Globe & Mail Article: Toronto Ombudsman Finds Mayor Rob Ford Is A Racist Tried To Rig Civic Appointments!!
The Globe and Mail
Published Thursday, Sep. 27 2012, 12:57 PM EDT
Last updated Thursday, Sep. 27 2012, 3:43 PM EDT
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is disputing the findings of a new report from the city’s ombudsman that alleges his office interfered in the civic appointments process, including asking bureaucrats to remove a line from newspaper advertisements seeking “diverse” candidates.
The report describes how unnamed employees of the mayor’s office meddled in the way the municipal government selects ordinary citizens to sit on some 120 boards, including the boards of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the Toronto Parking Authority, the Toronto Police Services Board and the Toronto Public Library Board.
The mayor’s office first asked for post-election recruitment to be postponed, then demanded it be condensed into such a short time-frame that candidates could not be screened properly, according to the report from Toronto ombudsman Fiona Crean.
“It will look to cynics as if the fix is already in for appointments and the process is just for show,” an unnamed bureaucrat wrote to the city manager in a June 9, 2011 e-mail, expressing concerns about the tight timeline.
“We now have a governance process that is no longer based on any recognizable principles.”
Mr. Ford said Thursday that he “didn’t interfere in any process.”
“I’ve actually cleaned up the process that we had before. It’s a very clean and above board transparent process and it went very well,” the mayor told reporters after a ground-breaking ceremony for a new aquatics centre in Scarborough.
The report also found that the mayor’s office directed that recruitment ads not be placed in the Toronto Star, a newspaper with which the mayor and his councillor brother Doug Ford have a long-running feud.
“The [City manager’s office] informed my investigator that when they raised this with the Mayor’s staff, they were told that ‘we do not like the Star,’” the report says.
The mayor’s office denies it asked that the ad be kept out of the Star, according to the report.
In the end, recruitment advertisements appeared only in the National Post, Toronto Sun and Metro.
One of the goals of the city’s appointments policy is to fill boards with qualified citizens of different genders and racial and ethnic backgrounds, a subject on which the municipal government keeps careful statistics.
The report suggests the mayor’s office tried to undermine that goal.
“[City Manager’s Office] staff informed my investigator that they were asked by the Mayor’s Office to remove the statement in the advertisement that encouraged applicants from the City’s diverse population to apply. Staff refused to do so,” according to the report.
Mr. Ford said that was not true. “No, that’s not what happened,” he said, adding it was city staff, not his political staff that did not “reach out in terms of diversity.”
Asked if he was against diversity, Mr. Ford laughed. “That’s a ridiculous question,” he said.
According to a “diversity summary” of public appointments, 70 per cent of the citizens selected for boards under the Ford administration were white — the same percentage as in the second term of his predecessor, David Miller.
More men were tapped under Mr. Ford (70 per cent) than during Mr. Miller’s second term (53 per cent).
However, more applications actually flooded in under Mr. Ford than under Mr. Miller. The city received 1,927 applications for 167 positions in 2011-2012, up from 1,316 applications for 125 posts in 2007-2010.
At least one candidate with a serious conflict-of-interest nearly slipped through the laxer-than-usual process, Ms. Crean wrote.
In that case, the report describes an acrimonious closed-door meeting of the civic appointments committee at which an unnamed councillor pointed at staff and said, “I’m going to get you,” and added that bureaucrats had other councillors fooled, but not him.
“Some staff described the panel chair’s manner as ‘threatening.’ One staff described the process as ‘gruelling’ and ‘humiliating,’” according to the report.
The trouble apparently began when someone pointed out at a Nov. 16, 2011 meeting that a candidate who had previously been marked as qualified actually had a conflict-of-interest – he was an agent who appeared frequently before the adjudicative committee on which he was seeking a seat.
When the issue was raised, the same unnamed male councillor who allegedly threatened staff asked for those concerns to be put in writing. But a letter never surfaced.
The alleged threats from the councillor – who was also the panel nominating chair – came at the next meeting of the civic appointments committee, which was Jan. 16, 2012, although that date is not specified in the report.
Only one board was dealt with at both the Nov. 16 and Jan. 16 meetings: The Sign Variance Committee, whose nominating panel was chaired by Ford ally Giorgio Mammoliti.
