TTC
• TTC no-strike bill stalls quickly [ Toronto Star ]
• An essential TTC could end up costing taxpayers more [ Globe & Mail ]
• TTC missed the bus to 21st century [ Toronto Star ]
• Busted doors cause logjam at Union [ Toronto Star ]
• Torontonians should brace themselves for construction woes [ Metro ]
AGO
• ‘One-of-a-kind’ centre planned for AGO [ Toronto Sun ]
• AGO gets $7.5-million from Ottawa [ Globe & Mail ]
MAYORAL RACE
• George Smitherman fine-tunes emerging platform [ Toronto Star ]
• James: Joe Pantalone born again as tightwad [ Toronto Star ]
• Stop Jarvis bike path for now, mayoral candidate says [ Toronto Sun ]
ISLAND AIRPORT
• Porter unveils $50M terminal on island airport [ Toronto Star ]
• Porter unveils new terminal for Toronto island airport [ Globe & Mail ]
• Cheers, jeers for island airport expansion [ Toronto Sun ]
G20 CONFERENCE
• There will be security and disruptions, Miller says [National Post ]
• City ‘adamant’ about Ottawa covering G20 costs [ Toronto Star ]
• Miller seeks financial security for G20 [ Toronto Sun ]
• Miller calls for Ottawa’s G20 commitment ‘in writing’ [ Globe & Mail ]
• G8/G20: Gearing up for the biggest security event in Canadian history [ National Post ]
OTHER NEWS
• Markham growth pains [ Toronto Star ]
• Tax and the city: T.O. seeks new revenue streams [ Toronto Sun ]
• There’s a will to fix up ‘The Duff.’ Why won’t city find a way to help? [ Toronto Star ]
• Trees in city parks off-limits for tapping [ Toronto Star ]
• Troubled housing agency gets new chief [ Toronto Star ]
• George Brown’s ambitious future [National Post ]
• Angry at Rob Ford, city councillors reject ward-intervention policy [National Post ]
• Potential poisonings rattle dog owners [National Post ]
• Program gives big boost to inner-city students [ Toronto Star ]
• The gospel according to church signs [ Toronto Star ]
• Parents, unions protest plan to close dozens of schools [ Toronto Star ]
• Rehab centre locked out [ Toronto Star ]
10 comments
Friendly correction: that last TTC link should be credited to Metro.
“An essential TTC could end up costing taxpayers more” [ Globe & Mail ] has the wrong hyperlink.
The correct one is here…
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/an-essential-ttc-could-end-up-costing-taxpayers-more/article1477846/
I’m all for the essential service designation for two reasons:
It sends the right message to the TTC: transit is essential to the city, and both the union and TTC management need to be more mindful of that role.
All the arguments about cost seem like general ideologies that ignore the specific outcome of the last round of negotiations: a guarantee of the highest transit worker wages in the GTA _and_ a strike _and_ arbitration. Can automatic arbitration really cost more than that?
A friend of mine who is a labour lawyer says that the best thing for Toronto would be a move to a contract resolution process called Final Offer Selection. In this process, management and the union each produce what they think is a reasonable offer, and the arbitrator picks the one they agree is the most fair.
Anyone who opposes it must have union staffers donating their time at election time.
RE: Tax and the city: T.O. seeks new revenue streams
Bryan Weese’s math is as poor as councils. Spending, rising from 6.6 billion to 9.2 billion is an increase of 39% not 30%.
Mark, the standard argument against the ‘essential service’ designation is a conservative one, published by CD Howe institute. And I’m pretty sure they have no unions on their donor list.
http://www.cdhowe.org/pdf/ebrief_62.pdf
Looks like the province has helped to define the #1 issue in the Mayoral Race:
WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE TTC -ESSENTIAL SERVICE or NOT ?
http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/news/local/article/70724–province-won-t-support-ttc-essential-service-bill-mcguinty-suggests-mayoral-candidates-should-debate-the-issue
… so, will this eclipse other issues like homelessness, poverty, bike lanes, traffic gridlock, highers taxes, etc etc etc ?
McGuinty endorses bill aimed at making TTC essential service says The Globe and Mail:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/mcguinty-endorses-bill-aimed-at-making-ttc-essential-service/article1478316/
‘I don’t think there’s ever been a better time for a really good public debate on this issue,’ Ontario premier says
A couple of points:
1. Right winged blowholes really have it easy when it comes to essential service. If a service is denied essential service designation, they complain that the city is pro-union and does not have the balls to stand up to them. Likewise, if a service is designated an essential service, these same blowholes will be complaining that the members are getting paid too much (more so) since all bargaining goes straight to arbitration.
2. What makes Toronto’s public transit system more “essential” than systems in other major centers in Ontario like Hamilton or Ottawa? Hell, I used to know someone who lost her job the last time Durham Region Transit went on strike, why are her commuting needs less “essential” than those in Toronto proper? For the TTC to be essential, we need clear guidelines on what makes a transit system essential in this province, besides media and politicians looking for attention.
2b. With all that said, when transit unions re-elect asshats like Bob Kinnear, a man who has a nice mix of antisocial and narcissistic personality disorders, it does make removing the PRIVILEGE to strike from transit workers quite appealing…