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Report Says G20 Public Inquiry Needed

February 28, 2011 By Jordan Leave a Comment

According to a report from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the National Union of Public and General Employees, a full public report is needed pertaining to the G20 events in Toronto.

There are a number of recommendations made in the report, which is the result of three public hearings in Toronto and Montreal held in November.

“The many violations of civil liberties that occurred during the summit, such as illegal detentions and searches and excessive uses of force, cannot have simply been the actions of a few bad apples,” the report states. ”Rather, given the scope and severity of the violations of rights that occurred during the G20, it is difficult to view this situation as anything other than a failure of policy and training.”

The report is 56 pages long and is based on the testimony of dozens of people caught up in the madness of the G20 event last June. 1,105 people were arrested. Police refused to take part in the report.

“Much of the testimony we heard was shocking and appalling,” said union president James Clancy. “Over and over again, witnesses recounted their experiences involving the excessive violent dispersal of peaceful demonstrators by police and the dehumanizing treatment of many of those who were detained.”

There are a number of photographs to go with the testimony in the report. Including in the pictures is one of Revenue Canada worker John Pruyn, 58. He had his artificial leg taken off by police as he sat on the grass at the Ontario legislature.

Several lawsuits came out of the G20 events. The police action intensified after a small group of vandals took to smashing windows and setting fire to police cruisers while officers did nothing. As a result of this, the report states that “Peaceful protests were violently dispersed.”

The report is titled Breach of the Peace and states that some have concerns over police informants being involved in the violence.

Ontario’s ombudsman Andre Marin characterized the events at G20 as “the most massive compromise of civil rights in Canadian history.”

Filed Under: News Tagged With: , , , , ,

Toronto Rally Sustains Awareness of Libyan Situation

February 27, 2011 By Jordan Leave a Comment

Libyan-Canadians and supporters rallied in downtown Toronto on Saturday, keeping the focus on the dire situation in Libya. The civil uprising against dictator Moammar Gadhafi has captivated the world and Torontonians were out in force at the event, which began at Yonge-Dundas Square and finished on University Ave. across from the U.S. Consulate, to show their support.

Along with showing moral support, the crowd called for urgency in delivering medical supplies to the region.

Organizer Khaoula Bengezi also called on the United States to take on a much more significant role to end the violence.

“We don’t want military intervention or sanctions because those are going to hurt the people,” Bengezi said. “It’s heartbreaking, it’s really heartbreaking. We really hoped (the uprising) would be along the same lines as Tunisia and Egypt (where) it was relatively peaceful. In Libya…thousands have died in the cause of freedom.”

Liberal MPP Mike Colle was among the supporters calling for more action on the front of medical supplies. “The real thing that hasn’t been talked about is the need for medical supplies. There’s an urgency. That’s what we’ve got to put on the map,” Colle said.

Critical care supplies, like bandages, sutures and antibiotics, are the most necessary supplies. Baby food and aid is also of pressing need.

Some people were mobilizing using social networking and contacts they’d made among supporters. The Internet is being used to purchase medical supplies and get the goods to the right places in a hurry.

Rizwan Mohammad, an Indian-Canadian, was among the supporters. “I just feel that’s what’s been happening in Egypt and Tunisia and Yemen and Bahrain and now Libya is really important for everybody concerned with human rights and freedom. There are a lot of people who are resisting fear…and cynicism and apathy and they’re sacrificing a lot,” he said.

Photo c/o Andrew Wallace.

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GM Farrell Ready for Business at Jays Spring Training

February 27, 2011 By Jordan Leave a Comment

The former pitcher, pitching coach and front-office executive was happy to have it behind him. For John Farrell, his first spring opener is in the books and he’s managed his first professional game. The Toronto Blue Jays GM knew that the occasion was special, but his team’s 4-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers didn’t exactly put him in a celebratory mood.

“It was the first, but our day was full and there was a lot that we were trying to get a look at,” Farrell said. “Our thoughts were more dominated on what was in front of us, beginning those evaluations that are going to take place over the course of spring training.”

In his playing career, Farrell was drafted out of Oklahoma State University by the Cleveland Indians in the second round of the 1984 draft. He debuted in August of 1987 and was a starter for the Indians before injuries to his right elbow took him out of action. After missing two seasons, Farrell returned to play with the Angels, Indians and Tigers.

From November of 2001 to the end of the 2006 season, Farrell was the Director of Player Development  for the Indians.

