The editors of this newspaper never thought they would find themselves in tacit agreement with the likes of Councillors David Miller and Pam McConnell.
The ideas of both Toronto municipal politicians on the perception of a "culture of corruption" at city hall in the aftermath of the computer scandal, are in sync with ours.
"I’m very concerned that the public believes there is a culture of corruption around here," Coun. Miller told the Toronto Star’s Jack Lakey.
Miller said that the OPP’s Project 80, which was set up many years ago to investigate municipal corruption but was eventually disbanded, should be re-established and instructed to thoroughly probe allegations of wrongdoing at city hall.
Right on, Coun. Miller!
It was our understanding that Metro council, one of the very bodies it was Project 80’s mandate to probe, cut off its funding mid-stream and sent it packing.
"When we have asked the OPP to investigate in the past, I have found that they didn’t do it with the kind of vigour and rigour that I believe was necessary to protect the public interest," said Coun. McConnell.
The OPP, apparently called by Lakey to respond to the councillors’ concerns, did not return his calls.
Project 80 was ideal for the job because its mandate was exclusively to investigate municipal corruption. Its members sometimes stumbled along the way, but did a great job in protecting the public purse against dishonest municipal politicians.
When politicians decided to disband it there was nothing left in its wake, paving the way for potential multi-million dollar municipal scandals.
In the cellar of the political spectrum, municipal politicians get a free ride due to public apathy. Councillors do not like to hear it, but voters do not pay much attention to them, and it shows each and every municipal Election Day.
We know all councillors are not at fault for the alleged MFP Financial Services Ltd./Toronto City Hall $80-million computer scandal. But time may prove that not only staff but also some councillors were responsible.
While the computer scandal is getting the lion’s share of mainline media attention, there is also the alleged $4-million telephone scandal, unearthed by Toronto Free Press in 2001.
And if there are scandals involving computer and telephone contracts, taxpayers can depend on them just being the tip of the iceberg.
Coun. Anne Johnston who says somewhat ruefully "It’s terrible to have no faith in the institutions in which you traditionally have faith--government and the police" should know that government, at least, earned it.
Apathetic or not in civic elections, getting out to vote or not, members of the public at large deserve better than what they’re getting from spend-happy municipal government.
Something stinks at Toronto City Hall, and the only cure is another Project 80.
Meanwhile, the only way to dispel the growing public perception of a "culture of corruption" is for elected municipal politicians to start giving the public something to believe in.
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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