Mr. Mammoliti said Thursday that he asked for such a letter at the Nov. 16 meeting, but he said he did not know if he was the councillor identified in the report.
He “unequivocally” denied threatening staff at the meeting. “Never in my 23 years in politics have I used that kind of language,” Mr. Mammoliti said in an interview Thursday.
The chair of the civics appointment committee, Frances Nunziata, said she did not recall any member of the committee upbraiding staff as described in the report.
Ms. Nunziata, the council speaker and a Ford supporter, said the mayor’s office did not tamper with her committee’s choices.
“Every decision that was made was done at the committee … I’m not aware of any interference or direction from the mayor’s office,” she said.
The ombudsman’s finding prompted harsh criticism from the councillors who chaired the civic appointments committee in Mr. Miller’s second term.
Councillor Adam Vaughan, a staunch critic of the mayor, said members of the current committee should be fired at mid-term and replaced with a new slate of councillors.
“I just don’t think they’ve done their jobs,” said Mr. Vaughan, chair of the committee in the second half of Mr.Miller’s last term.
Councillor Janet Davis, who chaired the committee in the first half of the same term, said Mr. Miller and his staff stayed out of the process. She called the alleged meddling by Mr. Ford’s staff “unprecedented and inappropriate.”
“The interference from the mayor’s office so compromised this process that we need to make sure that there are new guidelines and practices to stop it in future,” she said.
Ms. Crean and two of the city’s four accountability officers — the integrity commissioner and the lobbyist registrar — are locked in a battle with budget chief Mike Del Grande, an ally of Mr. Ford.
Citing their need to remain independent from city council, they have refused to provide a line-by-line accounting of their budget requests for 2013, according to Mr. Del Grande.
“The three of them, led by the ombudsman, are very, very concerned about their independence. I pointed out to them that it really doesn’t have anything to do with their independence per se, it’s reviewing their numbers,”he said.
Ms. Crean was ill and not available for interviews Thursday.
With a report from Elizabeth Church.
Do You Believe The Rumour Prime Minister Harper’s Wife Laureen Is In A Lesbian Relationship With A Female RCMP Officer?
In the year 2011, the new rumour is Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s marriage to his wife Laureen is just a facade. Prime Minister Harper isn’t popular with the gay community he is not supportive of gay rights. Wouldn’t it be hypocritical if Harper knew his wife was a lesbian and his marriage was a fraud?
In North American politics, political leaders have to present the image of heterosexuality in order to reach the top position. A Prime Minister has to present the image to the Canadian public that his or her’s family is a stable nuclear heterosexual family unit.
Some people will argue image doesn’t matter. However, would Canadians accept a leader that was divorced? I doubt it. Would Canadians be accepting if Laureen Harper was indeed a lesbian? Does it really matter if the rumour is true or not?
On the internet, stories emerge that Laureen is having an affair with a female RCMP officer. The mainstream Canadian media are not covering the alleged rumour. However, I have a series of questions to ask my readers.
First, should it matter to Canadians if Prime Minister Harper’s wife is in a lesbian relationship? Since Prime Minister Harper and his family are public figures, does the Canadian public have a right to know if his marriage is just a sham?
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper Apologizes To Aboriginals.Was The Apology Sincere Or Just Politics?
Earlier this year, the current Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd apologized for the genocide against the Aborigines in Australia. Suddenly in June 2008 the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has a “conscience”. Prime Minister Harper has apologized for the history of systemic racism and discrimination against Canada’s First Nations Peoples. Canada’s treatment of indigenous peoples is strikingly similar to Australia.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has an image in Canada of being a very cold, callous, and brutally efficient man. Perhaps Harper utilized this opportunity to humanize himself make himself appear to actually be human and have a heart? One wonders if blood actually flows through Prime Minister Harper’s veins? Is the blood toxic or is it pure?
Harper is a very shrewd politician he has always come across as very aloof, obnoxious, arrogant, and very bitter man. Harper and his public relations team most likely want to improve his image in the international community as well as improve Canada’s image.
