November, 2009
November 30th, 2009
Lobbyists. In the lobby. Ahead of the November 4 Planning and Growth Management Committee meeting at which the Billboard By-law and Tax were debated.
Lobbying, as a profession and an industry, is an endlessly fascinating thing. Although I tend to think of lobbyists as mercenary influencers, one I know likes to joke that they’re simply “activists with better shoes” (and indeed her footwear is considerably nicer than my own).
I used to be afraid of them. Well, afraid of writing about them. Knowing that they resent the recent regulation of their industry and would just love for community activists such as myself to become subject to the same rules, I generally tried to avoid provoking them too much.
But then I finally realized that lobbyists gain their power from being able to operate quietly — the Registry, which lets anyone track their movements, is something of which they are understandably not fond. Like a good PR firm, lobbyists are most effective when they are invisible to the public, and so nothing causes them to bristle so much as being called out.
Here then is a guide to some of the more notable City Hall lobbyists shaking hands on behalf of the outdoor advertising industry these days:
November 30th, 2009
The girls hockey imbroglio, which could turn into a bench-clearing brawl at council this week, is one of those curious political sideshows — the product of The Toronto Star’s breathless advocacy journalism, some well-executed string pulling on the part of savvy Leaside parents, and a stagey response from David Miller that smells more like issues management than serious policy.
At council this week, Janet Davis, chair of the community development and recreation committee, will put forward a hastily conceived plan [PDF] ostensibly intended to right wrongs, but also designed to get an embarrassing mess out of the media.
Several thoughts about this issue occur:
1. Yes, girls’ leagues do have trouble getting ice time, but it must be acknowledged that the shortages are most felt in affluent neighbourhoods, such as North Toronto, Leaside and The Beaches. Elsewhere — Scarborough, for example — minor league hockey has been in decline for years, largely because of shifting demographics and immigration. Hockey, after all, is an expensive pastime.
2. The Davis plan hints at the lingering post-amalgamation turf wars between Parks and Rec, which operates 48 indoor rinks, and the eight arena boards of management, all located in the old City of Toronto. The department views the boards like fractious republics on the fringes of a tottering empire. Davis and the mayor want to give Brenda Patterson, head of the Parks, Forestry and Recreation department, a veto over the arena boards’ programming as a means of ensuring equity. But the move begs a question: If the city truly doesn’t approve of the arena boards, why not scrap them and bring all the rinks under one administrative roof? Answer: because not all the arena boards are the villains they’ve been made out to be in the course of this soap opera. (In the interests of full disclosure, I play men’s hockey at William H. Bolton, in Seaton Village, and my kids have participated in house league there for years. It is run — and run well — by an arena board.)
November 30th, 2009
Each Monday, we bring you some of the popular posts from our sister blog, Spacing Montreal. We’ll keep an eye open for topics …
November 30th, 2009
SUBWAY EXTENSION
• Subway’s chugging [ Toronto Sun ]
• Subway to ‘transform’ GTA [ Toronto Star ]
FIXING THE TTC
• Time for the TTC to get smart cards [ Globe & Mail ]
• James: Wheels falling …
November 28th, 2009
If you watch you will see the numbers again, proof of a finite number of streetcars.
Street Scene will appear each week showcasing the …
November 27th, 2009
WHAT: release party for winter 2009-2010 issue of Spacing
WHEN: Wednesday, December 9, 2009
WHERE: Toronto Reference Library, The Appel Salon, 789 Yonge Street
HOW MUCH: $10 (includes copy of mag), $5 …
November 27th, 2009
WHAT: Edible City Book Launch, Panel Presentations and Discussion conversation between three key contributors of The Edible City hosted by the Sustainability Network.
WHEN: Wednesday, December 2nd, 5:30pmâ€7:00pm
WHERE: 1st Floor Boardroom, …
November 26th, 2009
On January 9, 2009, City Councillor Karen Stintz had a business lunch with Les Abro, president and CEO of billboard company Abcon Media. They went to The Abbot, a pub on Yonge Street north of Lawrence. Stintz had a shepherd’s pie, a soda water, and a tea; Abro had a burger, a cranberry juice, and also a tea. We know this because Stintz submitted the receipt to have her meal reimbursed by the City [PDF, 3rd page]. (Two glasses of Ironstone wine were additionally ordered at $11 each, but neither was billed to Stintz’s expense account.)
Four days later, Abro submitted a permit application to build a massive new roof sign at 3442 Yonge — in Stintz’s ward, two blocks north of The Abbot. And on the Reimbursement of Business Meals form, Stintz (or her assistant) noted that the meeting was with regard to the upcoming sign bylaw (”re: Sign by-law”).
Les Abro, however, was not registered as a lobbyist, and so on May 26, I submitted a formal complaint to the Lobbyist Registrar. On June 9, the complaint was officially rejected because the meeting “did not constitute lobbying” and the “Lobbying By-law therefore would not apply.”
So when is lobbying not lobbying? When the parties involved say it isn’t.
November 26th, 2009
cross-posted from Spacing Atlantic
HALIFAX — National Housing Day was first marked on the calendar by a team of Toronto housing advocates on Nov 22, 1998. But this year, more than a decade later, it was infused with new meaning.
Housing is back on the national agenda, with proposed Bill C-304 calling for the development of a national housing strategy designed to ensure safe, adequate, accessible, affordable housing to all Canadians. The Bill, seconded by Halifax MP Megan Leslie, has deep implications for Canadian cities, and the diversity of housing challenges they face. “Housing impacts the health of communities,” says Leslie, who is the NDP critic for housing and homelessness. ”It’s not just about putting a roof over someone’s head, it is about the health of a community general — the physical health, the mental health, the economic health of a community.â€
The need for a national strategy was made amply clear at yesterday’s National Housing Day events in Halifax. Gathered at St. Matthew’s United Church, a crowd of over 100 marked the opening of the Out of the Cold emergency shelter for a second winter. A collaborative community initiative by the Metro Non-Profit Housing Association, Community Action on Homelessness (CAH), St. Matthew’s, and a dedicated team of volunteers, the shelter provides 15 beds for men and women.
A panel consisting of members of the organizing committee, housing advocates, and community members shared stories on why initiatives such as this one are so important in a city like Halifax, wrought with its own unique set of housing challenges. However, the grassroots, community-based strategy provokes conflicted feelings for many of those involved.
The fact that the shelter receives no support from the government is “the elephant in the room that we have to recognize,” said Fiona Traynor of Dalhousie Legal Aid. “It’s all being done by volunteers, and as great as that is, it’s still, in my opinion, a black mark on the federal and provincial governments.” This black mark is indicative of the need for a national strategy.
