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[Canadian Politics] Takin' out the trash to replace it with... whoops.

1235798

Posts

  • hippofanthippofant ティンク Registered User regular
    edited November 2018
    hippofant wrote: »
    Richy wrote: »
    Just saw the headlines for the official GM statement (here in French). Seems they are closing three factories, the Oshawa one and two in the USA, for a total 14,700 jobs lost (so 2,500 in Canada and 12,200 in the USA).

    Someone convince me that it's a bad idea for me to want the Canadian government to start just jailing GM executives and major GM stockholders.

    They had a deal with Unifor. They got a bailout from the Canadian government. And I'm just at a loss as to what could possibly be done now. Clearly financial incentives and support don't work. And financial penalties, they just fold that into their cost calculations, so... I dunno, what recourse is there still to try?

    Yeah yeah, slippery slope, once the government starts jailing executives, they'll start jailing us little people next, but....

    Jailed for what? The term of the agreement was 15 years and that term is up.
    This sucks but the writing was on the wall. People aren't buying the kinds of cars this plant was manufacturing. The best case scenario this whole time was that the plant would shut down for 6 months to a year for retooling but that was honestly always a pipedream.

    If we start jailing execs and shareholders once we're outside of contracted terms we can say goodbye to any foreign investment in our economy.

    15 years? Wut? What the hell happened in 2003?

    The bailout was after the financial collapse in 2008. The Unifor-GM deal to keep jobs in Oshawa was in 2016. (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-gm-oshawa-plant-closing-explainer https://business.financialpost.com/transportation/gm-agreement-with-union-promises-12000-in-worker-bonuses-554m-investment-in-canadian-plants https://www.durhamregion.com/news-story/6877464-unifor-members-ratify-new-contract-with-general-motors/)

    What the heck are you talking about? They're within the contracted terms and they're violating them without penalty. They fucking lied to Unifor and Oshawa workers, exploited them for two years, and are now giving them all the middle finger. But apparently the rule of law only applies to some of us and not others.

    hippofant on
  • BlarghyBlarghy Registered User regular
    Out of curiosity, I've been trying to find out what the main sticking point on the Canada Post labour contract is, but it doesn't appear that there's a single issue that been reported on. It looks like the main sticking point isn't wages (the offers and demands appear to be pretty close, or at least not so far apart as to be insurmountable). Safety has been mentioned a lot in news reports, but I can't find any specifics on what the union wants there. I'm aware of the rural/urban issue, which as far as I can tell, is a Canada Post redline -- is that the major issue. Mostly just curious about the details, as opposed to the "Grandma wants her mail" stuff.

  • El SkidEl Skid The frozen white northRegistered User regular
    edited November 2018
    Blarghy wrote: »
    Out of curiosity, I've been trying to find out what the main sticking point on the Canada Post labour contract is, but it doesn't appear that there's a single issue that been reported on. It looks like the main sticking point isn't wages (the offers and demands appear to be pretty close, or at least not so far apart as to be insurmountable). Safety has been mentioned a lot in news reports, but I can't find any specifics on what the union wants there. I'm aware of the rural/urban issue, which as far as I can tell, is a Canada Post redline -- is that the major issue. Mostly just curious about the details, as opposed to the "Grandma wants her mail" stuff.

    From listening to CBC radio the main points involve the shift in deliveries from mostly envelopes to mostly parcels. I guess things are set up more for envelopes and the whole parcel thing is creating some safety and other concerns for the workers...

    El Skid on
  • GaddezGaddez Registered User regular
    The one thought I can think of for how the canadian government could handle this is to sue the shit out of GM for basically scamming the government and the city of oshawa and then direct the funds into the municipality, but I'm not sure how well that would play out in the long term.

  • SatanIsMyMotorSatanIsMyMotor Fuck Warren Ellis Registered User regular
    hippofant wrote: »
    hippofant wrote: »
    Richy wrote: »
    Just saw the headlines for the official GM statement (here in French). Seems they are closing three factories, the Oshawa one and two in the USA, for a total 14,700 jobs lost (so 2,500 in Canada and 12,200 in the USA).

