NORTH YORK MIRROR | Thursday, November 29, 2012 |
4
Opinion Ian Proudfoot Marg Middleton Peter Haggert Paul Futhey Warren Elder Jamie Munoz
nym@insidetoronto.com
Your View
Publisher General Manager Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Regional Dir. of Advertising Director of Distribution
Infrastructure is a priority
The North York Mirror is published every Thursday and Friday at 175 Gordon Baker Rd., Toronto, ON M2H 0A2, by Toronto Community News, a Division of Metroland Media Group Ltd.
Council needs to re-set priorities at halfway point
T
oronto City Council reached the halfway point of its mandate in spectacular fashion this week. Monday’s decision by Superior Court Justice Charles Hackland ordering Mayor Rob Ford be removed from office due to his violation of the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act will take effect on Dec. 10. The judge gave council 14 days from Monday to deal with his ruling. That possible date of removal comes just three days after council reaches the twoyear anniversary of its four-year our view term. The situation on Ford is constantly changing. Council was Councillors examining its legal options at this week’s meeting. At the moment, must still focus it appears council has the choice on community of either appointing a caretaker mayor for the remaining two years of this term, or calling for a mayoral byelection. City solicitor Anna Kinastowski said it’s going to be a long process, much of it dependent on other court rulings which could stay Ford’s removal or keep him in office if he wins his appeal. If or when the time comes for council to make a decision on replacing Ford, we strongly favour the appointment route. Calling a byelection will cost an estimated $7 million. It will also likely cause a mess of a domino effect as councillors abandon their wards to run for mayor. And that’s the last thing Toronto needs, distracted councillors furthering their own political careers during a byelection while ignoring the needs of the wards they were elected to represent in 2010. As our stories in today’s paper on Council at The Halfway Point show, councillors must fully focus on the important work of representing their communities. This has to remain their priority. We also ask that the appointee be from Ford’s side of the political spectrum. He was elected on a mandate of fiscal responsiblity and concern for taxpayers, and that should be respected. The halfway point of a council’s mandate is an artificial line for council members to reflect on what’s gone right and what’s gone wrong during the first two years of office. Unfortunately, this time it’s a harder line in the sand. It’s a re-set point for every civic politician and every civic official. There are no longer any rookie councillors – everyone has two years of experience. Understand that the pure pleasure and advantage of local politics is in moving forward carrying the interests of your constituency beyond an agenda of a perceived political left or right vision. Toronto Community News is a division of Metroland Media Group Ltd. The Mirror is a member of the Ontario Press Council. Visit ontpress.com newsroom
Write us The North York Mirror welcomes letters of 400 words or less. All submissions must include name, address and a daytime telephone number for verification purposes.
We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Copyright in letters remains with the author but the publisher and affiliates may freely reproduce them in
print, electronic or other forms. Letters can be sent to letters@ insidetoronto.com, or mailed to The North York Mirror, 175 Gordon Baker Rd. Toronto, ON, M2H 0A2.
To the editor: Re: “Infrastructure funding must become priority,” Editorial, Nov. 15. As Toronto Board of Trade CEO Carol Wilding said so well: “Toronto’s problems of gridlock and poor transit connectivity are among the worst of any major urban centre in the world.” I agree. The facts are that Canada’s mounting infrastructure crisis of crumbling bridges, potholes and traffic gridlock is costing more than $10 billion in lost productivity every year. You ask residents to ask their MPs on where they stand and what they are going to do. For me and my New Democrat colleagues this is an issue that we, along with municipalities across Canada, have been pressing ever since the recent Canada Infrastructure Program came to an end. For us there is no doubt whatsoever that this should be a priority for the federal government. Mike Sullivan, MP, York South-Weston
Rink B deserves a solid A-plus in my book
A
s I write this, I’m staring at something I’d long since given up hope of ever seeing again in the neighbourhood – a brand spanking new outdoor hockey rink. I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. But it is an outdoor rink here in Cedarvale, alright. And it’s almost ready for action. The only thing missing is the ice and and that little detail will be taken care of in short order. The grand opening date, weather permitting, is Sunday, which, like the rink, is just around the corner. Since the weather these days often has a way of not permitting, the historic debut could be pushed back a bit. If so, I’m OK with that. I’ve waited decades for such a rink. A few extra days won’t matter a bit. And when it does open, I’ll be there with bells on. Some players wear the jersey of their favourite
but seriously
jamie wayne
player, others wear a jersey from a team of their youth. I prefer bells. It’s not just an on-ice fashion statement. It’s very practical, too. The jingling drowns out the huffing and puffing around me. Anyhow, when the puck drops to christen the rink I’ll be thinking about two rinks I used to frequent in days of yore. The first is the now defunct ice surface at the not defunct West Prep, my old public school, about a mile-and-half away. That rink is where my hockey career, such as it is, began. I wasn’t involved in serious hockey at the start. My parents didn’t chauffeur me all over the GTA to rinks six days a week. I played house
league at Memorial Arena in Forest Hill. One game a week, no practices. That’s it. Ah, but at West Prep, I could be on the ice every day. It didn’t get any better than that. I didn’t dream of being in the NHL. I dreamed only of playing at West Prep. The second rink I’ll be reminiscing about is an indoor facility that still exists. It’s located just five feet from this one – the venerable Phil White Arena, aka venerable Cedarvale Arena. I played there during my formative 20-something, 30-something and etc.something hockey years. This new outdoor arena, going only by the name of Rink B, sits in the formerly unused parking lot right behind it. Those Cedarvale games were some of my all-time faves. There was no shinny or pleasure skating schedule available at press time, so that possibility still exists. As I await the grand open-
ing, I can’t get a hit song by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell out of my head. It’s titled Big Yellow Taxi. It was about not realizing how good you have things until it’s too late. “Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone,” she sings. Another memorable line in it, “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” Well, as for the former, I never took outdoor shinny for granted. I cherished every moment. I still do. As for the latter? Lo and behold, they paved the parking lot and put up a hockey rink. Oh, I know it’s not the paradise she was referring to, but for a Canadian kid like me, it’s pretty darn close. n Jamie Wayne is a lifelong columnist who takes writing very seriously. The topics? Not so much. His column appears every Thursday. Contact him at jamie.wayne@sympatico.ca
416-493-4400 | distribution ph: 416-493-4400 fax: 416-495-6524 | display advertising ph: 416-493-4400 fax: 416-495-6629 | classifieds ph: 416-493-4660 fax: 416-495-6629 | administration ph: 416-493-4400 fax: 416-495-6629