January 3

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Budget town hall meeting Jan. 9 Beaches-East York Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon (Ward 32) will host a budget town hall on the 2013 City of Toronto Budget on Wednesday, Jan. 9.

The gathering will take place in the library at Malvern Collegiate, 55 Malvern Ave., starting at 7 p.m.

All are welcome to attend. Share your thoughts on what you want your city to invest in, and learn more about how your tax dollars are being spent.

For more information, email councillor_mcmahon@toronto.ca or call 416-392-1376.

DailyFlag for Daily Bread Saturday

Staff photo/NICK PERRY

Winter Wonderland: Weiyue, Elena and Jonathan Zheng toboggan at Riverdale Park following the first major snow storm of the season in Toronto. Flurries are in the forecast for the next week.

Local politicians will be at traditional levee Jan. 6 RAHUL GUPTA rgupta@insidetoronto.com The New Year’s levee is an event steeped in tradition and an eastend city councillor wants it to stay that way.

This Sunday, elected officials from all levels of government representing Toronto-Danforth and BeachesEast York will exchange New Year’s

greetings with residents.

Between 200 and 300 people are expected to turn up for the event, which goes from 1 to 3 p.m. at the East York Civic Centre, said BeachesEast York Councillor Janet Davis, who called the levee part of the “protocol” for ushering in the New Year.

“It’s kind of an old-fashioned event that’s been around for eons and it’s just a good chance to say

hello,” said Davis. “There’s always a little refreshment and some music.

It’s a pleasant way to bring in the New Year and to meet and extend greetings to our constituents.”

Earlier this month, Mark Towhey, spokesperson for Mayor Rob Ford, confirmed the annual levee at Toronto City Hall would not be held in 2013 due to concerns regarding scheduling and cost.

Davis criticized the mayor for the decision, which she believes came without the consent of city council.

“That levee was for city council and there are many councillors who don’t have a local event,” said Davis. “It may in name be called the Mayor’s Levee because he’s the head of council, but it isn’t up to him.” >>>canadian, page 9

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Community members are invited to learn more about the DailyFlag for DailyBread fundraising campaign during the first Tour des Flags this Saturday. The event will run from 2 to 2:45 p.m.

Those interested in attending should meet at the corner of Queen Street East and Leuty Avenue.

Some of the talented flag makers will also be on hand.

Tour des Flags is free but attendees are asked to bring a non-perishable food donation.

Visit http://on.fb.me/VTEIyn for more information.

Concrete award A new state-of-the-art stormwater system in the West Don Lands has recently been awarded a 2012 Ontario Concrete Award.

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THE MIRROR b | Thursday, January 3, 2013 |

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Community

3

Veteran actor takes on leading soldier’s role JOANNA LAVOIE jlavoie@insidetoronto.com

Photo/TARRAGON THEATRE

Leslieville’s Ari Cohen is playing a leading role in This is War at Tarragon Theatre.

Denison is new head of Bridgepoint board

Leslieville-based actor Ari Cohen is looking forward to playing a leading role in This is War, a thought-provoking play about the life-changing experiences of three soldiers and a medic in Afghanistan in 2008.

A veteran Canadian actor/ producer, Cohen is reprising the role of Capt. Stephen Hughes, the most senior officer among the show’s four main characters forced to come to terms with a fictionalized version of a real-life atrocity that affects each of them differently.

Details about the incident and each character’s perceptions of it emerge through interviews with an unseen journalist.

“It’s a very good role and I really appreciate the opportunity to be telling a Canadian story as well,” said Cohen, adding This Is War also begs the question of how to behave morally in war?

For good measure, the play also includes some light-hearted moments, not to mention the complications of a love triangle, he noted.

Set in the Middle Eastern nation’s volatile Panjwaii region, This is War also aims to transport the audience back to Afghanistan through staging and décor as well as the set’s design, he said.

‘Part of the action’ “The audience feels really part of the action,” said Cohen, adding when people first enter the theatre (the Extra Space at The Tarragon), they may even feel a bit disoriented and need a few moments to adjust.

A native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Cohen first got into acting in high school and went on to attend the University of Manitoba before obtaining a bachelor’s degree in fine arts (acting) at the University of Alberta.

