오늘 아침 Queens Park에서 신임 수상, Doug Ford의 기자회견하면서, 토론토의 장래를 위해 대단히 중요한 결단을 발표하는, 즉 시의원 47명을 25명으로 줄이겠다는 내용이었다. 단 오늘 가을 지방정부 의원 선거에서는 적용이 안되는것으로 이해된다.
그의 설명에 따르면, 연방의원 25명, 주의원 25명,교육위원25명인데, 왜 시의원만 47명이어야 하는가? 생산적인것은 전연없고, 시행정이 수십년간 제자리 걸음을 걸어와서, 현재 보는바와 같이, 토론토시의 교통정책, 주택정책은 진전되는게 없고, 토론토보다 큰 LA는 4백만명인데도 시의원 15명이고, 뱅쿠버시는 시장을 포함하여 11명뿐이다.
이를 반대하는 사람들은 사회주의를 지향하는 Queens Park의 NDP대표 Andrea Howarth와 시의원 Gord Perk등등이다. 이들의 주장은, 특히 Gord Perk시의원은 두어번 만나봤는데, 자기의견과 맞지 않는 의견을 낼때는 가차없이 잘라버리는 성향의 시의원임을 이미 알고는 있었지만, 오늘 아침 기자회견후 그의 논평을 보면 "민주주의를 통째로 부셔버릴려는 발언"이라고 혹평했었다.
토론토시장, John Tory는 국민투표(Referendum)을 해서 주민들의 의견을 물어야 할 사항이라고 반발했다. 그의 논리데로라면, 현시원 47명만들때 국민투표 했었나? 주정부의 행정명령인데, 국민투표라고? 그비용은 누가대나? 시민들의 세금으로 충당해야 한다. 내가 알기로는 지난번 토론토 시장 선거때부터 John Tory와 Doug Ford는 얼키고 설킨게 많은것으로 이해하고 있다. John Tory는 좀더 신중하게 의견을 발표 했어야 했다.
많은 시의원들이 일거리를 만든다고,예를 들면,하는 짖들이 집앞의 Drive Way에 주차해 놓는 관례를 깨고, 특히 밤에는 주차를 안된다고, Ticket띄는 엉터리짖을 하기에 그시의원을 만났는데, 지금까지 파킹할수 있었던게 Lucky한줄 알라는 식으로 몰아 부쳐 할수없이 손들고 나온기억이 지금도 생생하다. 개인집의 Parking장에 들어가기위해 Drive Way를 이용하는것은 상식인데..... 주위의 다른 집들에서도 여전히 Drive Way를 사용하고 있는것 봤는데, 그런곳을 가리키면, 그것은 너와 상관 없는 일이라고 무시해 버리는 그런 시의원들 당연히 필요 없다고 감히 언급한다. 앞으로는 이런 간섭이 없어지길 기원한다.
몬트리얼시의원은 자그만치67명이라고 한다. 그래서 몬트리얼시가 시민들의 성향에 맞는 행정을 펴고있다고 믿는 사람은 시장을 비롯하여 아무도없는것으로 이해하고 있다.
토론토 시의원수를 절반으로 줄임으로써 우선 시의원을 비롯한 Buroaucratic에게 지급됐던 급료 및 비용이 자그만치 2천5백만 달러가 절약되여 시행정에 많은 도움을 줄것으로 기대하고 있다.
수상 Doug Ford의 설명에 따르면, 멀리는 David Miller, Rob Ford 그리고 현재 시장 John Tory에 이르기까지, 시정책은 그때나 지금이나 한발짝도 진전된게 없다는 설명을 하면서, 그일예로 TTC을 설명하면서, 지하철 계획은 있었지만, Mel Lastman 시장이후로 흙 한삽도 뜨지 못했다고 혹평했다. 바로 47명의 시의원들이 피터지게 제목소리를 내는통에 시민들의 세금은 올리면서도 결과는 제자리 걸음이라고 했다.
그것 아니고라도, 내가 살고 있는 Lakeshore의 Humber Bay Park East and West의 Trail Walk을 걸어보면, 요즘같이 더운 날에는 호숫가에 버려져 있는 쓰레기를 오랫동안 치우지 않아 냄새가 코를 진동한다. 즉 시민들의 눈에 잘 보이지 않는 곳에는 Employee들의 관심이없고, 잘보이는곳에는 하는 시늉을 하는 보이기위한 행정으로 변해버린지 오래다.
내가 기자회견에서 듣고 이해한 내용과 나의 느낌을 적어봤다. 자세한 내용은 아래기사참조.
https://www.cp24.com/news/ford-defends-decision-to-slash-size-of-toronto-council-amid-calls-for-referendum-1.4030266
그의 설명에 따르면, 연방의원 25명, 주의원 25명,교육위원25명인데, 왜 시의원만 47명이어야 하는가? 생산적인것은 전연없고, 시행정이 수십년간 제자리 걸음을 걸어와서, 현재 보는바와 같이, 토론토시의 교통정책, 주택정책은 진전되는게 없고, 토론토보다 큰 LA는 4백만명인데도 시의원 15명이고, 뱅쿠버시는 시장을 포함하여 11명뿐이다.
이를 반대하는 사람들은 사회주의를 지향하는 Queens Park의 NDP대표 Andrea Howarth와 시의원 Gord Perk등등이다. 이들의 주장은, 특히 Gord Perk시의원은 두어번 만나봤는데, 자기의견과 맞지 않는 의견을 낼때는 가차없이 잘라버리는 성향의 시의원임을 이미 알고는 있었지만, 오늘 아침 기자회견후 그의 논평을 보면 "민주주의를 통째로 부셔버릴려는 발언"이라고 혹평했었다.