On October 25, 2010, the Toronto Blue Jays introduced him as their new general manager for the 2011 season.

Farrell’s history bodes well for the ball club and the spring opener was a good indication as to how he plans on getting out of  the way of his players.

“There’s certain guys that we’ve already discussed that have the green light,” Farrell said. “We don’t want to get in their way, particularly with Anthony (Gose). One of his real strengths is his ability to steal bases. We had a chance to watch his talents play out and he does things so gracefully that it was a chance to set the tone. Part of his development as he spends time in the minor leagues is going to be how efficient is his development in becoming a base stealer. He’s got a long history of it already.”

For the Jays, winning games during spring training has often been used as a key selling feature. The squad has often had trouble drumming up interest early on, but Farrell isn’t concerned. The team currently has bigger fish to fry.

“I would agree to a certain extent that wins are important,” Farrell said. “It does begin to develop a little bit of an internal belief in the group that will be there when we break camp. I might place a little bit more value on (wins) in the last 10 days. Right now we’re getting a chance to look at a lot of people and build up some stamina in getting guys’ legs underneath them, getting them in shape.”

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TCHC Audit Reveals Massive Spending Issues

February 26, 2011 By Jordan Leave a Comment

According to a report by the Toronto Star, the Toronto Community Housing Corporation could use a little work with their “lavish spending” tactics.

The Star cites an unnamed source in their report and says that the auditor general’s report will reveal more about the TCHC’s spending soon enough.

“Here, according to our source, is a partial list of what seem to be highly inappropriate expenses: $1,850 for a boat cruise for the purposes of staff development; $1,925 for manicures and pedicures; $6,000 for a planning session in Muskoka; $40,000 for a staff Christmas party in 2009; $53,500 for a similar bash in 2008; $800 for four massage practitioners at a staff picnic,” writes Joe Fiorito.

The money for the luxuries, says the report, comes from the rent paid by tenants. And with the state of affairs at many of Toronto’s community housing sites less than luxurious, it can sting a little to hear that the TCHC is spending $40,000 on the staff Christmas party.

The report will be delivered to TCHC board members over the weekend and should be out for public perusal by Monday, so we’ll all get to have a crack at it then. It’s been bumped up for unknown reasons, as the report’s original release date was late March.

Fiorito and the Star claim to have seen an internal document that reveals the TCHC report will assert that “the financial amounts raised in the Auditor-General’s report are well below the materiality thresholds for TCHC.”

Fiorito rightly worries that the Ford administration in Toronto will see this as an opportunity to strip the TCHC and, as a result, save millions of dollars in the process. With the budget issues we’ve been discussing here lately, that seems a likely avenue to take. The solution is likely to aim in the direction of private enterprise, of course.

In the end, it’s hard to predict how this will play out. But it can’t be good if the Star and its source have any insight at all.

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Ford Budget Passes Amid Criticism

February 26, 2011 By Jordan Leave a Comment

Mayor Rob Ford’s budget may have passed on Thursday afternoon, but that hasn’t stopped his critics from sounding off.

As we talked about a couple of days ago, veteran centrist councillor Raymond Cho demonstrated his concerns over Ford’s tactics. With the budget having cleared, others are suggesting, too, that it means short-term gain but “long-term pain” for Toronto residents.

“I think we’re looking at much bigger cuts (in 2012). This year we’ve affected what the budget committee called ‘a few citizens.’ We’re talking about thousands and thousands and thousands being affected next time around,” said former budget chief Shelley Carroll.

There is, as we reported in the past, a $774 million deficit projected for 2012. That will mean that deep, significant cuts will need to be made to a host of programs if there is to be any salvaging of the conditions in Toronto. With Ford’s $9.4 billion budget approved Thursday, it included no property tax increase. That’s the first time the city of Toronto has seen no increase in that department in over a decade.

Among the programs scrapped were the downspout program and funding for the Toronto Public Library’s urban affairs branch. The TTC will also reduce some of its services and fees will go up.

On top of that, there’s pressure because the city’s surplus was used up to balance the 2011 budget. That compounds the impending deficit considerably and makes it more of a problem.

Ford, for his part, has kept quiet about how he intends to meet the 2012 issues. For now, it appears that he’s focused in gaining ground from the 2011 budget and has little concern for looking ahead. “The ink’s not even dry on the 2011 budget,” he said, “so I want people to enjoy the zero per cent tax increase.”

Filed Under: News, Politics, Top Story Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

TSX Surges Friday

February 26, 2011 By Jordan Leave a Comment

Friday was a good day for the Toronto stock market as the TSX surged with investors buying stocks across the board.