Cohen, who has starred

in a range of television, film and theatre roles, as well as worked as a producer over his 25-year career in the industry, lived in the Danforth area for six years after his post-secondary studies. He then spent six years living and working in Vancouver, B.C. before moving back to Toronto’s east end, near Leslie and Dundas streets, about three years ago.

Cohen’s feature film debut was in 1992 when he starred in the cult hit Archangel.

He’s gone on to play the leading role in The Tracey Fragments, and was a series regular in The Tournament as well as MOW and My Babysitter’s a Vampire.

A Dora-, sterling- and Gemini-award nominated actor/producer, Cohen most recently appeared in the TV shows The Firm, Lost Girl, Against the Wall, Living in your Car, Rookie Blue, Flashpoint, Suits, Haven, King, and The Republic of Doyle.

Some of his most notable

stage roles include performing in God of Carnage, Courageous, Speed-the-Plow, Death of a Salesman, Awake and Sing, Lost in Yonkers, Generous, Rune Arlidge, Frost/Nixon, Sunday Father, and Noises Off. Cohen’s next project is playing a Hollywood producer in Soulpepper Theatre’s True West.

This is War, written by downtown Toronto resident Hannah Moscovitch, Canada’s most produced young playwr ight, and directed by Tarragon’s Artistic Director and Queen West resident Richard Rose, will have its world premiere today at Tarragon Theatre’s Extra Space at 30 Bridgman Ave., near Bathurst and Dupont streets.

The show is set to run until Sunday, Feb. 3. Previews began Friday, Dec. 28.

Visit www.tarragontheatre. com or call 416-531-1827 to purchase tickets, which range from $27 to $53, or for details about show times.

A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR

Bridgepoint Health hospital has a new president of its board of directors.

The Riverdale-area facility for people with complex, chronic disease and disability officially announced its newest appointment, David Denison, on Thursday, Dec. 20.

The president and CEO of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board from 2005 to 2012, Denison was previously the president of Fidelity Investments Canada Ltd. United Way director

DAVID DENISON

He currently serves on the board of BCE and Bell Canada, Royal Bank of Canada, Bentall Kennedy and is also a member of the World Bank Treasury Expert Advisory Committee, the Toronto Community Foundation Investment Committee and is a director of The United Way of Greater Toronto.

Further, Denison holds a degree in mathematics from the University of Toronto and is a fellow of the Chartered

Accountants of Ontario.

“Bridgepoint is poised to transform the delivery of care for patients living with complex health conditions. The benefits of this new model of care are enormous – this approach will advance the quality of care and outcomes for all patients,” Denison said in a Dec. 20 release.

“I’m also looking forward to working with the talented team of professionals at Bridgepoint Health.”

- Joanna Lavoie

Photo/WILLIAM MEIJER

WELCOME! Charlotte Greene, born on New Year’s Day at 3:19 a.m. weighing 7lbs, 3oz., gets the full attention of her mother Liz Marshall at Toronto East General Hospital Tuesday morning.

| THE MIRROR b | Thursday, January 3, 2013

bsrm@insidetoronto.com

THE MIRROR b | Thursday, January 3, 2013 |

4

Opinion

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Your View

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Union systems outlived purpose

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Being healthy helps entire community

N

ow that we’re already three days into 2013, a number of our readers may already be struggling with the New Year’s resolutions they made Tuesday morning. Don’t fear, however, as the City of Toronto’s Public Health department is available to offer you some help.

“If your New Year’s resolution is to be healthier, Toronto Public Health (TPH) is here to support you throughout the year,” said Catherine Clarke, manager of healthy living, in a press release this week.

That’s good, because healthy residents benefit the entire community in so many ways.

People who feel better have more energy, and are able to be more involved and effective members of their workforce, their families and their communities. A healthier population as a whole also eases stresses and costs on our health our view care system.

So often, well-intentioned Take first New Year’s resolutions are quickly tossed aside because they are just too hard to accom- step to better plish and those who make them health in 2013 become discouraged. That’s where TPH is offering some specific help to local residents.

For those who want to quit smoking, TPH has 1,000 free quit kits available for residents. The kits include sugarless gum, a stress ball, a toothbrush and other items to help those trying to quit smoking deal with their cravings. Those looking for some personal advice, can also call a TPH nurse at 416-338-7974.

There’s more specific information on quitting smoking online at www.toronto.ca/health/smokefree/quittingsmoking There’s also help for those looking to get more exercise or improve their eating habits in 2013.