Unfortunately, the mythology that Canada is a “multicultural” paradise is false. There is a racial hierarchy in Canada and the racist attitudes against Canada’s First Nations People still exists. One of the racist ideologies is that the First Nations People’s just want “hand outs” from the Canadian system.
However, we cannot just turn the page and ignore history. The truth is Canadians must remember that the Residential Schools also involved a lot of child abuse against children, misogyny, the total destruction of families, and the eradication of Native cultures and languages.
The legacy of the racist Residential School system still exists today and just a simple speech by Prime Minister Harper will not remove the entrenched prejudices and biases against First Nations Peoples. The Canadian government must do more, the Canadian people we must demand more.
We cannot just let this moment slip through our fingers. Prime Minister Harper does not deserve accolades or platitudes what he deserves is a fresh bucket of hot water splashed on his face. Why did Harper take so long to apologize? Why now?
The Aboriginals in Canada encounter the most racial discrimination even though Canada is their land the rest of us Canadians are just immigrants. If you compare the histories of Canada and Australia you see a lot of parallels in the incredible amount of racism and prejudice against indigenous peoples.
For instance, in Australia the Aboriginal children known as the “stolen children” were forcibly removed from their homes and forced into residential schools. The residential schools were created to “civilize” the First Nations Peoples and make them conform and “assimilate” to “Canadian” values and culture.
I wonder what do people think? Is Harper’s apology good enough or is it just “words”? After all actions speak louder then words. What is Prime Minister Harper going to do to improve the quality of life of Canada’s Aboriginal peoples?
Do you think Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s apology to the First Nations people was sincere or just a way to score political points? Also why did Prime Minister Harper wait until now?
After all Kevin Rudd the Prime Minister of Australia apologized to the Aborigines in February 2008. Why did Prime Minister Harper wait until June 2008? Is Harper’s statement significant? I wonder what Canada’s First Nations People think about the apology?
Black Canadians Are Afraid To Be Black
I was talking to Aulelia, via e-mail the other day, and noticed she is so in tune with her blackness. Aulelia has a wonderful blog go check it out Charcoal Ink it is on my blog roll. Aulelia is a strong black woman she was born in Tanzania and raised in the UK.
Maybe ,that’s the reason Aulelia is so passionate about black politics is because she’s not a black Canadian LOL!
Aulelia was born in a country that has a large black population that wasn’t polluted with the white supremacy that permeates Canadian society. I am serious, in Canada ,black Canadian people we try too hard to fit in. We are never going to “fit” in here. The white Canadian majority always makes sure of that.
Black Canadians we are only discussed in the Canadian media when something negative occurs. Black Canadians we are the classic scapegoats in Toronto. There is a social hierarchy in Canada the whites are at the apex, Asian Canadians, black Canadians, and at the bottom with the Aboriginals.
When I utilize the term “social hierarchy” I am not suggesting that blacks, Asians, or Aboriginals should think we are inferior to white people because we are not. Since race is a social construction, I am illustrating that the “system” meaning the “media” attempts to dehumanize people of colour through language and images. For instance, the language in newspapers, television reports, radio broadcasts that are negative against people of colour sometimes reinforces white cultural domination.
Black activists such as Frantz Fanon, bell hooks, and black lesbian Canadian feminist Dionne Brand’s work are so important because they are utilizing language as a weapon a tool to empower the black race. Fanon, Brand, and hooks are attempting to find solutions for blacks to help ourselves.
Black Canadian lesbian feminist, Dionne Brand’s books, “A Map To The Door Of No Return” and “BRead Out Of Stone” are also very important books. I urge you all to read Brand’s books at the local public library or buy them. You will learn so much about the issues black Canadians encounter in Canada. It is important for people of colour to be “enlighten witnesses’ to ” White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy” this is a term black American feminist bell hooks created. hooks book “Outlaw Culture” reminds people of colour the media have their own agenda and that’s a white agenda. We have to be cognizant of this.
I am not stating that this social hierarchy is “static”. I am illustrating my view, different races are treated differently by the mainstream Canadian media. Asian Canadians are not attacked the same way as black Canadians are that’s a fact. Of course, Asian Canadians encounter racial discrimination I am not suggesting that they don’t. Also some Asian Canadians have racist prejudices and racist views against black Canadians as well.
