public office.


Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com


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