TPH advises residents to eat healthy by cutting down on portion sizes, reading labels for calorie and sodium counts, and asking restaurant staff for nutritional information when ordering food. Many city restaurants already offer such information online.

There are also TPH registered dieticians available to offer advice by calling 416-338-7600, and more info is online at www.toronto.ca/health/nutrition One of the best ways to start getting healthier is to get more exercise, and TPH says that’s as simple as just getting out into your neighbourhood and taking a walk. For inspiration, there’s a pedometer lending program offered through Toronto Public Libraries.

More info at www.toronto.ca/health/walkintohealth Walking is easy and it’s also a great way to get to know your community better. We encourage all our readers to take that first step to better health in 2013. newsroom

Write us The Beach Mirror welcomes letters of 400 words or less. All submissions must include name, address and a daytime telephone number for verification purposes.

We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Copyright in letters remains with the author but the publisher and affiliates may freely reproduce them in

print, electronic or other forms.

Letters can be sent to letters@ insidetoronto.com, or mailed to The Beach Mirror, 175 Gordon Baker Rd., Toronto, ON, M2H 0A2.

Re: ‘Everyone benefits from unions: reader.’ Letters, Dec. 26 I must disagree with Joy Taylor’s letter in support of unions.

And before anyone wonders, yes, I spent several years in a union-based job. Whilst it is true that in the beginning, unions served the just and noble cause of protecting workers’ rights, this purpose has long since degenerated and been replaced by a bunch of greedy, inflexible, living-inthe-past union leaders, who are clinging to antiquated systems no longer viable in current economic realities.

We hear countless stories in the media of actual union members who are do not wish to strike and are quite happy, in most cases, with the more than fair salaries and benefits that they receive.

Constant strikes disrupt our city and cost millions of dollars in taxpayers’ money.

It’s time to try something new, since neither government or union leaders seem capable of bargaining fairly.

Regardless, let’s move into the 21st century and find a better way.

Neil Folkard

Betting on council peace not a good bet for 2013 Amid all the hand-wringing about vacant mayor’s offices and crumbling highways, one might be forgiven for missing one of the most reliable news stories of the winter months. Toronto is making a budget, and over the next few weeks, will be performing the final pieces of the ritual to make it complete.

Late last year, the city’s budget committee finished their tinkering with the $9.4 billion budget. It was (and remains) a plan designed to attract a minimum of tinkering at council.

Budget Chief Mike Del Grande moved at the end of the process to increase property taxes a sliver more than the original proposal had intended — they’re going up 2 per cent rather than 1.95 per cent — and allocated the $1.15 million to restore services in areas where citizens had made

THE CITY

david nickle

what he considered a good case.

That didn’t happen last year, and when the budget proceeded to council, councillors tore it to pieces and rebuilt it – $15 million fatter – pulling money from reserves to do so. Del Grande doesn’t want to see that happen again this year; so much so that he’s vowed to quit if council does anything else with the plan he’s presented.

Some of his colleagues have snickeringly suggested this might be an excellent way to find themselves a new budget chief.

But really, the budget

going forward will be difficult to make changes on.

The budget cuts firefighter positions, and as a policy move council might reverse that. Similarly, the trimmed police service budget approved by the Toronto Police Services Board and scorned by Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair might get another look. Council could look at restoring money to child care, homeless shelters and other pieces of social infrastructure.

And there are some on council, like Parkdale-High Park Councillor Gord Perks, who are concerned the city is paying too much cash for capital projects such as road work, comparing the move to buying a house with all the money up front.

The mayor (because he’s the kind of mayor he is) might, if still in office by the time the budget’s debated mid-January, take issue

with that property tax hike.

And on the matter of the Gardiner Expressway, the budget debate could take an off-ramp into a long discussion over whether it’s worth the $500 million the capital budget’s allocated over the next decade to repairs to the elevated highway, or to just go down the road the last council started on, to tear a large portion of it down.

Nobody ever made any money betting on peace at Toronto Council, and I won’t now.

But it’s going to take a pretty significant effort

by Ford opponents to get under the hood of the 2013 budget and make serious changes.