Anyway, Aulelia is so proud to be black I love that about her! I also notice that I need to reconnect with blackness. In America, the African Americans are incredible people they are so organized and they don’t let “anybody” mess with them. Remember the Don Imus controversy? The African Americans quickly organized and gave Don Imus the boot! I love that about the African Americans they are righteous black people and they don’t take crap from anybody. You cannot mess with the African Americans.
For some reason, my perspective is, black Canadians we are afraid to be black. We are afraid, to stand up for ourselves and speak our minds. Aulelia is correct black people we need to be our own leaders and stop worrying about what other people think.
Now let me explain. Some black Canadians believe if we “don’t” talk about race we can pretend racism doesn’t exist. It seems to me in Canada some black Canadians believe if we follow the mythical norm and pretend “race issues” don’t matter things will be all gravy. However, it isn’t true. Black Canadians we definitely need to let our voices be heard about the black focus schools issue.
Aulelia is very passionate about the black race and African politics. Aulelia introduced me to the great French Caribbean liberation writer Frantz Fanon. How many black Canadian teens know about Dionne Brand, Evelyn Lau, Makeda Silvera? I have to confess in Canada the attitude is all about assimilation and integration. But is that the right solution though to try to be like “everyone else” wouldn’t blackness be displaced? It is important for black Canadians to make sure blackness is at the center. Black Canadian kids need to be proud of the black culture and build their self esteem.
The Canadian media promote this racist mythology of multiculturalism. Multiculturalism doesn’t exist in Canada that’s a complete lie. Canada is all about conforming to whiteness. According to the 2006 census black Canadians we are the third largest minority group in Canada with an estimated population of 783,800. However, if you pick up a Canadian newspaper, turn on the news, or listen to CBC radio it is all whiteness it has nothing to with people of African descent.
If I want to listen to black political issues I have to search the internet for foreign stations. I listen to a black British woman Jumoke Fashola’s radio show on BBC Radio London. I also listen to Michel Martin’s wonderful black radio program “Tell Me More” on NPR on American radio.
Thank goodness for the internet! In Toronto we have one black radio station in Toronto 93.5 yet 93.5 is afraid to be black. 93.5 is so white these days I can’t believe it is called “Urban Radio”. 93.5 sounds like any of the other white Canadian radio stations it has nothing to do with the black Canadian race. Race issues and black politics are off limits on 93.5 radio.
Whenever black people attempt to organize something the mythical norm attempts to try to tear us down. Last year, an African American speaker wanted to speak to black students at Ryerson University about black community uplift. Well surprise, surprise, the white Jews and the mythical norm shut the event down. Once again the mythical norm is up to no good. Once again, when black Canadians try to help our children the system tries to “put blacks in our place”. One step forward two steps back.
For instance, the Toronto District School Board has approved the the Black Focus Schools. However, the black focus school is only for Kindergarten to grade five. Isn’t this a complete cop out? Give me a break! The issue here is the secondary school level 40% of black teens are dropping out of school that’s a scary statistic. It also means almost half of black teens aren’t graduating high school I think this a crisis. The Toronto District School Board now wants a “study” conducted. It is just a stalling tactic it is racist and total bullshit. Next, you have some people claiming the black focus school is segregation. The TDSB hopes black Canadians we will “forget” about the fact the system is failing our children!
Black children are already marginalized by racist teachers, a racist curriculum, and a racist anti black Canadian society. Black children have to read racist books such as Mark Twain’s work or Harper Lee’s racist novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” and Shakespeare in grade twelve. Why is white culture pushed down the throats of black children? Why can’t black kids read more books by black authors? And why is this such a struggle? The black kids already are treated rather unfairly yet Premier Dalton McGunity is dragging his heels as usual to find a solution. Black activists and black educators are being proactive taking a stand stating this is a “crisis”. I am glad an Afrocentric school is going to open in September 2009 for the young black children. However, I also believe this is all smokes and mirrors. The Toronto District School Board wants to appear as though they are “taking” action. The truth is the TDSB is doing nothing because the crisis is at the high school level. Some black teens are depressed, they feel alienated, they feel unworthy and hopeless.