    Someone convince me that it's a bad idea for me to want the Canadian government to start just jailing GM executives and major GM stockholders.

    They had a deal with Unifor. They got a bailout from the Canadian government. And I'm just at a loss as to what could possibly be done now. Clearly financial incentives and support don't work. And financial penalties, they just fold that into their cost calculations, so... I dunno, what recourse is there still to try?

    Yeah yeah, slippery slope, once the government starts jailing executives, they'll start jailing us little people next, but....

    Jailed for what? The term of the agreement was 15 years and that term is up.
    This sucks but the writing was on the wall. People aren't buying the kinds of cars this plant was manufacturing. The best case scenario this whole time was that the plant would shut down for 6 months to a year for retooling but that was honestly always a pipedream.

    If we start jailing execs and shareholders once we're outside of contracted terms we can say goodbye to any foreign investment in our economy.

    15 years? Wut? What the hell happened in 2003?

    The bailout was after the financial collapse in 2008. The Unifor-GM deal to keep jobs in Oshawa was in 2016. (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-gm-oshawa-plant-closing-explainer https://business.financialpost.com/transportation/gm-agreement-with-union-promises-12000-in-worker-bonuses-554m-investment-in-canadian-plants https://www.durhamregion.com/news-story/6877464-unifor-members-ratify-new-contract-with-general-motors/)

    What the heck are you talking about? They're within the contracted terms and they're violating them without penalty. They fucking lied to Unifor and Oshawa workers, exploited them for two years, and are now giving them all the middle finger. But apparently the rule of law only applies to some of us and not others.

    Sorry, I must have had my dates messed up on what I had watched. They were discussing 15 years of being "the heyday" of the plant.

    Regardless, the agreement in good faith struck was to enhance the existing line to build certain models that the company has recently started phasing out. GM isn't really in breach of anything - certainly not to the extent that we should be looking to incarcerate people.

  • El SkidEl Skid The frozen white northRegistered User regular
    So I don't see GM being in violation of any legal obligations:
    Canada’s largest private-sector union also urged GM to live up to the spirit of a 2016 agreement

    If all the union can claim is a breaking of the spirit of the agreement (and I am sure if they had a legal leg to stand on at all they'd be suing at this point), then GM is not breaching any contracts. I gather they invested in the plant to avert the strike, and it was assumed that they wouldn't just walk away from that investment... though they're perfectly free to do so.

  • GaddezGaddez Registered User regular
    I think the bigger issue at this juncture is (for me at least) the canadian government spent over 3 billion dollars on the company as part of the Auto bailout in 2009 when the company was crashing and now it's pulling out when it's far better off instead of finding a way to retool the lines to manufacture a more viable model.

    Like, there is enough things the federal government could do with that money up to and including offering subsidies to one of GM's competitors that would want to set up a new plant somewhere, preferably with ready access to a large pool of expierienced auto industry workers.

  • El SkidEl Skid The frozen white northRegistered User regular
    Handouts/Bailouts to corporations from governments are a sticky thing.

    On the one hand, nobody wants large companies that employ a lot of local people to shut down, and everyone likes it when a new company sets up its headquarters/campus/office that employs significant people moves in.

    On the other hand, companies are getting huge sums of money to move to places, not move elsewhere once they are set up, and stay open when in difficulty. And it's not just manufacturing, it's everything from call centres to pro sports teams. And it's not just the federal governments doing it, it's provincial and local governments who are giving out tax breaks, bailout money, and deals on land and other assorted benefits.

    The scope of the problem is staggering and the money being thrown around is bonkers. And it's sticky because nobody wants to stop doing while everyone else is doing it, because they lose big companies and get their voters up in arms against them and the corporation just takes their whatever somewhere else that will give them a sweet deal.

  • EntriechEntriech ? ? ? ? ? Ontario, CanadaRegistered User regular
    El Skid wrote: »
    Handouts/Bailouts to corporations from governments are a sticky thing.