David Nickle is Toronto Community News’ city hall columnist. His column appears every Thursday. Contact him at dnickle@insidetoronto.com

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Community

5

RAHUL GUPTA rgupta@insidetoronto.com

Staff photos/DAN PEARCE

Above, Laura Nagasaka, right, Donna Power, Elly Triantafilou and Paris Quinn from The East York Mirror join children and their families for a Beary Merry Christmas presentation in Toronto East General Hospital’s pediatric department. The Beary Merry campaign presents teddy bears to young patients in hospital over the holidays. Below, Toronto Marlies player Mike Zigomanis, left, and the Oakland Athletics’ George Kottaras join the holiday fun during a visit to the Toronto East General Hospital’s pediatric department recently.

Recently, two Toronto professional athletes spread some holiday joy to some children in need of it.

For a couple of hours, Toronto Marlies hockey player Mike Zigomanis and George Kottaras, a catcher with the Oakland Athletics, handed out gifts, candy canes and teddy bears to young patients at Toronto East General Hospital.

The athletes visited coincided with The East York Mirror’s annual Beary Merry Christmas visit, which hands out teddy bears to youngsters who have to spend the holidays in hospital.

Dressed in the jerseys of their pro teams, Zigomanis and Kottaras, both originally from Scarborough, hung out with child patients admitted in the hospital’s pediatric and emergency departments, playing video games, posing for pictures and handing out autographed photos to the excited kids and their parents.

Zigomanis, who recently

‘It’s nice to spend time with people who are not able to get out of the hospital...’

– Toronto Marlies hockey player Mike Zigomanis re-signed with the American Hockey League Calder Cup finalist Marlies for another season, said the visit to the hospital was a reminder for him of the hardships suffered by children forced to spend the holidays in a hospital room.

“It’s nice to spend time with people who are not able to get out of the hospital for Christmas and may be going through a hard time,” said Zigomanis who has played for five NHL teams including the Toronto Maple Leafs over the course of his 11-year pro career.

“I just try to brighten someone’s day for a couple of hours and anything helps.

It puts things into perspective, absolutely.”

The event was made possible through the hard work of hospital volunteers, said TEGH spokesperson Justin Van Dette.

“Kids smile when they experience something unexpected like pro athletes visiting them,” said Van Dette, community relations manager for the hospital’s foundation.

“It’s a nice distraction and seeing a recognizable face in person goes a long way.”

Van Dette said he wanted to make the Christmas Eve visit a tradition for the hospital and have one take place every year. New York Islander winger Brad Boyes also visited the hospital with his family for around three hours on the weekend before Christmas, said Van Dette.

Zigomanis, who led the Marlies in scoring during the 2011-12 AHL season, said he relished the opportunity to take part in the visit as he and his family have close ties to the hospital.

“It’s nice to go somewhere you can relate and is close to home,” he said.

Toronto CASINO C o n s u l t a t i o n

The City ofToronto is looking for public input before making a decision on the establishment of a new casino. What do you want the City to consider? Learn, discuss and provide your views and feedback.

Join us online: www.toronto.ca/casinoconsultation Download a workbook and/or complete an online feedback form.

Come to a Community Discussion Join us at a community open house and discussion to learn more about the process and issues, talk with City staff, and join discussion groups on key topics. Drop-in anytime during one of the events below: Wednesday January 9

Saturday January 12

Monday January 14

Thursday January 17

Saturday January 19

City Hall Rotunda Toronto City Hall

NorthYork Memorial Hall

Etobicoke Olympium Gymnasium

Scarborough Civic Centre Rotunda

100 Queen St. W.

1 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Bluma Appel Salon Reference Library

6 p.m. – 9 p.m.

5110Yonge St.

590 Rathburn Rd. 150 Borough Dr. 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.

6 p.m. – 9 p.m.

For more information please visit www.toronto.ca/casinoconsultation

789Yonge St. 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.

| THE MIRROR b | Thursday, January 3, 2013

Special visitors important to hospital patients

THE MIRROR b | Thursday, January 3, 2013 |

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City Hall

Campaign seeks to change the municipal voting system MIKE ADLER madler@insidetoronto.com If a mayoral byelection looms in Toronto, people may warm up to a different – and some say, less divisive – way to vote for city officials, called ranked balloting.

And last month, supporters of the concept were claiming they could swing Toronto Council to their cause, making city elections “way more interesting and fair” a few years from now.