Next, you know the racist teachers and principals are saying privately “well the whites and Asian kinds are doing well why can’t the blacks do well?” Why haven’t more black teachers been hired by the TDSB? Only 5.2% of the teachers in Toronto are black. Also only 9.6% of the principals and vice principals are black. Black children need to see educators that look like them that will invest their time and energy and believe in them. Why can’t black teens read Frantz Fanon, Dionne Brand, Makeda Silvera, or George Elliott Clarke? Well anyone that has bothered to read Audre Lorde, or Dionne Brand’s work knows the answer. The system treats black people differently then Asians. For some reason blacks we are thought of as more of a “threat” because we are very outspoken about race relation issues.
Canada’s People Of Colour Population Reaches 5 million 16% Of Total Population. Has Canada Really Changed?
According to Statistics Canada, for the first time Canada’s non white population has surpassed the 5 million mark. There is a facade that exists in Canada the mythology of multiculturalism. Multiculturalism is not only perfidious it is an illusion that needs to die.
Canada is all smokes and mirrors, the nation is about assimilation and exclusion not about dealing with race issues in an honest format or manner. Institutionalized racism is a very much entrenched, legislated, and mandated in Canada.
For instance, many people from other countries that are engineers, doctors, teachers can’t receive accreditation in Canada because their education doesn’t meet “Canadian standards”. Another racist term utilized by human resources in Canada is acquiring “Canadian experience”. It is just another way for the Mythical Norm to lock out people of colour from high skilled job positions and force these people into low skilled labor jobs.
The Canadian government claims to be “trying” to find a solution. It is a broken record but it is a way in which supremacy is legislated and enforced.
The Aboriginal Canadians are treated very harshly and unfairly in Canada. Every single year there are land disputes and the racial tension between the Aboriginal Canadians and white Canadians. The discrimination the First Nations people experience in Canada is a very serious issue. In fact, last summer in Ontario there was a land claim dispute between an Aboriginal community and white Canadians. The federal government chose to stay out of the quandary making the province of Ontario deal with the racial tension.
Unlike the United States, Canadians we ignore race or at least pretend that race doesn’t exist. In America, the Americans are cognizant of race and don’t try to ignore race.
In Canada, there is this pretentious attitude that Canada is somehow less racist than United States. I believe Canadian racism is even more dangerous because of the hypocrisy to bigotry. In Canada, the racism is institutionalized and entrenched in the frameworks of the society and culture.
If you visit the Canadian books stores and want to read about black Canadian culture you will find the following writers Dionne Brand, Austin Clarke, Nalo Hopkinson, Makeda Silvera, Lawrence Hill, George Elliott Clarke and that’s about it.
If you turned on the Canadian television you would swear Canada is still a white nation. If you have cable or a satellite dish watch the CBC, CTV, or Global television you will see countless stories about curling, hockey, the “traditional” Canadian culture. You won’t hear much about black Canadians unless it is black history month. Asian Canadians are hardly discussed much in Canada either.
The 2006 Canadian Census states that there are 5,068,100 visible minorities in Canada that account for 16% per cent of the total population. 96% of people of colour in Canada live in metropolitan areas specifically two cities Toronto and Vancouver. South Asians are the largest “visible minority” group in Canada making up 4% of the Canadian population or 1.4 million people, Chinese Canadians are second largest visible minority group in Canada at 1.2 million. I have a problem with the word “visible minority” I think it’s another form of “othering”. Black lesbian feminist wrote about “othering” in the controversial 1994 classic book “Bread Out Of Stone”. Are people of colour really a part of the Canadian fabric? I wonder?
After South Asians and Chinese Canadians the next largest visible minority groups are blacks, Filipino, Latin American, Arab, Southeast Asian, West Asian, Korean and Japanese Canadians. I am surprised that the black Canadian population is the third largest non white group in Canada. According to the 2006 Canadian census, 783,000 blacks live in Canada the vast majority have African or Caribbean heritage.
My complaint is, why are all black Canadians lumped together into just one group? There is a richness to the African Diaspora. The “black Canadian” community is not a monolithic group there are Jamaicans, Haitians, Nigerians, people from the Caribbean, South America, Latin America, Kenyans, Southern Africans, East Africans. The Canadian census discriminates against the black Canadian communities because they generalize us. It’s an example of white supremacy. I think this is an important issue to explore. The East and South Asians are placed into different categories yet people of African descent we are treated as a monolithic group. I have a problem with this.