    On the one hand, nobody wants large companies that employ a lot of local people to shut down, and everyone likes it when a new company sets up its headquarters/campus/office that employs significant people moves in.

    On the other hand, companies are getting huge sums of money to move to places, not move elsewhere once they are set up, and stay open when in difficulty. And it's not just manufacturing, it's everything from call centres to pro sports teams. And it's not just the federal governments doing it, it's provincial and local governments who are giving out tax breaks, bailout money, and deals on land and other assorted benefits.

    The scope of the problem is staggering and the money being thrown around is bonkers. And it's sticky because nobody wants to stop doing while everyone else is doing it, because they lose big companies and get their voters up in arms against them and the corporation just takes their whatever somewhere else that will give them a sweet deal.

    A perfect example of this is the Maple Leaf plant being built in London, Ontario. It's getting 54.5 million dollars from the provincial and federal governments, and an additional 8 million dollar government loan. It's creating 1450 jobs there. It's also letting Maple Leaf shutter 3 older plants in Ontario, in Toronto, Brampton, and St. Marys over the next 3 years, resulting in a loss of something like 1600 jobs. It's going to hit St. Marys (a town of 6k) particularly hard.

    So great job governments paying a corporation to lose jobs and increase profits.

  • monikermoniker Registered User regular
    Entriech wrote: »
    El Skid wrote: »
    Handouts/Bailouts to corporations from governments are a sticky thing.

    On the one hand, nobody wants large companies that employ a lot of local people to shut down, and everyone likes it when a new company sets up its headquarters/campus/office that employs significant people moves in.

    On the other hand, companies are getting huge sums of money to move to places, not move elsewhere once they are set up, and stay open when in difficulty. And it's not just manufacturing, it's everything from call centres to pro sports teams. And it's not just the federal governments doing it, it's provincial and local governments who are giving out tax breaks, bailout money, and deals on land and other assorted benefits.

    The scope of the problem is staggering and the money being thrown around is bonkers. And it's sticky because nobody wants to stop doing while everyone else is doing it, because they lose big companies and get their voters up in arms against them and the corporation just takes their whatever somewhere else that will give them a sweet deal.

    A perfect example of this is the Maple Leaf plant being built in London, Ontario. It's getting 54.5 million dollars from the provincial and federal governments, and an additional 8 million dollar government loan. It's creating 1450 jobs there. It's also letting Maple Leaf shutter 3 older plants in Ontario, in Toronto, Brampton, and St. Marys over the next 3 years, resulting in a loss of something like 1600 jobs. It's going to hit St. Marys (a town of 6k) particularly hard.

    So great job governments paying a corporation to lose jobs and increase profits.

    On the other hand, it's not like Maple Leaves grow on trees...

  • shrykeshryke Member of the Beast Registered User regular
    Entriech wrote: »
    El Skid wrote: »
    Handouts/Bailouts to corporations from governments are a sticky thing.

    On the one hand, nobody wants large companies that employ a lot of local people to shut down, and everyone likes it when a new company sets up its headquarters/campus/office that employs significant people moves in.

    On the other hand, companies are getting huge sums of money to move to places, not move elsewhere once they are set up, and stay open when in difficulty. And it's not just manufacturing, it's everything from call centres to pro sports teams. And it's not just the federal governments doing it, it's provincial and local governments who are giving out tax breaks, bailout money, and deals on land and other assorted benefits.

    The scope of the problem is staggering and the money being thrown around is bonkers. And it's sticky because nobody wants to stop doing while everyone else is doing it, because they lose big companies and get their voters up in arms against them and the corporation just takes their whatever somewhere else that will give them a sweet deal.

    A perfect example of this is the Maple Leaf plant being built in London, Ontario. It's getting 54.5 million dollars from the provincial and federal governments, and an additional 8 million dollar government loan. It's creating 1450 jobs there. It's also letting Maple Leaf shutter 3 older plants in Ontario, in Toronto, Brampton, and St. Marys over the next 3 years, resulting in a loss of something like 1600 jobs. It's going to hit St. Marys (a town of 6k) particularly hard.

