{"id":2730,"date":"2008-01-31T13:31:26","date_gmt":"2008-01-31T18:31:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingtoronto.ca\/?p=2730"},"modified":"2008-08-24T19:40:39","modified_gmt":"2008-08-24T23:40:39","slug":"city-hall-bits-and-bites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/toronto\/2008\/01\/31\/city-hall-bits-and-bites\/","title":{"rendered":"City Hall Bits and Bites"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lobbyist Registry left blowin’ in the wind<\/strong><\/p>\n

With an adequate budget finally in place, it looked like smooth sailing for the City’s Lobbyist Registry<\/a>. But, as the cliche goes, looks are deceiving.<\/p>\n

Like panes of glass<\/a> at Yonge and Eglinton on a windy January morning, the registry was tortured again<\/a> this week by a council that agreed to this accountability mechanism only because provincial legislation demands it.<\/p>\n

This time the attack came from north Etobicoke councillor Suzan Hall.<\/p>\n

Councillor Hall<\/a> bemoaned the user fee of $150 for registrants who choose to submit a paper-based form instead of sending in their information through the City’s online portal. Although the Office of the Lobbyist Registrar will provide a computer for the use of registrants and assistance in person or over the phone to help people use the online form, this wasn’t enough for Councillor Hall. Councillor Hall was concerned that a taxi driver or small businessperson wouldn’t have access to an internet-enabled computer, wouldn’t be capable of using the online forms if they did and\/or would have to make an inconvenient visit City Hall to use the computer in the Registrar’s office (it might interest readers to know that Councillor Hall accepted $300 from the taxi lobby in the last election).<\/p>\n

The $150 fee is the same fee charged by the provincial and federal lobbyist registries for paper-based applications. The purpose of the fee is to cover the expense of the additional administration required for paper pushing and data entry, as those functions are not covered by the budget allocated to the lobbyist registry last year. The administration component is particularly important as the Registrar is obligated to have a turn around time on registrations of no more than 48 hours, as set out in the by-law<\/a> [PDF] that governs the registry.<\/p>\n

But no matter the imbecilic nature of Councillor Hall’s whining, as always, responsibility rests with Council. And instead of reminding Councillor Hall (and Councillor Sandra Bussin<\/a>, as she was also a vocal proponent of scrapping the fee) that it is 2008, not 1990, and that all Toronto Public Library branches provide free access to internet-enabled computers, Council humoured the deferral motion and will now take a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153wait and see\u00e2\u20ac\u009d approach to user fees.<\/p>\n

Let’s hope few lobbyists take up the City on its offer of free data entry and administration because if the Office of the Lobbyist Registrar turns into a paper pushing agency, what little funds it has to work with will not be used for the right things. Although she shares the same hope I do, Lobbyist Registrar Marilyn Abraham told me this afternoon that she has already had inquiries from law firms that want to use the paper-based system to off load their administrative costs on the City of Toronto.<\/p>\n

Council also decided to make the “in force” date of the lobbyist registry by-law February 11, 2008. So if you’re lobbying on or after that date, be sure you’re registered and in compliance with the lobbyist code of conduct<\/a>. Otherwise, read the by-law because you’ll want to know what your rather hefty fine will be.<\/p>\n

Cesar’s Palace<\/strong><\/p>\n

This week Integrity Commissioner David Mullan <\/a>reported to Council on his year-long investigation into Councillor Cesar Palacio’s<\/a> alleged conflict of interest that involved the councillor negotiating the rental fee of his constituency office with himself.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Commissioner Mullan concluded that Councillor Palacio, who is the guarantor of the mortgage and a director of the numbered company that owns the office on St. Clair Avenue West that the constiuency office is in, was, indeed, in a conflict of interest but recommended that sanctions not be brought against him as it appeared the Councillor’s error was in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153good faith.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The proof, according to Commissioner Mullan, was in the below-market rent being paid by Palacio the councillor to Palacio the mortgage guarantor.<\/p>\n

Call me sceptical but Councillor Palacio has been around City Hall as an executive assistant and city councillor for most of the last quarter century<\/a>. The man should know the rules and this one was just bloody obvious.<\/p>\n

Although no one intended to amend the recommendations in the Integrity Commissioner’s report, Council’s progressives lined up at their mics to take every shot possible at the feeble west end ward boss. Included in the barrage of questions was an interesting assertion by Councillor Joe Mihevc: If Councillor Palacio has a financial interest in a building on St. Clair Avenue West, why didn’t he declare a conflict during the St. Clair Right of Way debates?<\/p>\n

The Integrity Commissioner doesn’t investigate conflicts of interest so that one will have to be referred to the courts<\/a> [PDF] if anyone wants to pursue it.<\/p>\n

In the end, Council received Commissioner Mullan’s report<\/a> [PDF], which means Councillor Palacio avoids any punishment for his indiscretions with the public purse.<\/p>\n

Thelma and Louise meet Kyle and Rob, almost<\/strong><\/p>\n

Councillor Kyle Rae<\/a> will be going to Mexico City this summer for the International AIDS Conference<\/a>, the follow-up to the summit held in Toronto<\/a> in 2006. Councillor Rob Ford<\/a>, however, will not.<\/p>\n

Councillor Rae required the approval of Council to go as a representative of the City and, true to form, the homophobic<\/a> and frugal Councillor Ford couldn’t get up fast enough to denounce the trip, calling it \u00e2\u20ac\u0153a waste of taxpayers’ money.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Among those defending the trip was Councillor Brian Ashton<\/a>. Councillor Ashton pointed out that it’s good manners to go to the conference directly after you host it to let participants know the importance of the issue to Toronto and to show our appreciation for other delegates’ attendance in Toronto. He also added that if Toronto gets a bad rap in the conference organizing circuit, that could short circuit Toronto’s chances of hosting future international events. Councillor Ashton also noted that the financials make sending a representative to Mexico City the smart choice as the cost of sending Councillor Rae is $5,500<\/a> [PDF] and the money brought into Toronto’s economy from the AIDS conference in 2006 was more than $45 million.<\/p>\n

In the spirit of inclusivity (or mischievous vengeance), Councillor Howard Moscoe<\/a> put forth a motion to extend approval and encouragement to Councillor Ford to join Councillor Rae in Mexico City for the conference.<\/p>\n

Always willing to provide a laugh when his sexual orientation becomes the invisible elephant in the room, Councillor Rae shot across the council chamber, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153(Ford) can come but I’m not sharing a room with him!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The clam shell errupted with laughter.<\/p>\n

The Moscoe motion failed 16-18, with Mayor David Miller voting on the prevailing side.<\/p>\n

Shuffling the deck chairs<\/strong><\/p>\n

For those who watch City Hall too closely for their own good, they may have noticed that Councillors Ron Moeser<\/a> and Frances Nunziata<\/a> exchanged seats. Though you could be forgiven for assuming that Councillor Moeser just desperately wanted to get away from the antics of Councillor Ford, I’m told the real reason for swapping seats is to accomodate Councillor Moeser’s partial hearing impairment (speakers are mounted on the wall that devides the council chamber from the members lounge).<\/p>\n

Photographs courtesy <\/em>PixelSnap<\/em><\/a> and City of Toronto.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lobbyist Registry left blowin’ in the wind With an adequate budget finally in place, it looked like smooth sailing for the City’s Lobbyist Registry. But, as the cliche goes, looks are deceiving. 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