905ers Will No Longer Have to Pay for Toronto

Some good news in the Ontario budget, which is rare coming from this particular government. The McGuinty Liberals have decided to ax a program that saw 905 tax dollars going to support the city of Toronto. There will be no more 905 money going to the city. It's about time, though still not enough to sway my vote. Of course, this has upset Toronto mayor David Miller. It has not been a good week for him. Both the federal and provincial budgets did not provide any more money for cities. Bad news for Mr Miller, good news for everyone who lives outside of Downtown Toronto.

Mr Miller is a man who has plenty of wonderful ideas, but he wants everybody else to pay for them. Ah, the credit card mentality of our society. Champaign tastes on a beer budget. That whiny little kid he's got running the TTC now, I just want to punch him in the mouth. Almost makes me wish Howard Moscow was still in charge... almost. Tis the hallmark of NDP governments. Always spending beyond their means and incurring massive debts in the meantime, with little benefit to ordinary citizens in return.

What else can I say about the two budgets? They were pretty solid. Nothing really to complain about. Neither government wants to stir the manure pile at this point. I would have liked to see more tax cuts for the middle class though. Especially the axing of the controversial health care premium. Since Ontario is now running a surplus, this is something that should have been done.
In Ottawa, the Liberals and NDP has both stated that they will vote against the Conservative budget. Natch. The Bloc and at least one now ex-Liberal is voting in favour of it though, so it looks like it will pass. Recent polls have shown that the majority of Canadians like the budget and don't want an election. It's not in the best interest of any federal parties to trigger an election right now, since none of them can form a majority.

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Toronto Teens in the Right

While we may never know the exact details of the case, teens protesting outside Birchmount Collegiate in Toronto are in the right. The whole mess started on a social networking website known as Facebook, which is popular among teens and young adults. Five students had been criticizing the school's vice principal. Based on what the media had released, there were no threats against this person, just criticism. The school board, however, felt that they were bullying the teacher and suspended the five students. This has caused outrage on campus, with a protest being held. Of course, with teens in large groups, they get rowdy and four teens were arrested. It's important to note that that was not what the protest's organizers had intended.

The fact is, this should have never gotten to the point it did. The people in charge who originally decided to suspend the students did indeed violate their rights. As long as no threats are made, people are supposed to be free to say whatever they wish about authority figures, especially in private. These students should never have been suspended, especially for remarks made outside of school. The suspensions should immediately be lifted and the officials involved should be made to make either a written or public apology to the five students involved (not the other way around as some have suggested).

Of course, there is always a broader issue. In this case, it's school bullying and teacher unprofessionalism. Bullying has been a part of school since schools have existed. In the last four years, however, there have been serious efforts to try and stamp it out. That's because a few deranged youngsters have committed suicide due to bullying; not to mention the rash of school shootings beginning with Columbine High in 1999. Bullying is a very difficult thing for many youngsters to deal with. Many people have encountered it, most get over it. I don't find anything wrong with helping children deal with bully issues. However, can student's really bully a teacher?
Back when my parent's where in school, the teacher was the unquestioned authority figure. If you got out of line, you'd get the strap, and then another whooping from your parents when you got home. Things are different today. Many parents take a spectator stance on parenting. In those houses, the child never really learns who's boss. When they get into school, the world becomes very bizarre to them. There's this adult who wants to make then do things. Mommy and daddy don't do that. As the teacher tries to assert authority, the child becomes confused and refuses to accept. Child lashes out, and they're at the principal's office with a phone call home. Of course the parents don't do anything. After this happens a few too many times, the child eventually gets put on some mind bending anti-ADHD drug.
It's quite difficult being a teacher today, with so many kids like that. However, that's why they get paid an obscene amount of money. Teacher's have very little to complain about. Teachers are still the authority figure in the classroom. I don't think they can be bullied by their students. Issues with students need to be dealt with in a professional manner. Suspending students, especially for remarks made outside of school is highly unprofessional. In my opinion, the teacher involved was not being bullied at all. That person a sissy, plain and simple. Buck up, that's what the world is like now. If you can't deal with it, you should not have gone into teaching in the first place.

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Milton Fastest Growing Community in Canada

Milton Grew 70% since 2001 and I'm disgusted. Disgusted but not surprised. The destruction forges on as Milton's slime ball council tells news cameras it's for the best. I don't buy this. The original Milton residents are slowly seeing their town die, swallowed up by the slime that is the Torontonian. It's about time these people starting looking for a place to live elsewhere, and they should leave us in peace, immediately if possible.

Yes, harsh words but it's hard to see the town I've lived all my life in destroyed by filthy ex-Torontonians and a corrupt council. An election that was supposed to change things changed nothing. I'm seriously considering moving as soon as possible. We need to close our doors for business, permanently. No more growth.

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No More Money for Toronto

$40 million to add some trees to Nathan Phillips Square? $2 million for office renovations at city hall. Toronto is supposedly in the midst of a huge financial crisis. There's only $5 million available to fix Toronto's crumbling roads this year. $5 million is enough to fix a couple of large bridges, or a few kilometers of roadway. Half of the budget for the City of Toronto is going to the TTC but there is no money to repair the infrastructure it runs on.
Has Toronto received some kind of magic financial windfall that allows them to do these fancy projects? No. Money is being diverted elsewhere. Such is typical of NDP governments.

To Toronto's mayor David Miller, what is Toronto is basically bordered by Landsdown in the west, Victoria Park in the East, and St Clair in the North. Nothing else of any importance exists beyond those borders, thus it is left to waste in urban decay except for those good citizens who try to keep those areas up. The downtown is where it's at and that seems to be where tax dollars are going.

Much of Toronto's recent problems have been caused by excessive spending. Wonder why the federal and provincial government are reluctant to give cash to Mr Miller, there's your answer. Waste is unfortunately a natural part of government but does it really cost $40 million dollars to put a few trees outside of city hall? Of course not. Does the mayor's office really need renovation? No. So why spend the money on trivial issues when the city is suffering from serious urban decay? Nobody really can answer that. Due to population density, Toronto's downtown councilors outnumber the ones from the city's suburban districts. The downtown councilors are all big NDPers and only downtown issues are heard. Toronto tax payers will have to shell out over $2000 each in the next few years to pay for these ludicrous schemes.

You may be thinking "so what? I don't live in Toronto." In a perfect world, Toronto's problems would be only Toronto's problems. Guess who's fitting the bill? The 905 is the lifeblood that powers Toronto's economic engine in the form of labour and a market from the top corporate CEOs to the bottom blue collar labourers. We run the companies who pay the taxes. However, we're now beginning to be expected to keep Toronto afloat because it can't manage it's money. More and more of our federal and provincial tax dollars are going towards that mess of a city, to be wasted. For the Nathan Phillips Square project, Toronto tax payers are not even footing half the bill, they'll only pay $16 million. Not only are 905ers expected to pay out high taxes for our own cities, but then we have to pay more tax to Toronto. Enough is enough. There should be no additional money for cities unless they can prove it's needed for important things. No more of this general revenue crap that gives them the freedom to spend it on whatever they wish. Toronto does not need "greening" of its "gathering places" or additional office space for lazy civil servants at the suburbs' expense. If money is given to Toronto, it should only go to four key areas: transportation, infrastructure, public health, and policing. Nothing else. If Toronto wants to do other things, then it should have to foot 100% of the bill. If they can't afford it, then TS.

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