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Thursday January 17, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday January 17, 2019

Ontario reviewing regional governments, raising prospect of future amalgamations

Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives have announced a plan Tuesday to comprehensively review the province’s regional governments.

Hamilton Amalgamation Octopus, 1999

The review includes all eight regional municipalities — Halton, York, Durham, Waterloo, Niagara, Peel, Muskoka District, Oxford County, and the County of Simcoe — and their lower-tier municipalities, according to a government news release.

A total of 82 municipalities will be examined, and the province hasn’t ruled out the possibility that some could be amalgamated in the future.

The PCs say the review will focus on three areas: governance, decision-making and service delivery.

“Our government is committed to improving the way regional government works and we will be looking at ways to make better use of taxpayers’ dollars and make it easier for residents and businesses to access important municipal services,” said Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark in a news release.

Common Sense Revolution, 1995

Under former PC premier Mike Harris, Ontario amalgamated a series of local governments ranging from Kawartha Lakes to Toronto in a similar bid to improve efficiency, though the effectiveness of that strategy has been questioned in the years since.

“There’s always opportunity for two municipalities to come together to talk about that aspect, but we’re not talking about that in this regional government review,” he said during an interview at Queen’s Park.

In Ontario, upper-tier municipalities or regions typically oversee services such as policing and garbage pickup, while lower-tier muncipalities handle local bylaws. The current system was introduced in the 1970s.

Mayors from around the GTHA were meeting with Toronto Mayor John Tory on Tuesday afternoon as details about the review first emerged.

Toronto Megacity, 1996

During a news conference following the meeting, several mayors said they would support the review as long as their communities are made part of the process.

“Consult with us before unilaterally making changes, consult with our community before making changes and allow us to educate you a little bit on what we think needs to be done,” said Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward.

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie acknowledged that the decades-old system has room for improvement. She noted that the three municipalities that form Peel Region — Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon —are each at different growth stages, with different priorities.

“I think this is a great opportunity to re-evaluate our relationship; this is a relationship that is 44 years old now. It perhaps doesn’t make sense as the way it used to,” she told reporters.

Megacity, 1997

Results of the review are expected in early summer, the PCs said. However, political observers are already questioning if such a sweeping and quick review will be effective, especially given the short timeline.

“There’s a lot of things to cover. Trying to get them all within a single review strikes me as a fairly large task,” said Robert Williams, a professor emeritus at the University of Waterloo who studies municipal governance.

Williams drew comparisons to the amalgamations carried out by the Harris government, and the current government’s decision to slash the size of Toronto city council nearly in half last year. (Source: CBC News) 

 

Wednesday September 12, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday September 12, 2018

Local elections getting lost in the sound and fury

Between Doug Ford’s unprecedented antics at Queen’s Park, Donald Trump’s daily bombastic proclamations and NAFTA negotiations, it’s little wonder local elections — in Hamilton and across Ontario — are being drowned out. But it’s time for that to change.

Our municipal governments have more impact on our day-to-day lives than their more senior brethren. Yes, they’re at the bottom of the food chain — as Ford has so brazenly demonstrated — but they deliver front-line services. Our sidewalks and roads, our safe water supply, public transit, recreational centres and parks, waste disposal, libraries, animal control, tax collection — these and a host of other services and costs flow directly from city hall. 

And every four years, we have a chance to pass judgment on the current city council. We can endorse them, collectively or individually. We can change out people we’re not happy with. We can clean house if that’s appropriate (even though we get to vote only for our respective ward councillor, mayor and school trustees).

So while Ford and Trump may be more dramatic (and melodramatic), it behooves us to pay attention to what’s coming up on Monday, Oct. 22. The Spectator has already begun to do that, and we plan to ramp up our coverage beginning this week. 

Bottom line: If you live here, pay taxes, raise kids, retire, and you’re an engaged citizen, these elections matter. Don’t miss the opportunity to get involved in local democracy.(Continued: Hamilton Spectator Editorial) 

 

Friday July 28, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday July 28, 2017

White House reveals Trump only decided on transgender ban yesterday

President Donald Trump sent out a series of tweets Wednesday morning saying that transgender people wouldn’t be allowed to serve in the U.S. military ‘in any capacity’ with no plan in place for active duty transgender personnel.  