    So great job governments paying a corporation to lose jobs and increase profits.

    Except it's not that simple. Were those plants gonna close anyway? How viable were they long term? And so on and so on.

  • hippofanthippofant ティンク Registered User regular
    shryke wrote: »
    Entriech wrote: »
    El Skid wrote: »
    Handouts/Bailouts to corporations from governments are a sticky thing.

    On the one hand, nobody wants large companies that employ a lot of local people to shut down, and everyone likes it when a new company sets up its headquarters/campus/office that employs significant people moves in.

    On the other hand, companies are getting huge sums of money to move to places, not move elsewhere once they are set up, and stay open when in difficulty. And it's not just manufacturing, it's everything from call centres to pro sports teams. And it's not just the federal governments doing it, it's provincial and local governments who are giving out tax breaks, bailout money, and deals on land and other assorted benefits.

    The scope of the problem is staggering and the money being thrown around is bonkers. And it's sticky because nobody wants to stop doing while everyone else is doing it, because they lose big companies and get their voters up in arms against them and the corporation just takes their whatever somewhere else that will give them a sweet deal.

    A perfect example of this is the Maple Leaf plant being built in London, Ontario. It's getting 54.5 million dollars from the provincial and federal governments, and an additional 8 million dollar government loan. It's creating 1450 jobs there. It's also letting Maple Leaf shutter 3 older plants in Ontario, in Toronto, Brampton, and St. Marys over the next 3 years, resulting in a loss of something like 1600 jobs. It's going to hit St. Marys (a town of 6k) particularly hard.

    So great job governments paying a corporation to lose jobs and increase profits.

    Except it's not that simple. Were those plants gonna close anyway? How viable were they long term? And so on and so on.

    Of course those plants were gonna close anyway. In fact, if one looked very very carefully, one might find that any and all plants that a corporation is planning to replace with another plant subsidized with enormous tax dollars were always gonna close anyways. It's very very strange that.

  • Nova_CNova_C I have the need The need for speedRegistered User regular
    I was never okay with the bailout to GM and Chrysler back in 2009. I seem to remember that GM closed several plants shortly after the bailout, moving production to Michigan facilities, but any googling for that is simply buried in the current closure.

    What I did find out, though, is that GM did close several plants in 2008, three weeks after promising the union that they wouldn't. That resulted in the union blockading the factories, which was ended by the Supreme Court.

    Basically, we pay GM to do whatever the fuck they want to us.

    I don't believe GM vehicles are worth the price they charge, but that's subjective. What's not subjective is that GM continually takes advantage of Canadians, and none of us should be buying their vehicles.

    (Another thing I seem to remember, but again, can't find references because only current Oshawa plant stuff gets returned, is Toyota buying at least some of the GM plants back in 2009.)

  • monikermoniker Registered User regular
    Nova_C wrote: »
    I was never okay with the bailout to GM and Chrysler back in 2009. I seem to remember that GM closed several plants shortly after the bailout, moving production to Michigan facilities, but any googling for that is simply buried in the current closure.

    What I did find out, though, is that GM did close several plants in 2008, three weeks after promising the union that they wouldn't. That resulted in the union blockading the factories, which was ended by the Supreme Court.

    Basically, we pay GM to do whatever the fuck they want to us.

    I don't believe GM vehicles are worth the price they charge, but that's subjective. What's not subjective is that GM continually takes advantage of Canadians, and none of us should be buying their vehicles.

    (Another thing I seem to remember, but again, can't find references because only current Oshawa plant stuff gets returned, is Toyota buying at least some of the GM plants back in 2009.)

    Google Search Tools > Anytime > Custom Range > leave "From" blank but fill in "To" for 11/20/2018 or 01/01/2010 or whenever and it'll exclude results from more recent than that.