On the Canadian census, all it says is “black”. Does Statistics Canada not know there are black Canadians that live in the province of Nova Scotia? There are Africans from Africa, there are black Caribbean people, black people from South America, black people from Europe, black people from the South Pacific as well. There is multiplicity in the African Canadian community.
It is true, Canada’s non white population is growing and I believe this is a very positive thing. Far too often, when people think of Canada they immediately think white. However, the census didn’t explore issues such as the Canadian power structure. The city of Toronto has more visible minorities then white people. So why is the mayor of Toronto always the Mythical Norm? We don’t even question it? Why is the Police Chief in Toronto always the white heterosexual male? Why is the demographic of Canadian newspapers still so white? Why is the news anchors mostly white? Why is CBC still a white out? I don’t listen to CBC radio I tune into NPR because I know black people won’t be treated as an afterthought or a sideshow. I listen to Michel Martin’s program “Tell Me More”. At least in America NPR Radio gets it.
Alberta has a bad reputation of being a racist redneck province but at least Alberta has been attempting to attract more people of colour to the province. Alberta is actually a very rich western province with the oil surplus, higher employment opportunities. The problem I have with Alberta is, the weather the place is simply too cold. Also the redneck reputation is still entrenched in Alberta it is the headquarters of the Conservative Party of Canada. The 2006 Canadian census, proves the people of colour population in Canada is growing. However, the real issue now is how can non white Canadians exert our influence more in Canadian society. I feel the real social and political change needs to take place.
Eighty One Canadian Soldiers Have Died In Afghanistan Is The Mission Worth It?
Sergent Jason Boyles is the eighty first Canadian soldier to have died in Afghanistan. Boyles was only thirty two years of age from Lake Lynn Manitoba he was too young to die. According to media reports Boyles family is devastated by the news. Sgt. Boyles was also married and had a daughter. Stephen Harper is still the Prime Minister of Canada. What have the Canadian soldiers accomplished in Afghanistan other then ending up dying and buried in caskets? Prime Minister Harper is exploiting the young Canadian soldiers for political gain due to his lust for political power. Canada has no business in Afghanistan let the United Nations deal with Afghanistan.
Harper has a minority government but over the past few years he’s acted as though he has a majority. The Liberal party lead by the incompetent Stephane Dion continues to keep Harper in power. Perhaps former NDP leader Bob Rae should be the new Liberal leader? Rae is a recognized face in Canadian politics he’s well spoken, intelligent, he has the political experience. The Canadian public knows Bob Rae I think Stephane Dion is still unknown. I think Stephane Dion needs to be removed immediately he has proven he cannot challenge Stephen Harper.
A new poll also states that the Conservative Party is still in the lead with 38%, the Liberals hare at 27%, the NDP 14%, and the Green party hold 12% support of decided voters. Dion is clearly sinking the Liberal party into quicksand and losing the respect of the Canadian public.
Dion talks tough but he sounds like a frightened mouse and is basically a silent ally to Harper. Dion’s Liberals have allowed an extension of the Afghanistan mission until the year 2011. According to polls 80% of Canadians are opposed to the soldiers remaining in Afghanistan after the year 2009.
In Ottawa Dion pretends to present this image as a strong leader yet he is also a culprit he bends to Stephen Harper’s every wish. The Liberals fear an election because they don’t want their numbers to decimate. However, the longer the Liberal party keeps Harper in power the stronger Harper becomes.
Prime Minister Harper has manipulated the Canadian public into thinking the mission in Afghanistan is noble and pure. Some Canadians believe it is patriotic that Canadian soldiers are working to repair the troubled nation. I think Afghanistan is a precarious place the Taliban regime reigns supreme as more young Canadians die. The Liberal party lead by the incompetent Stephane Dion and it is time for Dion to be removed. Bob Rae could be the new leader of the Liberal party because Dion has proven he is insipid and fragile.
