Toronto’s Woes
RE “The Bad Boy Budget.” (Aug. 14):
Mel Lastman is full of bright ideas for solving Toronto’s financial problems now that he doesn’t have to implement them. When Lastman was Toronto’s mayor, or, as Mississauga’s Mayor Hazel McCallion called him, jokester, he was so busy chasing the Olympics and attending to his private concerns that he not only neglected to do something about Toronto’s looming garbage mess, he wasn’t even aware of the MFP computer scandal going on right under his nose. Mel-the-Moose also thought the Hell’s Angels bikers were harmless, that there were no homeless people in North York and that canibals were waiting for him in Africa. Hizzoner also said he never heard of the (WHO) the World Health Orginazation, and, best of all, he called in the army to combat a few inches of snow. However, just as a stopped clock is right twice a day, Lastman has a few good ideas on how to save the city a few bucks. He’s right, for instance, about taking the busses off less traveled routes in the non-rush hours. The TTC should also replace the regular busses with mini-busses for service after midnight and on Sundays and holidays. It would also save a bundle if all the municipal workers were to take an un-paid day off once a week until the city is financially sound again. Or, better still, they could work one day a week without pay. But in order to persuade the municipal employees to make this sacrifice, the politicians themselves would have to lead the way by taking a 20 % pay cut, reducing their expenses by a further 20%. and giving up most of their perks. The question is, who’s going to kick-start these suggestions? The answer is “Blowing in the Wind: Noooooooobody!
William Bedford
Toronto