  • CanadianWolverineCanadianWolverine Registered User regular
    Hey @Richy do you listen to the Canadaland podcast? I recently started listening to that, because someone mentioned the Thunder Bay series, and listening to it, I couldn't help but think of your posts with regards to various media, especially CBC.

    steam_sig.png
  • RichyRichy Registered User regular
    Hey @Richy do you listen to the Canadaland podcast? I recently started listening to that, because someone mentioned the Thunder Bay series, and listening to it, I couldn't help but think of your posts with regards to various media, especially CBC.

    I do not, sorry. Never been a podcast guy.

    Someone mentioned it last page I think. I can confirm the very high level of racism in that city the podcast discusses, in particular within the police force.

    sig.gif
  • CanadianWolverineCanadianWolverine Registered User regular
    Well, I get the impression you would like it, it goes into some very insightful interviews and exposes on being critical of media in Canada, something you might appreciate.

    steam_sig.png
  • shrykeshryke Member of the Beast Registered User regular
    They have like a billion podcasts from what I saw. There's one for every subject or something ridiculous like that.

  • BlazeFireBlazeFire Registered User regular
    Well, I get the impression you would like it, it goes into some very insightful interviews and exposes on being critical of media in Canada, something you might appreciate.

    I mentioned the Thunder Bay podcast last page. Since then, I listened to the final episode. Overall, I'm left feeling a bit underwhelmed. The stories/interviews themselves are quite impactful, but as a series I feel like it wasn't finished or got to its point.

  • hippofanthippofant ティンク Registered User regular
    BlazeFire wrote: »
    Well, I get the impression you would like it, it goes into some very insightful interviews and exposes on being critical of media in Canada, something you might appreciate.

    I mentioned the Thunder Bay podcast last page. Since then, I listened to the final episode. Overall, I'm left feeling a bit underwhelmed. The stories/interviews themselves are quite impactful, but as a series I feel like it wasn't finished or got to its point.

    I haven't listened to it, but... given the subject matter and given that it's ongoing, would it even have been possible for it to "finish" or have a "point"? What sort of denouement can one expect on a story about Thunder Bay being hella fucking racist and corrupt, when it continues to be hella fucking racist and corrupt? It's like a murder mystery that is never solved. A car chase that never ends. A missing person who is never found. Can the telling of the story really finish when the actual story isn't finished?

  • RichyRichy Registered User regular
    BTW, I'm not the only former Thunder Bayer here. @Aegis is still hiding somewhere around I believe.

    sig.gif
  • AegisAegis Fear My Dance Overshot Toronto, Landed in OttawaRegistered User regular
    Richy wrote: »
    BTW, I'm not the only former Thunder Bayer here. Aegis is still hiding somewhere around I believe.

    I am! I've been meaning to post some amusing Supreme Court decisions lately, but work's been draining all my energy.

    Thunder Bay's nice to drive back to now and again, but uh, yea, it has some glaring problems. Well, maybe glaring's the wrong word, because you can totally not experience the issues if you only live on a specific side of town, which probably contributes to a lot of it in the first place.

    We'll see how long this blog lasts
    Currently DMing: None :(
    Characters
    [5e] Dural Melairkyn - AC 18 | HP 40 | Melee +5/1d8+3 | Spell +4/DC 12
  • BlazeFireBlazeFire Registered User regular
    edited November 2018
    hippofant wrote: »
    BlazeFire wrote: »
    Well, I get the impression you would like it, it goes into some very insightful interviews and exposes on being critical of media in Canada, something you might appreciate.

    I mentioned the Thunder Bay podcast last page. Since then, I listened to the final episode. Overall, I'm left feeling a bit underwhelmed. The stories/interviews themselves are quite impactful, but as a series I feel like it wasn't finished or got to its point.

    I haven't listened to it, but... given the subject matter and given that it's ongoing, would it even have been possible for it to "finish" or have a "point"? What sort of denouement can one expect on a story about Thunder Bay being hella fucking racist and corrupt, when it continues to be hella fucking racist and corrupt? It's like a murder mystery that is never solved. A car chase that never ends. A missing person who is never found. Can the telling of the story really finish when the actual story isn't finished?