The TTC Is Not The Better Way
Any man that uses the public washrooms at Kipling, Finch, and Bloor subway stations will agree the repugnant smell is so strong you feel like you are suffocating. Taxpayers money is funding the TTC and for years so many men’s washrooms stinks and are dirty! The horrible smell in the men’s washrooms at TTC stations are so disgusting and gross. I feel like I need to vomit whenever I enter the men’s washrooms. When is the TTC going to clean up the lavatories? The TTC takes the public for granted. The TTC knows it is basically an essential service and the union exerts their power every couple of years when the TTC wants more money. This is just a broken record that needs to be stopped. The province of Ontario and the city of Toronto need to take action now. Why is the public being held hostage by a hostile TTC union?
The subway cars are littered with junk food, old crinkled newspapers, plastic bags, and are getting dirtier every single day. Also, it seems every single week the TTC subways always has a breakdown and passengers have to take shuttle buses. The buses and street cars are never on time they are always overcrowded. The lovely Toronto Transit Commission charges $2.75 cents for a single fare . You don’t need to be psychic to know the TTC fares are going to increase to $3.00 dollars one way fare very shortly. The monthly passes have sky rocketed in the last few years. The public is paying more and more for a precarious and inefficient service.
The TTC is not just transportation for the city the service is the heart of the Greater Toronto area’s transit services. An unanimous 99.2% of the Toronto Transit Commission employees have rejected a deal with the city of Toronto of a 2% annual pay increase for four years. What are the TTC employees complaining about now they make $55,000 a year? The latest controversy is the employees of the Toronto Transit Commission want more money again.
I must point out the TTC workers salary is $55,000 a year. When is Premier Dalton McGunity going to make the TTC an essential service? The TTC is very important in terms of business and also making the city of Toronto run smoothly. In May 2006 the one day wildcat strike by the TTC was total chaos. The TTC has too much power and the government needs to reclaim this power it is obvious . The TTC needs some competition ASAP. I doubt this will happen but why doesn’t the city of Toronto allow other companies to offer transit service to the public? Why should we be dependent on the TTC? Why should the public be subjected to rude and obnoxious drivers, a dirty subway, slow buses that are never on time? What is the public really paying for? I think the only solution is competition if the TTC actually had some effective competition perhaps the service would be up the standard of other world class cities?
It Is Official Premier Dalton McGunity Is A Racist He Will Not Fund Black Focus Schools!
Well, it looks like the black community in Toronto needs to keep a close eye on the Premier of Ontario Dalton McGunity. Premier McGuinty says he is against black focus schools and he will not provide funding for black focus schools. According to statistics 40% of black teens in the city of Toronto are dropping out of school! Only 5.2% of the teachers in the greater Toronto area are black even though the largest concentration of blacks in Canada live in Canada’s largest city. At the executive level only 9.6% of the principals and vice principals are black. The people teaching, creating rules and regulations for black students are not of African descent and obviously don’t understand the needs and concerns of the black race. It is clear the anti black racism is entrenched and institutionalized. For far too long black Canadians we just accept Canada’s racism and bigotry and just go with the flow.
It is obvious black children are encountering alienation.People scream the scapegoat about segregation yet ignore the fact segregation already exists. We have done nothing for far too long. I am sick and tired of those black Canadian cowards that are so afraid of rising up against racism. Let the cowards sit while the rest of us speak out about oppression against the black race in Canada. We cannot allow black children to fade away. Black kids are becoming disillusioned by a supremacist racist education system that ignores black contributions to Canada. And please don’t preach to me about black history month there is more to black history in the African Diaspora then the under ground railroad, Martin Luther King, and slavery.
Black kids are becoming depressed, unhappy, having feelings of hopelessness, despair and nobody cares. People wonder why crime is a big issue. Guess what people, when children feel alienated they act out and become a problem to society. The psychological effects of institutionalized racism is so powerful but of course in lame ass Canada we ignore the mental side of oppression.
It is so pathetic that people are trying to compare Afrocentric schools to faith base schools. There are clear differences. The Afrocentric schools will help black children achieve so they can advance in society.Toronto is a racist city everyone knows this fact but Canadians are so pretentious there is always this covert racist attitude to state sponsored bigotry.