“This is winnable. We’ve actually got a majority of councillors supporting this,” Dave Meslin said during a presentation of his civic engagement campaign, The Fourth Wall, at the East Scarborough Boys and Girls Club.

“I think we’ll get it.”

On its website, the Ranked Ballot Initiative of Toronto (RaBIT) claims 19 sitting councillors plus Mayor Rob Ford as supporters, not enough to carry the 45-member council.

But Meslin and Scarborough East Councillor

Paul Ainslie both say they have found enough “soft” support in the rest of the ranks.

Interestingly, TrinitySpadina MP Olivia Chow, touted by many to run against the mayor, is in the RaBIT camp.

According to the site (www.123toronto.ca), so are Karen Stintz and Adam Vaughan, other councillors spoken of as contenders for Ford’s chair.

splitting if he ran again. “I think he would lose, but then the majority of the voting clientele have truly chosen what they want.”

Ainslie, who has caused many Fourth Wall proposals to be studied through the city hall committee he chairs, said he likes RaBIT because “one of my colleagues in the last election won with 18 per cent of the vote,” meaning James Pasternak of York Centre, adding Pasternak “often gets heckled” when he claims at council meetings to speak for people in his ward.

Vote-splitting Meslin said fear of votesplitting often pushes challengers off the ballot, particularly first-time candidates who are women or visible minorities.

“I want to see them all run. I want to have choice,” he said.

Though Queen’s Park must first approve them, a switch to ranked ballots would give voters the option of naming second and third choices. If no candidate gets 50 per cent of the votes, candidates with the least votes drop off and

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The Fourth Wall creator Dave Meslin, left, and Toronto councillor Paul Ainslie explain proposals for boosting public participation in the city’s governance to local residents.

their second-place support is transferred to others.

These “instant runoffs” continue until one candidate is shown to have majority support, though some comes from being a second- or third-best choice.

Meslin argues this encourages candidates to be nicer as

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they hope to pick up secondplace votes.

The idea was well-received by some of Ainslie’s constituents at a town hall meeting.

“I’ve always thought that the way elections are run is kind of stupid,” said Vince Puhakka, who declared he likes the ranked ballot after seeing Meslin and Ainslie explain it.

“I think it means you get less polarization.”

Dennis Reinsborough, another resident, said he’d be against having a separate run-off election, but noted Ireland has instant run-offs, and “if you don’t get a majority, you go to the second round.”

A Fo r d s u p p o r t e r, Reinsborough admitted to thinking the mayor would probably benefit from vote-

‘Quite reluctant’ Pasternak, who in 2010 scored the most votes of 12 contenders after the ward’s longtime incumbent Mike Feldman retired, said he’s “quite reluctant” to support ranked ballots.

“It would create enormous confusion among candidates and the voting public at a time when we’re trying to increase voter participation, not decrease it,” Pasternak said, adding once ranked balloting starts, Toronto will have “de facto political parties” muscling into municipal politics.

In an interview, Willowdale Councillor John Filion, who isn’t counted among ranked ballot supporters, said he would be “leaning that way” if it came to a vote.

Filion said he would prefer to stage separate run-off elections, but that may not be practical because of the cost.

It’s “pretty absurd” that

some councillors have been elected with around 20 per cent support, and most people would support changing how our mayors, and possibly our councillors, are selected, said Filion, adding if someone wins a byelection for mayor with a low percentage of votes, “there’ll be a lot more of a clamour for some kind of reform.”

On the other hand, if you have many names on the ballot, “I think a lot of people have a tough enough choice deciding who their first pick is,” let alone a second or third, Filion said, suggesting voters may just pick a name they recognize as second choice.

“It would be a big name recognition factor.”

In 2010, during the last days of the previous city council, Case Ootes, another retiring councillor, called for a report “on alternative methods on the election of the mayor for the City of Toronto for 2014” so that councillors could discuss options before going to the province for approval.

Ootes, now listed as a RaBIT supporter, proposed the race for mayor “should be decided by a form of voting that represents a result of 50 per cent plus one,” ensuring the new head of council “has a mandate and the support of a majority of those who voted.”

Toronto’s voting machines, however, are not set up for ranked ballots and would cost the city millions to replace before 2015, Ainslie said.