    Your point is valid and maybe that was the creators intent. I guess I was hoping for some kind of suggestion on what could be a place to start changing things.

    Edit: this isn't the right way to word what I am feeling. I am having trouble putting it to words. After reflecting on it more, maybe it is exactly what you say hippo, this is ongoing and has no end in sight and that makes me uncomfortable.

    BlazeFire on
  • ReznikReznik Registered User regular
    Am also ex-T-Bayer, will be heading home for Christmas soon. I have family members who are in social work and generally try to be involved in community improvement. Its rough when the municipal government is so shit. They deal with some really depressing crap on a regular basis.

    Do... Re.... Mi... Ti... La...
    Do... Re... Mi... So... Fa.... Do... Re.... Do...
    Forget it...
  • hippofanthippofant ティンク Registered User regular
    Aegis wrote: »
    Richy wrote: »
    BTW, I'm not the only former Thunder Bayer here. Aegis is still hiding somewhere around I believe.

    I am! I've been meaning to post some amusing Supreme Court decisions lately, but work's been draining all my energy.

    Thunder Bay's nice to drive back to now and again, but uh, yea, it has some glaring problems. Well, maybe glaring's the wrong word, because you can totally not experience the issues if you only live on a specific side of town, which probably contributes to a lot of it in the first place.

    @Aegis, I'm still so jelly that you got dibs on the angry Jigglypuff avatar.

  • oldmankenoldmanken Registered User regular
    I started listening to the Thunder Bay podcast today as I am painting, and I have to say it's not really working for me. I like the idea of it, and am very interested in the subject matter, but there is a level of editorializing and conspiratorial tone in the presentation that I am just not comfortable with.

    My point being, I wish someone would do this podcast better, because shit appears to be f-ed up in the Bay.

  • Al_watAl_wat Registered User regular
    Hydro One takeover of Avista scrapped by Washington State over Ford's political 'interference'

    Hydro One shares sure to drop.

    Just, great work Doug. Great work....

  • hippofanthippofant ティンク Registered User regular
    edited December 2018
    More in the ongoing story of Ontario's obscure accounting practices: Province’s chief accountant quit after refusing to sign off on Fedeli’s $15 billion deficit figure
    The Ontario government’s chief accountant resigned earlier this fall because she refused to sign off on Finance Minister Vic Fedeli’s inflated $15 billion deficit, the Star has learned.

    Cindy Veinot, the provincial controller, quit in September because she “did not agree with accounting decisions made by the current government.” ...


    “I believe that the consolidated financial statements of the province of Ontario as issued … materially overstate the deficit of the province for the year,” she said in a submission to the legislative “transparency” committee examining the province’s books.

    Veinot, a civil servant, has declined to speak publicly, but the Star obtained her 12-page summary that was sent to the standing committee on Tuesday.

    That committee, which is dominated by Progressive Conservative MPPs, has repeatedly blocked efforts by NDP MPPs on the panel to call Veinot as a witness.

    Tory sources, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal deliberations, admit there has been concern over what Veinot might say under oath.

    The transparency committee is blocking testimony from the province's chief accountant because they are concerned over what she might say under oath.

    Truly, Trumpism has arrived in Canada.

    ---

    Also, while I was digging that up, I happened upon this: Bill Kelly: Why did Ontario’s chief accountant refuse to validate Doug Ford’s budget numbers?
    Veinot is a long time civil servant, who is a leading expert on pension accounting, finishing first among 63,000 candidates in the 1998 CPA exam in the United States, so she knows what of she speaks.

    Is that good? How good is that? Does it even mean anything?

    hippofant on
  • DaimarDaimar A Million Feet Tall of Awesome Registered User regular
    hippofant wrote: »
    Veinot is a long time civil servant, who is a leading expert on pension accounting, finishing first among 63,000 candidates in the 1998 CPA exam in the United States, so she knows what of she speaks.