It is obvious to the discerning eye that the current education system is flawed and not working for some black children. The question remains why? It is also clear Premier Dalton McGunity, the Liberal Party, and some racist bigots will attempt to use black children as scapegoats to advance their own racist anti black agenda. Canada is a racist country and the pernicious attitude of Premier Dalton McGunity underscores this. It is obvious that Premier McGunity doesn’t care about black children succeeding and advancing in Canadian society.
Now this number of 40% of black teens dropping out of school is horrendous it is absolutely shocking and scary! We are in a crisis here! We want a solution so why is Premier Dalton McGunity trying to stop black progress? Is anyone really surprised with McGunity’s racist anti black attitude? McGuinty is now in his second term as Premier of the province of Ontario. The scare tactics of some media outlets about segregation is not going to work. Black children are already segregated by racist teachers, and racist anti black curriculum. I cannot blame some black kids for being sick and tired of reading about white Canadian history or about European culture. What does European culture got to do with the black race anyway? Why can’t black kids learn about black history beyond black history month?
People need to know Canada is not some multicultural paradise the racist attitudes of the white Canadian majority against black Canadians has been growing for years. What has this man Premier Dalton McGuinty ever done about the education crisis in Toronto? Absolutely nothing! If Premier McGuinty had taken the concerns of the Toronto District School Board and black educators more seriously perhaps the drastic step of opening a black focus school wouldn’t be necessary.
Dalton McGuinty is the Premier of the province of Ontario his racist comments are absolutely abhorrent and disgraceful. Why is Premier McGunity so scared about one black focus school being opened in Toronto to help black children? Could it be because black Canadians we want to uplift our children that suddenly some white Canadians want to hold us back? Should we just go with the flow and watch more black children be disillusioned and drop out of school?
Black Canadians need to be paying close attention to Premier McGunity’s comments because he is exhibiting the blatant racist and pernicious attitudes that are powerful. Racist bigots will read and discern the real underlining message the Premier of Ontario is saying that the black community concerns don’t matter. We are not going to sit and wait any longer for black focus schools!
The current education system in the province of Ontario is flawed doesn’t Premier Dalton McGuinty get it? Or perhaps Premier Dalton McGunity doesn’t care? Black educators and other education experts have sounded the alarm for years there are serious flaws in the Ontario education system. Premier McGunity’s perspective is so sick it makes me want vomit right on his face.
I find Premier Dalton McGuinty’s racist attitude not surprising but also chilling and deleterious. Whenever black Canadians want to improve ourselves some white Canadian people always want to set up a road block or a detour. Some white Canadians want to impede our progress. The racist haters scream about segregation even though black children are already discriminated against with a racist curriculum, racist teachers, and racist hiring standards.
Isn’t this interesting, so Premier McGunity doesn’t mind taxpayers money paying for Catholic schools but a school to help a disadvantaged group he ignores. Why the hell should taxpayers money go to paying for Catholic schools and not one black school? There are thousands of Catholic Schools in the province of Ontario why are we funding them? The uproar is about one black focus school that is going to open in September 2009.
I think the sinister, racist, and subversive message Premier Dalton McGuinty is sending is that he once again wants to treat black people concerns as the other. Why is all this racist hysteria emerging now? I think the truth of the matter is Premier Dalton McGunity’s attitude isn’t really about opening a black focus school. The racist attitude is that black Canadians we should just accept our fate as being the other and keep our mouths shut. Well we aren’t going to be quiet we are going to rise up!
Does anyone remember May 2007? Well here is a reminder. Black Canadian people need to remember Premier Dalton McGunity is the same man that supported the Jews in May 2007 and blocked a black American speaker from talking to black youth. Black Canadians should be paying close attention to the subliminal destructive messages Premier Dalton McGunity is sending which I believe are abhorrent and racist.
I have a serious problem with the Premier’s statement because obviously Premier McGuinty doesn’t give a damn about the welfare of black children. The reason the Toronto District School Board decided to agree to black focus schools is because a disproportionate amount of black children are dropping out of school. Black children encounter racism and apathy from racist teachers, racist principals, racist education system that creates a pathology and marginalize them.
Link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080131.wmcguintschool0131/BNStory/National/home
Gayblackcanada 