By Arthur Weinreb
Monday, August 13, 2007
Political ideology aside, it is highly unlikely that Toronto will take any steps to solve the financial problems that are plaguing the city. The reason – the bulk of councillors are just too immature and childish to solve any problem that does not involve looking after their immediate needs.
What has to be kept in mind is that this is the council who needed three tries to have their class picture taken. Previous attempts failed when, like 5-year-olds, they squabbled and had hissy fits over the fact that the members of the mayor's executive committee just had to sit in the front row. It's perhaps a tad unfair to compare them to children as the proliferation of class pictures is proof positive that children can be persuaded to stop bickering long enough to pose for a quick picture.
The latest incident saw Councillor Adam Vaughan squabbling with Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong that degenerated into a "my daddy is bigger than your daddy" slinging match. The two began arguing about the refusal of council to implement the mayor's new taxes revenue tools and then went into a heated discussion about the size of Minnan-Wong's office and which of the two shining examples of political elites worked the hardest and who attended more committee meetings.
When Vaughan wrapped it up with an arrogant smirk on his face that has always been his trademark, it was time for Councillor Glenn de Baeremaeker to get into the act. De Baeremaeker began screaming about how the financial predicament that the city now finds itself in is the fault of Minnan-Wong's boy, former Premier Mike Harris. Harris of course hasn't been around for 9 years which gave de Baeremaeker's rant an air of silliness that is seldom if ever seen on the city's playgrounds let alone in adults.
The councillors really do act like children. Nothing is their fault; they're never responsible for anything. When they don't get their own way, they kick and whine and cry about how mommy and daddy (the other levels of government) are so mean. The irony is, of course that there is merit to the argument that the city is not receiving sufficient funding from the feds and the province especially in the area of public transit. But this argument is lost in the crying and the wailing and the whining.
The reality is that the provincial government, no matter who wins the October 10 election is unlikely to quickly bail out the city and give Toronto City Council the instant gratification they so strongly desire . McGuinty has so far refused; after all he gave them the City of Toronto Act so they can raise their own revenues. And John Tory won't fork over any funds unless it is determined that there will be value for money, a foreign concept to the current crop of city mothers. We're not too sure about Howard Hampton but it's a safe bet that he's not running around northern Ontario saying "vote for me and I'll save Toronto".
Much like children, the councillors cannot look past their own immediate wants. Despite David Miller's rhetoric about how he cares about the city, he doesn't care about the people who live in Toronto, which is of course the sole reason why cities like Toronto exist. A classic example of this type of thinking is that the kiddie kouncillors refuse to reduce their salaries or give up any of their toys. Their answer is that these types of cuts will do nothing to make a dent in Toronto's financial problems. And they're right. What they simply cannot understand, because, like children they can't see past their own needs and wants is that if they made cuts to their own spending and salaries, more people would be willing to make financial sacrifices in the form of new or higher taxes if they knew that the politicians were doing likewise. But like any normal 5-year-old, they are reluctant to part with any of their toys because "they're mine, they're mine!"
There are, of course many other examples of infantile behavior that shows that they are incapable of managing a few bucks, let alone the billions that flow through Canada's major city. The day after the vote to impose new revenue tools failed, they threw temper tantrums threatening to cut back the police budget and close a subway line. Then they went out and bought a theatre for $1.2 million that they claim that they don't have. Even now they are attempting to punish the city and scare residents by bragging about how dirtier and unsafe it will become because they didn't get their own way. None of this should come as any surprise considering they couldn't even have their class picture taken without throwing temper tantrums.
It is probably unfair to compare Toronto City Council to children. At least children eventually grow up; except of course that those that end up being elected to city hall.
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