This followed significant declines throughout the week as the various situations overseas led to fears that the economic recovery would be put on hold. With that fear on the back burner, at least for now, there was good news on the markets as the week closed out.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed 184.82 points higher at 14,052.13.

Violence in Libya kept the markets down lower for most of the week, however, so investors took full advantage of the potential for profit. As a result, the TSX Venture Exchange climbed 46.94 points to 2,375.62.

The Canadian dollar was up higher against the American dollar, too, so that helped matters. The loonie was up 0.47 of a cent to what amounted to a three year high of 102.18 cents U.S.

Volatility still conquered the oil markets, unfortunately. The April contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was up 60 cents at $97.88 (U.S.) a barrel. The good news on that score was that it was below the spike of $103 we saw on Thursday. The news that Saudi Arabia would boost production in light of any shortfalls in Libyan exports due to chilling diplomatic relations was greeted with more market confidence.

“That has given some ceiling on oil temporarily,” said Azim Hajee, senior market strategist at Lind Waldock. “I think traders are not worried about a shortfall (from Libya). I think a lot of it is already in the market. They’re more worried about if Bahrain falls, then it could affect Saudi Arabia itself.

Copper prices continued to go up, too, with base metals up 2.43 percent. Copper was at a high on Valentine’s Day ($4.63) but it sank to $4.28 earlier this week. The fluctuation was due to more of the same, with the energy situation in Libya and elsewhere leading to fears that western societies would use less copper.

Filed Under: Finance, News Tagged With: , , , , ,

Ontario Goes Full Steam Ahead with Energy Projects

February 25, 2011 By Jordan Leave a Comment

Ontario’s provincial government will be going ahead with dozens of large-scale wind and solar projects. In the process, hundreds of smaller energy projects will have to be delayed thanks to limited access to the province’s power grid.

According to Energy Minister Brad Duguid, 39 new wind and solar installations and one hydro-electric station are on the way. These will generate 872 megawatts in one to three years, which is enough juice to light up 200,000 homes.

“Our long-term energy plan is working, and we’re attracting billions of dollars of private investment and creating thousands of clean energy jobs,” said Duguid. ”These projects alone represent an estimated 7,000 direct and indirect jobs and $3 billion in private sector investment.”

Provincial PC leader Tim Hudak called the numbers a “fantasy,” while the NDP chimed in to say that Ontario’s Liberals have no remaining credibility on the matter. The problem, says the loyal opposition, is that the government has mishandled up to 1,000 smaller energy projects that can’t connect to the distribution system.

The Liberals recently announced a moratorium on off-shore wind farms, marking what opposition leaders called a “spectacular backtrack” in the area of provincial energy resources. ”These guys made an expensive mess of the energy file and families are stuck with the bill,” said Hudak.

“The government makes a big splash with their announcements and then they don’t iron out the details and everything falls apart,” added NDP leader Andrea Horwath. ”I think the government likes to paint a rosy picture, but we don’t know the details of the contracts yet or how firm those job numbers are.”

The province had so many farmers sign up for subsidies on small solar projects that they had trouble hooking 1,000 of them up to the grid, so there is a good reason to remain sceptical about the digits. 4,000 were connected to the microFIT program for small solar generators and the Liberals want to get as many people hooked up to it as possible. The problem is that farmers and others are making investments in the technology without knowing if they can get hooked up to the grid, which spells trouble in a political sense for the Libs.

So will these projects pan out? Or will the Liberals have more ‘splaining to do? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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Holy Cow, the Leafs Could Make the Playoffs

February 25, 2011 By Jordan Leave a Comment

It’s seems hard to believe considering the sorts of seasons the Toronto Maple Leafs have “enjoyed” as of late, but the team actually finds itself in the playoff race currently.

The Leafs are currently just four little points out of a spot with 21 games left to go. They’ve gone 8-2-2 in their last dozen games and, with Tomas Kaberle and others out of the fold, they seem to be improving.

Imagine that.

Part of the secret to the success of the Leafs these days is the steady play of James Reimer in goal. His presence has given the Leafs some stability between the pipes and a reason to take some extra chances up ice. That’s something they lacked in the first half of the season, that’s for sure.

And then there’s Phil Kessel. He appears to have turned a corner and has some confidence in his stride, showing up on the scoreboard more often than not.

