A streetcar names annoyance

They're a relic of the past. Those bright red behemoths rolling noisily down Toronto's streets. Councillor Rob Ford says we shouldn't expand their service. A lot of Torontonians agree with him. It's time to end the reign of the TTC's streetcars.

They've been a land mark of Toronto since the beginnings of the city as a major metropolitan area. Today's Red Rockets exist for nostalgia more than anything else. They worked when they were first installed in the 1920s. Then again, downtown Toronto had a fraction of traffic it does today. Skip ahead 90 years and the trams are little more than a nuisance.

A debate came up in the office yesterday about just how noisy they are. A lot of residents complain about being woken up by them. They're also a menace to traffic. They're limited to moving along the centre lanes of roads, often blocking traffic if cars are parked along the street. Passengers have to step into a live traffic lane to get on and off. Sure, the cars are supposed to stop but we all know the don't. In response to the safety issues, the city has built dedicated streetcar only lanes on some streets such as Spadina and St. Clair. The latter caused an uproar by local businesses due to the reduced parking and traffic flow issues it caused.

The city is actually planning on expanding this already antiquated system. They want to install multi-car light rail trams like the ones used in many European Cities as part of the Transit City project. This includes expanding streetcar service to the airport. It makes little sense to do this. All it does is add more traffic to already congested roads.

Rob Ford says he would scrap Transit City all together. What the usually frugal councillor is proposing would cost a bundle. Get rid of the streetcars and replace them with subways. As much as the city badly needs some fiscal restraint right now, he's right. Subways are a more permanent solution to the transit problem. Since they run underground, they're not affected by traffic and weather. Therefore, they can run faster and carry more people. They also don't block car traffic or generate noise pollution. For all the time and money they spent digging up St. Clair Ave., they could have built another line connecting it with the existing Young line. There are plenty of areas that would benefit from additional north/south and east/west routes.

Toronto residents have been screaming for better subway service for years but nobody wants to pay for it. The two subway lines have four times the daily ridership than all the streetcar lines combined. If you want to improve Toronto's traffic, just spend the money instead of wasting it. The TTC doesn't need more relics of the past. With most of their vehicles dating from the 70s, it has enough of those already.

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Making the Infalible, Falible

It is perhaps the greatest centre of power in the world. Amongst the golden temples sits the throne of Pope Benedict XVI. Arguably one of the most powerful men in the world, influencing the lives of over 1.1 billion people world wide. Now some are asking to do something unprecedented. Take this powerful man and lock him in irons for crimes against humanity. The crime? Supporting child sex slavery and harbouring individuals accused of raping those who trusted them the most.

A friend of my Dad's is an Irish Catholic who abandoned the Church. A tall, lanky, greying man in his early 60s, he occasionally mentions his disgust with what he saw. Everyone knew the local priest was molesting his young flock. He decided he couldn't support an institution that let people get away with that behaviour. Yet 40 years on, the allegations have just come to light. Some priests were arrested and jailed. People began screaming for justice. They wanted Benedict (also known as Joseph Ratzinger) to take responsibility for those under him. Instead, the Vatican sent a brief letter to the people of Ireland. A half-hearted apology for the abuses. At the same time, the Church said it would not take responsibility for these "isolated incidents". One high ranking church official at an Easter mass dismissed the allegations as "petty gossip."

The problem is, they were not isolated cases. Several countries and countless priests have been involved. The American cases were the most publicized. A report by John Jay found at least 10,667 accusations were made from 1950 to 2002. About 4% of Catholic priests were involved in accusations. The victims were overwhelmingly teenage males. Besides the US and Ireland, notable cases have popped up in the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, mainland Europe, and Canada. The Vatican itself admits anywhere from 1.5% to 5% of priests have abused a child.

According to an IPSOS Reid poll, approximately 2 million Canadians know someone abused by a Catholic priest. Father Thomas Rosica, CEO of the Salt & Light Catholic TV network, told Canada.com that the poll was "misleading and sensationalistic," and did not include the Church's efforts to curb abuse. To which people are asking "what efforts?"

This is the big problem with the issue. Around every corner, the Church has actively tried to hide and dismiss abuse claims. Either they outright deny them or make it seem as if it's not a big problem. Studies have even shown that abuse rates are no higher than the general population. What they fail to consider is that priests are supposed trusted authority figures, not perverts driving around in a grey cargo van. They are held to a higher standard than others, and rightfully so.

This is why it should fall on Ratzinger. He is the leader of the Church. He is responsible for those under him. It's similar to the Nixon case. Although Richard Nixon himself didn't plant the bugs at the Watergate, he was still criminally responsible. That's because people under him had done the job and he tried to cover it up. It's called aiding and abetting in law. By covering up these crimes, the Church has aided and abetted criminals, has prevented them from being caught and tried in court.

Atheist activists in Britain are mounting legal challenges against Ratzinger when he comes to Britain later this year. There are even calls that he get arrested for crimes against humanity. They plan to challenge the diplomatic immunity of the Pope on the grounds that Vatican City is not a legitimate sovereign state. If they win, Ratzinger could be arrested and tried in the International Criminal Court at The Hague. It would be a landmark case and a major blow to the Church's power. The Pope is not God's spokesperson on Earth. He's a man like any other man, and should be subject to man's laws. Here's hoping victims will get their justice through a real, legitimate trial.

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