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| THE MIRROR b | Thursday, January 3, 2013

THE MIRROR b | Thursday, January 3, 2013 |

8

NADbank, ComBase: Adults 18+, print and online

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Community

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YELLOW VS. WHITE HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT: A player from team Yellow gets a shot off on White’s goalie before falling down during Ted Reeve Hockey Association novice house league game last week. Team Yellow defeated White 7-4.

Staff photo/DAN PEARCE

‘Canadian tradition’ since well before confederation >>>from page 1 Davis likened the cancellation of the 2013 Mayor’s Levee to potentially removing the Christmas tree erected annually in Nathan Phillips Square during the holiday season.

“If the mayor decided we shouldn’t have a Christmas tree I would think there

should be some discussion for that, just as there should have been some regarding the cancellation of the New Year’s levee,” she said.

The levee is a Canadian tradition celebrated toward the beginning of the New Year since well before Confederation by all levels

of government in every province and territory. The word “levee” stems from the French verb “lever” which means to lift oneself or rise.

Scheduled to attend are Toronto-Danforth MP Craig Scott, Beaches-East York MP Matthew Kellway, Toronto-Danforth MPP Peter

Tabuns, Beaches-East York MPP Michael Prue, TorontoDanforth councillors Paula Fletcher and Mary Fragedakis, and Beaches-East York Councillors Mary-Margaret McMahon and Davis.

For more info about the levee, contact Davis’ office at 416-392-4035.

■ Thursday, Jan. 10

Niagara Ice Tour WHEN: 9 a.m. WHERE: Community Centre 55, 97 Main St. CONTACT: Evonne, 416-6911113 Community Centre 55’s Niagara Ice Tour leaves at 9 a.m. The trip includes a Peller Estates for Wine Making Excellence Tour and tasting; lunch at Elements On The Falls; a drive along the falls; and a stop at the Niagara Butterfly Conservatory. $85.

■ Tuesday, Jan. 15

Improve Your Memory Workshop WHEN: 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.

WHERE: Community Centre 55, 97 Main St. CONTACT: Evonne Hossack, 416-691-1113 Join Community Centre 55 for a fun, practical and interactive program about how to improve your memory every Tuesday from Jan. 15 to Feb. 19. Cost is $18 per person.

■ Sunday, Jan. 20

Kidproof workhops WHEN: 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

WHERE: Community Centre 55, 97 Main Street CONTACT: , 416-691-1113 Community Centre 55 hosts

Stranger Smarts as well as Never Bee Lost from 2 to 3 p.m.

Reserve with Lainey Anderson at 416-691-1113, ext. 223 or lainey@centre55.com

■ Monday, Jan. 21

Preventing falls step by step WHEN: 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

WHERE: Community Centre 55, 97 Main Street CONTACT: Evonne, 416-691-1113 COST: Free Falls are one of the leading causes of hospitalization among older people. The good news is many falls can be prevented.

Join Community Centre 55, 97 Main St., for a two-part series Jan. 21 and 28 from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Call Shirin at 416778-5805, ext. 228 or Evonne at 416-691-1113, ext. 222.

Summer Camp Fair WHEN: 6 to 8 p.m. WHERE: Courcelette Public School, 100 Fallingbrook Rd. CONTACT: Miles Villneff, 416-482-0782, miles@onondagacamp.com COST: Free Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to meet with directors from many of Ontario’s finest children’s summer camps.

Free.

| THE MIRROR b | Thursday, January 3, 2013

IT’S HAPPENING

THE MIRROR b | Thursday, January 3, 2013 |

10

Active

active@insidetoronto.com

Hair of the Dog RUNNING IN THE NEW YEAR: Left, a dog joins the start of the 33rd annual Hair of the Dog run and walk at the Balmy Beach Club on New Year’s Day. The Tuesday morning event brought out about 100 participants willing to get the blood flowing once again following their New Year’s Eve celebrations. Below, runners head westward along the boardwalk for the run. Right, luchador Dave Nacho Emilio (#142) heads out at the start of the run.

Photos/PETER C. MCCUSKER

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City Hall

Four issues that defined the year at City Hall DAVID NICKLE dnickle@insidetoronto.co,

The budget, subways, labour... and the Mayor himself

■ THE 2012 BUDGET

Mayor Rob Ford’s second budget started 2012 in crisis. In 2011, budget chief Mike Del Grande and his budget committee delivered a budget that had communities across the city up in arms.

There were cuts to libraries, arts grants, sidewalk snow-clearing in the suburbs, child care, and homeless shelters.