With players like Francois Beauchemin, Kris Versteeg and the aforementioned Kaberle traded away, one might expect the Leafs to do worse. But such is not the case, as the team has rallied around its core group – whoever that is – and has used the adversity as an opportunity. With Joffrey Lupul and Brett Lebda getting more ice time and Dion Phaneuf captaining the ship, the possibilities appear to be literally endless.

The team has also benefited greatly from the schedule. They meet a broken-down Penguins crew on Saturday and take on the Atlanta Thrashers after that on Sunday.

This puts GM Brian Burke in an interesting position as well, as he can make any number of moves or sit tight with the team he has. It’s tempting to try to add a player or two to the mix, as an addition could put the Leafs over the edge and into a playoff spot. On the other hand, does tinkering with the valuable team chemistry upset the apple cart too much?

Obviously the Leafs are in the hunt, that much is clear. What the next move is, however, is a little muddy.

Filed Under: Commentary, Sports, Top Story Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Former TTC Chairman Accused of Overspending

February 25, 2011 By Jordan Leave a Comment

Former TTC chairman Adam Giambrone apparently went over his $125,000 budget in 2010 and will now be asked to repay about $3,500.

The news comes according to the new chair of the TTC Karen Stintz (Ward 16 — Eglinton-Lawrence).  TTC chief general manager Gary Webster outlined what was about $3,344.92 in overspending in a memo sent to the commissioners and Stintz asserted that those who go over the budget are responsible for overages.

Giambrone stepped down from his post last November and was replaced by Stintz. Details of the overspending on Giambrone’s account are due to be brought before the TTC in a March meeting.

It was Ward 34 councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong who requested the breakdown on Giambrone. He also prompted the sending of the memo, reports say, but he wasn’t available for comment at press time.

For many, news of Giambrone’s overspending comes as no surprise. It was last November that he took French lessons on the public tab – after he quit municipal politics. Two bills from the Alliance Française school revealed expenditures for $2,299.50, and $2,299.50. He even had a short-lived campaign for mayor that ran out of steam in February.

The criticism over the French lessons at the time came because Giambrone knew he was no longer going to be serving the public good. His logic was that he represented the city of Toronto to many French municipalities, but with the politics job ending the lessons seemed a little funny to many political watchdogs.

With that in mind, it’s encouraging that the TTC is looking in the right direction with this overspending.

It should also be noted that the TTC budget does not include travel. It’s hard to say just where Giambrone’s overspending took place in line with what’s allowed in the budget, too.

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Veteran Centrist Councillor Rebukes Ford’s Cutting Tactics

February 24, 2011 By Jordan 1 Comment

Ordinarily, veteran centrist councillor Raymond Cho is known for being a “middle of the road, thoughtful” voter in Toronto’s political apparatus. But the general thrust of mayor Rob Ford’s agenda has changed that considerably, with Cho offering up sarcasm and passion during a budget debate earlier in the week.

“I have a great idea to save billions of dollars and give lots of money to taxpayers,” Cho began sarcastically. “Why don’t we sell half the Toronto city parks to the private sector?”

He went on to blast plans to privatize garbage collection, suggesting Ford should go a step further: “Why don’t we … cut the number of police by half? So that east of Yonge (is) the police. West of Yonge (would be) by private security. We could save billions and billions of dollars.”

Cho’s concerns are largely over the vision of Ford and how it relates to cutting while neglecting building. “If you keep cutting, you know, you’re going to cut the vision. What kind of city are we going to have? We don’t hear the word “build’ … we are elected to lead the city,” he concluded.

For Cho, he’s spend two decades in the backdrop of Toronto city politics. He’s been known as a nice guy, sure, but his opinions have rarely landed him in newspapers. With mounting cuts from the Ford leadership, however, Cho decided it was time to speak up – even if that meant standing out.

“I felt I had to say something. I wouldn’t say it’s a voice of opposition. I would say it’s a voice of waking up,” said Cho.

Ford has had a lot of success in pushing through his agenda, as we’ve been reporting here. Those members of council who’ve thrown their support behind him have been handsomely rewarded with high-level positions on boards and committees. The opposition, meanwhile, consists of about 15 “progressives.” Everyone else is in the middle, which is what makes Cho’s dissent an interesting proposition.

“As the impossibility of Ford’s agenda becomes clear, he’s going to lose more and more votes on council. He’ll lose more and more of the Raymond Chos,” said councillor Gordon Perks.

Photo c/o Toronto Star

Filed Under: News, Politics Tagged With: , , , , ,
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