February 3, 2017

‘This was a decision based on what was the best for the military and military cohesion and on the counsel of his national security team,’ said White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who was bombarded with questions about the ban at a televised press briefing.

With no details available, she offered no immediate assurance that a transgender service member wouldn’t have to get sent home from a deployment in a place like Afghanistan.

‘That’s something that the Department of Defense and the White House will have to work together as implementation takes place and is done so lawfully,’ Huckabee Sanders said. 

‘The implementation of the policy is going to be something that the White House and the Department of Defense have to work together to lawfully determine.’

Her comment came after a flat-footed Pentagon spokesman told reporters asking for details about the new policy announced on Twitter to ‘call the White House.’

Huckabee Sanders said Trump reached the decision ‘based on consultation that he’s had with his national security team’ to reach the conclusion.

She repeatedly cited ‘unit cohesion’ as the reason, and batted back inquiries about Trump’s campaign statements to be there to protect gay, lesbian, and transgender Americans.  

‘When the president made the decision yesterday, the secretary of defense was immediately informed, of as were the rest of the national security team that had been part of this ongoing conversation,’ said Huckabee Sanders.

‘Sometimes you have to make decisions and once he made a decision, he didn’t feel it was necessary to hold that decision and they’re going to work together with the Department of Defense to lawfully implement it,’ she said.(Source: Daily Mail)  

 

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Friday June 24, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Friday June 24, 2016 Should HamiltonÕs ward boundaries be redrawn to reflect areas of growth, perhaps even adding a 16th ward? The question is, should they remain or should they go? Not just in Britain Ñ although the Brexit debate has been kind of important, too. Should Hamilton's 15 ward boundaries remain the same or change? That has been the topic at a series of public meetings on the issue Ñ the most recent this week at Waterdown's Legion Hall. But the tepid turnout in Waterdown Ñ only three people showed Ñ and also last week at Tim Hortons Field, suggests residents may not be all that engaged. In fairness, "Ward Boundary Review" is a subject hardly guaranteed to reel in even the most civic minded on a long, warm summer night. And Mayor Fred Eisenberger predicted neither councillors nor constituents would have much enthusiasm to tackle the issue. But last spring council voted to hire consultants to undertake a boundary review Ñ at cost of $270,000 Ñ to explore if changes would better reflect shifting population patterns. For example, Ward 7 on the central Mountain has 62,000 residents while rural Ward 14 in Flamborough has about 17,000. Among the alternatives suggested by the consultants: rearrange wards to follow federal riding boundaries; reshape wards to better reflect population; add a 16th ward. One option (shown on the map) shows a proposed Ward 16 on the Mountain, and also redrawing Ward 15 so it would geographically be smaller than it is now Ñ essentially Waterdown on its own, defined by Milburough Line to the east, Concession 7 to the north, Hwy 6. and Millgrove Sideroad to the west, to roughly the Niagara Escarpment along the southern border. Ward 15 Coun. Judi Partridge, whose ward is about 70 per cent rural, says consultants are paying too little attention to criteria such as culture, heritage, and the natural environment, and focusing too heavily on population. She added that

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday June 24, 2016

Should Hamilton’s ward boundaries be redrawn to reflect areas of growth, perhaps even adding a 16th ward?

The question is, should they remain or should they go?

Not just in Britain — although the Brexit debate has been kind of important, too.

Should Hamilton’s 15 ward boundaries remain the same or change?

That has been the topic at a series of public meetings on the issue — the most recent this week at Waterdown’s Legion Hall.

But the tepid turnout in Waterdown — only three people showed — and also last week at Tim Hortons Field, suggests residents may not be all that engaged.

In fairness, “Ward Boundary Review” is a subject hardly guaranteed to reel in even the most civic minded on a long, warm summer night.

April 26, 2012

April 26, 2012

And Mayor Fred Eisenberger predicted neither councillors nor constituents would have much enthusiasm to tackle the issue.

But last spring council voted to hire consultants to undertake a boundary review — at cost of $270,000 — to explore if changes would better reflect shifting population patterns.

For example, Ward 7 on the central Mountain has 62,000 residents while rural Ward 14 in Flamborough has about 17,000.