It was clear to the mayor’s supporters early on that there wasn’t going to be support for what opponents called a “radical conservative” budget. So at the executive committee, Ford’s allies attempted to strike a compromise deal, reversing some of the more controversial cuts by dipping into $8 million in unanticipated revenue.

It wasn’t enough.

Mayor Ford made a personal plea to councillors to leave the budget as it was recommended – putting $154 million in surplus all into capital debt reduction.

Council didn’t listen.

In late January, council supported a motion by rookie councillor Josh Colle, that restored nearly all the cuts that the mayor’s budget had proposed, digging into reserves to the tune of $20 million.

■ SUBWAYS

In 2010, Mayor Rob Ford campaigned on a plan to scrap his predecessor David Miller’s light rail Transit City plan, and instead extend the Sheppard subway into Scarborough. Shortly after he was elected, he declared Transit City to be “dead” and began a process to find private sector investors as well as provincial and federal funding to make the subway a reality.

Former city councillor Gordon Chong was charged with providing a strategy for doing so, and for a time a majority of councillors

so without job disruptions.

In each case, city negotiators did so by playing tough. The city moved to go into conciliation with its outside workers, CUPE Local 416, in 2011 before the collective agreement had even expired. And in January, the city asked for a ‘no board’ report, starting the countdown for a strike or lockout.

The tactic had its effect. CUPE negotiators countered by offering a wage freeze. The city held its ground. Eventually, a tentative deal was struck.

The city’s inside workers followed suit a month later.

In the end, only library workers went on strike – a walkout that lasted nearly two weeks. In the end, they settled on a contract that was marginally better for the union than the one signed

by CUPE, with higher wages and better job security language.

■ THE MAYOR Staff photo/NICK PERRY

Toronto City Hall saw its share of victories and defeats on the council floor in 2012.

went along with the subway plan.

But following the mayor’s budget defeat, councillors who opposed the costly subway plan saw what proved to be a fatal opening. The mayor and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty had drafted a memorandum of understanding between the city and the provincial government, that the $8.4 billion in funding that was to have gone to build Transit City light rail lines on Eglinton, Sheppard and Finch Avenues would be diverted to building the Eglinton light rail line all underground.

But the memorandum of understanding needed to be ratified by Toronto Council. And when that finally came forward, along with Chong’s report on funding, council rejected both it and the plan. Over Ford’s objec-

tion, council convened its own expert panel on what to do about the Sheppard corridor.

Ford’s team was furious, and at the next meeting of the Toronto Transit Commission, gathered the votes to fire Gary Webster, the TTC’s Chief General Manager who had advised council that light rail made more sense along the relatively lightly-populated suburban routes. Council was equally infuriated by the move, and at a special meeting voted to fire the TTC members who’d voted to fire Webster.

When the expert panel finally returned, it advised, as expected, to go ahead with LRT on Sheppard and abandon the subway plan.

The mayor voted against the plan, and vowed to continue to campaign for re-election in 2014

on a promise to build subways and kill light rail once and for all.

■ LABOUR

As Toronto Council was battling it out with the mayor over control of the city, negotiators for the city and the unions that represent most of its workers were fighting toe to toe over their collective agreements – all of which came up in late 2011.

At issue were clauses in the contracts with inside and outside workers providing job security in the event the city decided to contract out their services. These clauses were negotiated under former Mayor Mel Lastman and persisted under Mayor David Miller.

The Ford administration was the first to be able to weaken job protection on those grounds – and with one brief exception, did

Arguably the biggest story in Toronto was the story of the mayor himself.

The mayor was photographed reading while driving; he called TTC chief executive officer Andy Byford to complain about a streetcar driver, who’d chided the mayor for driving past the open door of his streetcar.

And then there was football.

Ford started the year with what turned out to be a major blunder, when he spoke and voted on an integrity commissioner report asking council compel him to return $3,150 in money donated by lobbyists to his private football charity while he was a councillor.

Prominent lawyer Clayton Ruby and client Paul Magder took Ford to court, charging that he’d breached the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act and ought to be removed from office. Supreme Court Justice Charles Hackland agreed, and Ford’s future now rests in the hands of a Divisional Court of Appeal, set to convene Jan. 7.

13

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| THE MIRROR b | Thursday, January 3, 2013

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