    Is that good? How good is that? Does it even mean anything?

    For a CPA, finishing first means you basically get to write your own ticket as all the big accounting firms will be lining up to hire you along with lots of other organizations. You are basically very, very smart.

    steam_sig.png
  • hippofanthippofant ティンク Registered User regular
    Daimar wrote: »
    hippofant wrote: »
    Veinot is a long time civil servant, who is a leading expert on pension accounting, finishing first among 63,000 candidates in the 1998 CPA exam in the United States, so she knows what of she speaks.

    Is that good? How good is that? Does it even mean anything?

    For a CPA, finishing first means you basically get to write your own ticket as all the big accounting firms will be lining up to hire you along with lots of other organizations. You are basically very, very smart.

    Oh. Well. It sounds like somebody may have been jealous or something then:
    Veinot maintains Lysyk resorted to “personal attacks, disparaging comments about the professional services firm at which I was a partner (Deloitte), and threats” at a meeting on Sept. 27, 2016.

    “What I witnessed in that meeting and subsequently documented the next day was but an introduction to what I would witness during the two years I worked for the OPS (Ontario public service),” she wrote.

  • hippofanthippofant ティンク Registered User regular
    THANKS DOUG FORD! You have saved Torontonians SO MUCH MONEY: Shrunken Toronto council boosts office budgets to cope with expanded wards
    The moves were the first order of real business for a council controversially shrunk in midelection to 25 wards. Last term there were 44 wards. Council had voted, after a lengthy review that included a consultant report and public consultations, to swell to 47 wards to deal with growing population.

    Council voted 18-8 Wednesday to double each councillor’s annual budget for office staff to $482,000, up from the current $241,000, usually for three employees. The hike was the highest of three options recommended by city clerk’s staff.

    Let's see here, Doug Ford has saved us 25 / 44 * 2 = -14% money! Wowowowowowowowow.

  • AridholAridhol Daddliest Catch Registered User regular
    Just a reminder for you nerds in Victoria.
    Memory Express opens today at 10am.

    If any of you nerds are there I will be the red bearded beast in a Santa hat. I need a CPU and MOBO combo for my linux machine because my i5 750 is older than my children.

  • SteelhawkSteelhawk Registered User regular
    hippofant wrote: »
    THANKS DOUG FORD! You have saved Torontonians SO MUCH MONEY: Shrunken Toronto council boosts office budgets to cope with expanded wards
    The moves were the first order of real business for a council controversially shrunk in midelection to 25 wards. Last term there were 44 wards. Council had voted, after a lengthy review that included a consultant report and public consultations, to swell to 47 wards to deal with growing population.

    Council voted 18-8 Wednesday to double each councillor’s annual budget for office staff to $482,000, up from the current $241,000, usually for three employees. The hike was the highest of three options recommended by city clerk’s staff.

    Let's see here, Doug Ford has saved us 25 / 44 * 2 = -14% money! Wowowowowowowowow.

    In Doug Ford's defense... he stupidly thought that Toronto city council would just roll over and die, and not make any changes to how they do things or service their constituents. Because he is a buffoon who doesn't understand it when the target of his bullying does not cry uncle.

    Sadly though, during the next election he can point to how he "tried" and the downtown elites thwarted him. Therefore shoring up support in the "Not Toronto we hate those pricks" portion of the province

  • ApogeeApogee Lancks In Every Game Ever Registered User regular
    Steelhawk wrote: »
    hippofant wrote: »
    THANKS DOUG FORD! You have saved Torontonians SO MUCH MONEY: Shrunken Toronto council boosts office budgets to cope with expanded wards
    The moves were the first order of real business for a council controversially shrunk in midelection to 25 wards. Last term there were 44 wards. Council had voted, after a lengthy review that included a consultant report and public consultations, to swell to 47 wards to deal with growing population.

