December 1, 2003
On Tuesday, November 25, 2003--even before he was officially sworn in as Toronto’s new mayor--David Miller ordered Toronto Hydro to refuse provision of power to the construction site of the 122-metre Toronto Island Airport Bridge--legally approved last year by Toronto City Council.
Toronto Hydro staff told island airport staff they were under the threat of job loss if they chose to disobey Miller’s orders.
On Thursday, November 27 2003, the demolition permit for the airport hangar, wanted by health authorities, was silently withheld .
The November 26 2002, legal 29-12 city council vote for island airport bridge approval is not worth the paper it was written on--a total disregard to public process.
How many other city hall documents are not worth the paper they are written on?
In the three short weeks between his election on November 10 and inauguration on December 1, David Miller silently worked in the background to politicize a city’s entire bureaucracy.
You have not read about this in any mainstream newspaper or seen stories about what happened on television news.
Why?
Refusing to supply power lines, withholding demolition permits and politicizing a city bureaucracy before a swearing in ceremony. Now that’s a story.
The front-page cartoon of this independent community newspaper says it all. The trademark broom used on Miller’s campaign literature, the one that was promised to sweep Toronto City Hall clean of any backroom dealing, has morphed into a weapon to beat back business. In the short weeks between election and inauguration, Miller’s broom has been sweeping its way to a new era: a Miller mayoral dictatorship.
Knowing he has full control of incumbent New Democrat Party (NDP) councillors such as Joe Pantalone, Joe Mihevc, Olivia Chow, Pam McConnell, Howard Moscoe et al, Miller went on a lobby campaign to rein in the 14 new councillors elected Nov. 10.
Each of them has been called in--one at a time--to Miller’s transition office where they were asked to sign a letter. The letter, say city staff, remains in Miller’s office well outside of the all-important public domain.
Why?
Is this the way the Miller-led NDP regime will run the municipal level of government in economically plagued Toronto?
Will they, as NDP caucus members have done before, coalesce on important votes in the backroom, before coming to the council chamber before Rogers Cable television cameras to lend an air of democracy on decisions already made?
Which councillors are protecting public interest in Toronto?
City politicians don’t have to sweat it until 2006’s next municipal election, but what about taxpayers?
There’s one billion dollars in lawsuits hanging over our heads.
The truth was the first casualty in the hustings hype of the recent municipal election.
In spite of election brochures depicting jets hovering over Toronto’s skyline, the truth is there will be no jets at the Toronto Island Airport. Period.
Commercial jets are prohibited by a Tripartite Agreement between the Government of Canada, the City of Toronto and the Toronto Port Authority--placing the strictest limits on the Island Airport’s operations and any future development there.
Although politicians argue the opposite, cancelling the bridge would be a costly mistake.
If Miller gets his way, $800 million in investment in the Toronto economy and more than 3,900--local--jobs will vanish.
The cancellation of the bridge will trigger substantial penalties to re-pay companies who have already invested millions in time and money in good faith.
The repayments will have to come from your tax dollars in a cash-strapped city that was already $2 billion in debt when the SARS scare hit last spring.
The votes of the 14 new councillors, sought by David Miller in an out-of-public-domain letter, are crucial to the future of Toronto.
All 14 new councillors are in a more powerful position than the incumbents are. On December 3, it is they who must ultimately decide if they owe allegiance to David Miller or the taxpayers getting stuck to pay the penalties of a cancelled contract.
Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com
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