by Judi McLeod
June 8, 2004
Smack in the middle of the City of Toronto’s Great Pesticide Debate comes this refreshing journalistic classic: Grass is greener on Filion’s lawn. Written by National Post columnist Peter Kuitenbrouwer, the story is one of Small Town, North america and the hypocrisy of that breed known as the lowly, but doing-okay city councillor.
Coun. John Filion is the lecture-everybody chairman of the wacky Toronto board of health. John’s the guy in charge of enforcing city bylaws, including colour coding local bars and restaurants, smoking and regulating the use of pesticides on lawns. When it comes to lawns, he has been known to lecture Torontonians whom he says should avoid the use of pesticides.
although we don’t hear about it too often, Filion is a homeowner with a house on a rolling lawn. Filion’s lawn is, well, like the image he likes to create in his election brochures: pristine. Filion’s rolling lawn got that way because he uses--pesticide.
You probably have someone in your town or city just like John Filion, an elected official who tells the great unwashed who elected him: "Do as I say, not what I do."
That Filion got caught up in the glare of the headlights by a writer doing what local reporters are supposed to do--investigative journalism–will go a long way in calling more attention to apathetic city hall politics.
"How does Councillor John Filion keep his Willowdale lawn so green, so dandelion-free, so utterly weedless?" Kuitenbrouwer wrote in his column. "One word: Killex."
Like most self-important, left-wing city councillors, Filion talks too much. Having attended a city workshop on natural lawn care, Filion had been holding forth through the same writer’s column, saying if he knew last year what he knows now, he probably would have tried something other than Killex on his lawn.
Imagine Kuitenbrouwer’s reaction upon an email that reached him on the very day his column was published. The subject line? "I sprayed John Filion’s lawn."
as it turns out, in May 2003, coincidental with the time local council was passing a bylaw, courtesy in part to Filion’s "yes" vote, limiting, if not outright banning the use of pesticides, Filion was quietly calling a lawn-care professional, who "blanketed" his lawn with the dreaded pesticide.
The 100 or so lawn-care workers who had to give up their work in the busy spring season to come to the council chamber, were so shamefully treated by their high-flying city councillors. Some councillors insulted and derided the workers, one driving spokeswoman Lorraine Van Haastrecht to tears.
The councillor insulted the lady in my presence. Not long after, breaking a written promise to a political colleague, he abandoned his council seat to run successfully for the Ontario Liberals, who can keep him.
The arrogance of Toronto city council, which is dominated by New Democratic Party (NDP) members (Dems, if you’re reading this from the U.S.) would leave you breathless. Councillors were running for re-election during the Great Pesticide Debate.
Lawn-care members left the chamber to go after the politicians out on the hustings. They were destined to learn, firsthand, a bitter lesson about municipal politics. It is hopeless. Hopeless because incumbent municipal councillors, rarely, if ever get defeated.
Van Haastrecht argued a year ago, and argues to the present day, that a strict ban on pesticides will drive 2,000 lawn and garden workers out of work.
If the councillors did not care a fig during an election campaign and in the middle of the Toronto SaRS scare, how much will they care now?
although there are pesticide bans in effect in other Canadian cities such as Halifax and Quebec City, Toronto’s proposed ban affects only home lawns. For reasons only councillors could explain, the bylaw doesn’t restrict golf courses or tracts of grass where lawn bowling is de rigeur from pesticide use.
The advice for dandelion-fatigued homeowners from Jane Pitfield, the councillor who started it all, is galling. The councillor, who comes fully perq-equipped with free parking, tickets to gala openings, her very own lap computer, etc. etc. etc. told homeowners to do as she does--pull the dandelions out by hand.
There was joy in the Mudville of local politics this week: Incumbent NDP councillors may have made it back to their cushy jobs last election, but the masses, including even those who can’t be bothered to get out and vote in civic elections were always right: "Most city councillors are self-important, hypocritical yahoos.
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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