September 24, 2014 I am not going to waste too many words on the September 23 debate/debacle except to say we have all seen more civilized displays on the Jerry Springer Show, and more intellect at a hockey fight. If you asked me to declare a winner, I would give it to the media, who…
Read more >>Dying with dignity is a leadership issue whose time has come
September 8, 2014 As mayor, one of my top priorities will be to move the needle forward on the topic of dying with dignity. Now you might be thinking “what a depressing topic,” or “this is not a municipal issue,” and you would be right on both counts. But it has a much closer connection…
Read more >>Heritage
August 21, 2014 I wish to take this moment to acknowledge the hard work Karen Stintz has done over the past few months. Her background and experience has contributed to the value of this election season, by forcing all candidates to engage in intelligent debate, especially in the area of transit and community. Although Ms.…
Read more >>Toronto Needs Green Action
Monday, August 4, 2014 (Simcoe Day) It is fitting, on this day, dedicated to John Graves Simcoe, founder of the City of Toronto, to think for a moment about our city’s history and its relationship to the environment. And you can do so quite easily just by looking at a tree. Although people of the…
Read more >>Using the Vehicle Registration Fee for Good
Friday, August 1, 2014 As Mayor, one of the first things I am going to do is reinstate the Vehicle Registration Tax. And I even believe it should be boosted to $75. That sucks, right? Yeah I know. But I challenge you, right now, to hear me out. Whether you hate me or love me,…
Read more >>Taming the Police Budget
Thursday, July 24, 2014 Obviously a police force is essential to a city’s well-being, but like many other areas of urban life, the Toronto Police Services (TPS) is being run from above in a style that is behind the times, and this is something that I want to change. Eighty-seven percent of the police budget…
Read more >>Saint Olivia
Monday, July 14, 2014 Every day, it seems, Olivia Chow appears somewhere. A series of well-planned photo-ops have her arriving at civic functions, charity events and, well, pretty much anything that has more than ten people in attendance. She showed up on the cover of her World Cup schedule last month to tell Toronto that…
Read more >>An Intelligent City with a Prosperous Future (to the Tune of Billions)
Saturday, July 12, 2014 On Thursday, June 5, 2014, the Intelligent Community Forum, a New York City-based organization of thought leaders who focus on high tech and community development, named Toronto “Intelligent City of the Year.” According to journalist Howard Solomon of ITWorld Canada, “Toronto was selected after a year-long evaluation that included an analysis…
Read more >>City Hall: Lord of the Flies
Friday, July 11, 2014 This week, someone brought a conch shell into City Hall and blew it. Now this might not seem so unusual, since this great civic hall has also seen meowing, temper tantrums from the Ford brothers, blatant displays of hatred, negativism and petulance (again from the Ford brothers), spontaneous dance parties to…
Read more >>Is Ari Qualified to be Mayor?
Tuesday, July 3, 2014 Is Ari Qualified to be Mayor given that he’s not a politician and comes from the private sector? How can an outsider hope to change a city? These are comments that I have seen recently, posted by people who have been reading my plan and commenting about me very positively on…
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