mayor

Thursday September 5, 2013

Thursday September 5, 2013

De Caire won’t seek contract extension

Chief Glenn De Caire will not seek an extension of his contract as the head of Hamilton’s police service.

De Caire said in a statement on the Hamilton Police Service website Tuesday that he will retire from the service when his contract ends on Dec. 31, 2014.

“I am extremely proud of our service and the policing excellence that has been delivered to the citizens of Hamilton by our members,” he said in the statement.

“I am honoured to serve in Hamilton and have worked hard every day to represent the members, the community and the board to the best of my abilities.”

The decision marks the end of a sometimes controversial run as head of Hamilton’s police service. While many cite positive changes under De Caire’s time. But some also speak of his uncompromising nature and strict disciplinary measures that saw him butt heads with the association representing some 1,200 Hamilton police officers and staff.

It also comes at the end of a fractured year with city hall, where councillors battled with him over budget issues.

De Caire has been chief since November 2009, arriving from Toronto, where he served as a staff superintendent. He recently had a performance review with the Hamilton police services board. Mayor Bob Bratina, who chairs the board, said he was surprised when De Caire handed him the letter Tuesday. (Source)

Tuesday July 23, 2013

Tuesday July 23, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday July 23, 2013

Residents feel powerless in information blackout

The city waited more than two days to post public information about the emergency response to the Friday storms that downed hundreds of trees and left 20,000 homes in the dark.

The information blackout angered some people more than the mass power outage, say councillors, some of whom are calling for a centralized online information site for residents in emergencies.
“Our city workers are doing a phenomenal job, but we can do far better communicating what they’re doing, ” said Councillor Sam Merulla, who wants to see an “interactive” web page that pulls in information from local utilities. – “Anyone with a smartphone can still communicate when the hydro is out. “We need to adapt to that reality and provide a one-stop shopping avenue for all the critical information residents are looking for.”

Although close to 75 city and contract workers spent the weekend attacking hundreds of fallen trees, blocked roads and limited water shortages, the city didn’t mention any storm-fighting details on its website or issue a public release until after noon Monday.

By contrast, the City of Burlington posted joint releases online with Burlington Hydro on Saturday and Sunday – a difference noted by some frustrated Twitter users.

Hamilton can do better, conceded city manager Chris Murray. “I’m not going to disagree with the (critical) comments, ” he said Monday afternoon. “In these circumstances you need to be doing everything you can to alleviate citizen fears or concerns.”

Murray said the storm didn’t trigger activation of the city’s official emergency plan, which has built-in communication protocols. But Murray said the flow of information to the public should have been better. (Source: The Hamilton Spectator)

Friday, May 31, 2013

Friday, May 31, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday, May 31, 2013

A ticking time bomb for the Ontario Tories

Toronto city councillor Doug Ford has always been known as a pugnacious, say-anything loudmouth — even more so than his brother Rob, Mayor of the city. On Sunday, though, amidst drugs-related allegations — Rob’s alleged recent use of crack cocaine; Doug’s alleged dealing of hashish in the 1980s — the Brothers Ford cranked it up a notch on their regularly scheduled Sunday radio revue.

When PC leader Tim Hudak last visited the National Post‘s editorial board, Doug Ford had just declared his intention to contest a riding for the Tories. The party had reacted with unbridled enthusiasm. And Mr. Hudak seemed genuinely confused when some of us at the Post expressed misgivings.

Recent days have driven the point home: Doug Ford will say absolutely anything that comes into his head, without a moment’s thought to tact, let alone fact. In a recent interview with the Toronto Sun‘s Sue-Ann Levy, Mr. Ford declared his certainty that the Toronto Star timed its crack cocaine story in order to distract the media from Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s troubles. This is psychedelic nonsense: The Star story was frantically written on deadline after Gawker broke its version. But this is a man for whom life seems essentially to be performance art.

On an every-man-for-himself City Council, that’s fine; in a party system, it’s not fine. Could he learn to hold his tongue? It’s entirely possible, but Mr. Hudak’s Tories seem oddly certain of it.

Doug Ford is not some garden-variety loudmouth; he makes Queen’s Park’s legacy loudmouths look like Trappist monks. He’s a magnet for controversy, a sworn and virulent enemy of the media, playing a key role in a thoroughly botched attempt to manage drug allegations against his brother. If Mr. Hudak and Company think he’s really what Ontarians want, and really what their party needs, I greatly fear for their prospects. (Source: National Post)

Friday, May 24, 2013

Friday, May 24, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday, May 24, 2013

Mayor Rob Ford’s Silence is Deafening

Mayor Rob Ford needs to say: “I did not smoke crack and if there’s a video that I did, it’s a fabrication.”

He needs to say it if he’s going to continue to be mayor in anything more than name.

Such an unequivocal denial of allegations by Gawker.com and the Toronto Star that such a video exists, will prove to the public Ford doesn’t fear that video becoming public.

And that the reason he doesn’t fear it is, it’s a fraud.

But if Ford can’t say that, then he should step aside and ask Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday to serve in his place, while he seeks medical help and counseling, after which he can make a decision about his political future as mayor.

It is not enough for Ford to simply dismiss this allegation as “ridiculous,” or to send out third parties to deny it based on what he has told them.
Of course it’s “ridiculous” that the mayor is being accused of smoking crack cocaine and consorting with drug dealers.
The issue isn’t whether it’s ridiculous. The issue is whether it’s true.

Arguments that Ford is entitled to the presumption of innocence miss the point. That refers to the high level of evidence required to convict someone of a crime. But Ford isn’t charged with a crime – It matters how he addresses this attack on his credibility.

Logically, the first thing a mayor falsely accused of smoking crack and consorting with drug dealers would do, would be to proclaim his innocence in no uncertain terms and sue the media who said it.
Why hasn’t he? (Source: Toronto Sun)

[slideshow_deploy id=’1866′]

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Saturday, May 18, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday May 18, 2013

One Crazy Week of News

Several big headlines were emerged within the space of a few hours in Ontario last week:

OLG chairman Paul Godfrey was relieved of his duties after a call from Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne, who earlier in the week spoke about the need for change at the commission. This came after months of debate about the creation of a Toronto casino, with the city and province at odds over revenue sharing. The rest of the OLG board resigned en masse following Godfrey’s ouster. Godfrey is also the president and CEO of the Postmedia Network, which owns the National Post and Canada.com.

After months of scrutiny over his senate expenses and whether he truly lived in Prince Edward Island, Mike Duffy announced he was leaving the Tory caucus. The former broadcaster released a statement saying the controversy had “become a significant distraction” and that he looked forward to rejoining caucus once the matter had been resolved.The most recent episode in the expenses scandal involves the prime minister’s chief of staff; Nigel Wright wrote a personal cheque worth $90,000 to cover the senator’s repayment of improperly claimed housing expenses.

Gawker’s editor-in-chief John Cook described a video he had seen showing what appeared to be Rob Ford inhaling from a crack pipe. The cellphone footage was allegedly taken by a group of men who were shopping it around to different news outlets looking for a buyer. Gawker has previously reported on Ford and has a history of paying sources, but the “six-figure” sum proved more than the New York media company was willing to pay. After word got out that Gawker was working on this story, Cooke published his post.

Meanwhile in Hamilton, The Mayor, Bob Bratina, was enjoying a rare day without being embroiled in controversy. (Source: Canada.com)