    Council voted 18-8 Wednesday to double each councillor’s annual budget for office staff to $482,000, up from the current $241,000, usually for three employees. The hike was the highest of three options recommended by city clerk’s staff.

    Let's see here, Doug Ford has saved us 25 / 44 * 2 = -14% money! Wowowowowowowowow.

    In Doug Ford's defense... he stupidly thought that Toronto city council would just roll over and die, and not make any changes to how they do things or service their constituents. Because he is a buffoon who doesn't understand it when the target of his bullying does not cry uncle.

    Sadly though, during the next election he can point to how he "tried" and the downtown elites thwarted him. Therefore shoring up support in the "Not Toronto we hate those pricks" portion of the province

    TBH I'm not upset at this outcome. I don't think councilors should be wasting their time responding to their constituents directly for minor stuff (e.g. Rob Ford was famous/infamous for personally dealing with pothole reports). That's what staff are for - maybe it'll be more efficient with more staff and less management.

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  • SteelhawkSteelhawk Registered User regular
    Apogee wrote: »
    Steelhawk wrote: »
    hippofant wrote: »
    THANKS DOUG FORD! You have saved Torontonians SO MUCH MONEY: Shrunken Toronto council boosts office budgets to cope with expanded wards
    The moves were the first order of real business for a council controversially shrunk in midelection to 25 wards. Last term there were 44 wards. Council had voted, after a lengthy review that included a consultant report and public consultations, to swell to 47 wards to deal with growing population.

    Council voted 18-8 Wednesday to double each councillor’s annual budget for office staff to $482,000, up from the current $241,000, usually for three employees. The hike was the highest of three options recommended by city clerk’s staff.

    Let's see here, Doug Ford has saved us 25 / 44 * 2 = -14% money! Wowowowowowowowow.

    In Doug Ford's defense... he stupidly thought that Toronto city council would just roll over and die, and not make any changes to how they do things or service their constituents. Because he is a buffoon who doesn't understand it when the target of his bullying does not cry uncle.

    Sadly though, during the next election he can point to how he "tried" and the downtown elites thwarted him. Therefore shoring up support in the "Not Toronto we hate those pricks" portion of the province

    TBH I'm not upset at this outcome. I don't think councilors should be wasting their time responding to their constituents directly for minor stuff (e.g. Rob Ford was famous/infamous for personally dealing with pothole reports). That's what staff are for - maybe it'll be more efficient with more staff and less management.

    Oh, I'm not either. A smaller city council should have more resources to deal with the same population they used to deal with as a larger council. I'm not actually opposed to a smaller council either...I just really dislike how Dougie rammed it down the city's throat in a rush.

  • shrykeshryke Member of the Beast Registered User regular
    The whole thing is funny because it's still the same mistake the Fords have always made. They hate the council but they don't know how to deal with them because they are too stupid to want to learn the ins and outs of the system.

  • hippofanthippofant ティンク Registered User regular
    Another challenger has entered the fight over what exactly Ontario's deficit actually is! FIGHT!

    Ontario’s budget watchdog disputes Ford’s deficit number
    Ontario’s budget watchdog is painting a rosier picture of the province’s finances by pegging the province’s deficit at more than $1 billion lower than what the government is claiming.

    Peter Weltman, the province’s financial accountability officer, released his review of the province’s books on Monday, which shows a $12.3-billion deficit this year. The Ontario government, in contrast, says the budget is $14.5 billion.


    If anybody is lost over what the hell exactly is going on, Martin Regg Cohn has a summary here: A PC coverup under the nose of Doug Ford’s kangaroo court

  • Disco11Disco11 Registered User regular
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg0PYsWK1dc

    We are in Civ again folks!

    PSN: Canadian_llama
  • AridholAridhol Daddliest Catch Registered User regular
    Damn. Now I have to buy civ 6

  • KhavallKhavall British ColumbiaRegistered User regular
    I like how hockey rinks can only be built in tundra. Like goddamn Texas doesn't have a few hockey teams.

This discussion has been closed.