In the Toronto Star this morning, Ward 9 councillor Maria Augimeri has flip-flopped yet again on the vehicle and land-transfer tax issue. After the first vote in July, Augimeri voted with the 23-22 majority on council to on Ward 1 councillor Suzan Hall’s decision to defer the decision on the two taxes to October 22. But only a few days later, on July 25, she had said that she was “naà¯ve†in thinking that the province was willing to help. Yet today, she is on record as saying that she just does not support the new revenue sources.
Meanwhile, of course, housing stats remain very strong in Toronto and Canada, unlike the situation in the United States. Brokers and real estate agents camp out in front of condo pre-sales in the hopes of making a quick purchase and commission in a market that is increasingly more expensive. Even the Toronto Real Estate Board has raved about the rapidly growing resale market.
This has not stopped the TREB, Ontario Home Builders’ Association and other industry groups have taken out ads in local papers hoping to derail the revenue tools for good and set up a website denouncing the land transfer tax. One of the reasons she gives in her latest reversal is that Augimeri has said that she met with them and worries about construction workers in her ward. She also says that David Miller did not make municipal funding an issue during the election campaign.
With Denzil Minnan-Wong or Case Ootes, at least you know where they stand. But not with the councillor from Ward 9.
10 comments
Maria Augimeri is a great City Councillor who can’t stand the high-handed way Miller is running City Council – that more than anything else sums up her vote.
Augimeri doesn’t like that she got talked down to by the mayor when she rejected affordable housing in her ward where it was dearly needed.
Even if she doesn’t like ligh-handedness of Miller, what’s more important to Toronto: her feelings or the city’s future finances?
Augimeri in today’s Star: “‘We should close entire departments,’ she said. ‘Economic development should go. And we don’t have to build housing. We could close departments and get rid of staff. You could call it heartless, but we’ve been living beyond our means.'”
I will donate $20 to the City if she would be willing to make this statement standing before a crowd of Regent Park or Flemington residents.
I’d love to hear which other departments she thinks are useless. What about the fire department? Those lazy bastards spend much of their days just sitting around waiting for emergencies. Or perhaps planning since the OMB overrules anyway?
I’m a Ward 9 resident, and I regret that I felt compelled to write the above piece. Augimeri is a very nice person who has done some great things in the area, like pushing through the Wilson Avenues plan, a wonderful new local parkette, and other local issues. But that she changed her position twice on this subject, and would rather go with deep cutbacks (such as not building affordable housing) really made me wonder where she really stands.
Even the best councillors can take strange positions on things. I am sure many residents of Ward 18 are pretty dismayed by Adam Giambrone’s support for the Matador parking lot (and a few other issues), though I still think he’s one of the better councillors out there, and a good TTC Chair.
I have Miller’s platform book open right here: one full page on GST (one cent now) and another for City of Toronto act and the the ability to tax.
Augimeri should research what she says first.
Maybe she can get a job helping John Tory to clean out his office.
What a disgrace…
If she wasn’t such an intellectual lightweight, I might ascribe more cynical motives here. I would have to think that the measure is going to pass – after all, only 1 councillor need change votes. That being the case, she may well realize the value in voting against the measure: she gets the political benefit of claiming to have voted against new taxes, while the city doesn’t suffer the financial consequences of the measure not passing.
The danger here, is that *any* councillor considering changing their vote from nay to yea may think the same way, until nobody does…
The Economic Department should go. It has not been since 1989 that Toronto has had an increase in employment. Seventeen years, while the regions around us have created hundreds of thousands of jobs, Toronto continues to lose them. Why bother promoting the city when the underlying issues are not being addressed? Remember the glorious results the department had in 2005, they attracted 10 firms to the city creating 280 jobs (sic).
let the war of words begin!Taxes up, corporate donations to balance the books,and councillors who no longer know what to support.C’mon folks let david miller and comapany start the tax-a-thon.We really want it don’t we?????
George, why don’t you get the 300 people who just voted for you to stage a sit in at city hall. With your compelling leadership, who knows what could be accomplished?