Among the alternatives suggested by the consultants: rearrange wards to follow federal riding boundaries; reshape wards to better reflect population; add a 16th ward.

One option (shown on the map) shows a proposed Ward 16 on the Mountain, and also redrawing Ward 15 so it would geographically be smaller than it is now — essentially Waterdown on its own, defined by Milburough Line to the east, Concession 7 to the north, Hwy 6. and Millgrove Sideroad to the west, to roughly the Niagara Escarpment along the southern border.

Ward 15 Coun. Judi Partridge, whose ward is about 70 per cent rural, says consultants are paying too little attention to criteria such as culture, heritage, and the natural environment, and focusing too heavily on population.

She added that the trio of residents who showed at the Waterdown meeting was pressed by consultants to pick a favourite option, but found the exercise too complex to choose.

Watson & Associates Economists Ltd. wrote in their report that electoral boundaries should be reviewed every 10-15 years, and Hamilton’s have been the same since amalgamation in 2001.(Source: Hamilton Spectator)

 

Friday August 28, 2015

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Friday August 28, 2015 Exile on Ottawa Street: BIA battleground bubbles over Business owners on Ottawa Street are calling for the resignation of their BIA board members after a heated meeting Wednesday morning dissolved into a yelling match. The conflict is leading Coun. Matt Green Ñ who owned a business on Ottawa Street before being elected as a city councillor Ñ to call for a sweeping review of the governance structures, hiring practices, and codes of conduct for all business improvement areas across the city. Business owners and the BIA board met Wednesday to discuss the so-called "exile list," a document that emerged Monday and listed 11 businesses. A BIA employee reported that they were instructed to avoid contact with businesses on that list, take their calls, promote or include them. BIA chair Nancy Leo said the list was simply a reminder to staff that incident reports needed be written up about those 11 establishments. She said she initially understood the list to be an "Excel list" Ñ referring to the computer program Ñ that outlined which businesses the board planned to file incident reports on. "It wasn't an exile list. I found out about that word 'exile' in an email on Sunday afternoon," Leo said. Leo refused to discuss what the incidents entailed for legal reasons, despite being given permission from several business owners to discuss exactly what "incidents" led to their names ending up on the list. She did explain that several food trucks were on the list because they didn't meet their agreement to serve food on Ottawa Street during the Pan Am Games. The meeting, which saw business owners and BIA board members yelling at each other and hurling accusations back and forth, didn't satisfy business owners. While Leo was speaking, several meeting attendees shouted at the board to "tell the truth" and "stop spinning stories." (Source: Hamilton Spectator) http://www.thespec.com/news-stor

By Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday August 28, 2015

Exile on Ottawa Street: BIA battleground bubbles over

Business owners on Ottawa Street are calling for the resignation of their BIA board members after a heated meeting Wednesday morning dissolved into a yelling match.

The conflict is leading Coun. Matt Green — who owned a business on Ottawa Street before being elected as a city councillor — to call for a sweeping review of the governance structures, hiring practices, and codes of conduct for all business improvement areas across the city.

Business owners and the BIA board met Wednesday to discuss the so-called “exile list,” a document that emerged Monday and listed 11 businesses. A BIA employee reported that they were instructed to avoid contact with businesses on that list, take their calls, promote or include them.

BIA chair Nancy Leo said the list was simply a reminder to staff that incident reports needed be written up about those 11 establishments. She said she initially understood the list to be an “Excel list” — referring to the computer program — that outlined which businesses the board planned to file incident reports on.

“It wasn’t an exile list. I found out about that word ‘exile’ in an email on Sunday afternoon,” Leo said.

Leo refused to discuss what the incidents entailed for legal reasons, despite being given permission from several business owners to discuss exactly what “incidents” led to their names ending up on the list. She did explain that several food trucks were on the list because they didn’t meet their agreement to serve food on Ottawa Street during the Pan Am Games.

The meeting, which saw business owners and BIA board members yelling at each other and hurling accusations back and forth, didn’t satisfy business owners. While Leo was speaking, several meeting attendees shouted at the board to “tell the truth” and “stop spinning stories.” (Source: Hamilton Spectator)