토론토시장, John Tory는 국민투표(Referendum)을 해서 주민들의 의견을 물어야 할 사항이라고 반발했다. 그의 논리데로라면, 현시원 47명만들때 국민투표 했었나? 주정부의 행정명령인데, 국민투표라고? 그비용은 누가대나? 시민들의 세금으로 충당해야 한다. 내가 알기로는 지난번 토론토 시장 선거때부터 John Tory와 Doug Ford는 얼키고 설킨게 많은것으로 이해하고 있다. John Tory는 좀더 신중하게 의견을 발표 했어야 했다.
많은 시의원들이 일거리를 만든다고,예를 들면,하는 짖들이 집앞의 Drive Way에 주차해 놓는 관례를 깨고, 특히 밤에는 주차를 안된다고, Ticket띄는 엉터리짖을 하기에 그시의원을 만났는데, 지금까지 파킹할수 있었던게 Lucky한줄 알라는 식으로 몰아 부쳐 할수없이 손들고 나온기억이 지금도 생생하다. 개인집의 Parking장에 들어가기위해 Drive Way를 이용하는것은 상식인데..... 주위의 다른 집들에서도 여전히 Drive Way를 사용하고 있는것 봤는데, 그런곳을 가리키면, 그것은 너와 상관 없는 일이라고 무시해 버리는 그런 시의원들 당연히 필요 없다고 감히 언급한다. 앞으로는 이런 간섭이 없어지길 기원한다.
몬트리얼시의원은 자그만치67명이라고 한다. 그래서 몬트리얼시가 시민들의 성향에 맞는 행정을 펴고있다고 믿는 사람은 시장을 비롯하여 아무도없는것으로 이해하고 있다.
토론토 시의원수를 절반으로 줄임으로써 우선 시의원을 비롯한 Buroaucratic에게 지급됐던 급료 및 비용이 자그만치 2천5백만 달러가 절약되여 시행정에 많은 도움을 줄것으로 기대하고 있다.
수상 Doug Ford의 설명에 따르면, 멀리는 David Miller, Rob Ford 그리고 현재 시장 John Tory에 이르기까지, 시정책은 그때나 지금이나 한발짝도 진전된게 없다는 설명을 하면서, 그일예로 TTC을 설명하면서, 지하철 계획은 있었지만, Mel Lastman 시장이후로 흙 한삽도 뜨지 못했다고 혹평했다. 바로 47명의 시의원들이 피터지게 제목소리를 내는통에 시민들의 세금은 올리면서도 결과는 제자리 걸음이라고 했다.
그것 아니고라도, 내가 살고 있는 Lakeshore의 Humber Bay Park East and West의 Trail Walk을 걸어보면, 요즘같이 더운 날에는 호숫가에 버려져 있는 쓰레기를 오랫동안 치우지 않아 냄새가 코를 진동한다. 즉 시민들의 눈에 잘 보이지 않는 곳에는 Employee들의 관심이없고, 잘보이는곳에는 하는 시늉을 하는 보이기위한 행정으로 변해버린지 오래다.
내가 기자회견에서 듣고 이해한 내용과 나의 느낌을 적어봤다. 자세한 내용은 아래기사참조.
Premier Doug Ford is vowing to slash the size of Toronto city council
almost in half, a move that Mayor John Tory says is “not right,” “not
fair” and ought to be the subject of a referendum.
Ford announced on Friday morning that his government will table legislation on Monday that will slash the number of councillors in Toronto from a planned 47 to 25 in time for the Oct. 22 election.
The premier also said that he would cancel planned regional chair elections in Peel, York, Niagara and Muskoka and revert to an appointment process that was in effect prior to 2016, effectively halting the campaigns of former PC party leader Patrick Brown in Peel Region and former Liberal cabinet minister Steven Del Duca in York Region.
The moves undoubtedly have the potential to plunge ongoing elections
campaigns into chaos but Ford told reporters on Friday that “taxpayers
will be happy to trade a bunch of politicians at city hall for millions
of dollars” in savings.
Ford also brushed aside suggestions that he is unilaterally imposing the changes after not mentioning anything about reducing the size of municipal governments during the provincial election campaign.
“I consulted with thousands of people right across the city and every person I talked to said you have to reduce the size of government,” he said. “No one has ever said to me ‘Doug we need more politicians.’ In fact it is the opposite. People tell me that we have too many politicians making it hard to get things done and making it harder to get things built.”
Ford said that slashing the size of Toronto city council will save municipal taxpayers $25 million, however it is not known whether additional staffing costs related to larger wards could cut into those savings.
On Friday, the premier called Toronto council the “most dysfunctional political arena in the country” and said that it is his hope that it will function more fluidly with a reduced number of councillors.
He also repeatedly mentioned that Los Angeles, a city of nearly four million people, has only 15 city councilors. There are numerous other cities in North America though, with comparable populations to Toronto that have larger councils, including Chicago where there are 50 elected members. In Canada there is a significant range in terms of the size of city councils with 64 people sitting on Montreal’s city council but only 10 plus the mayor on Vancouver’s city council.
“We have 25 MP’s, 25 MPP’s and 25 school trustees. Why do we need 47 councillors?” Ford said.
Tory calls for referendum
Ford’s plans to slash the size of city council came just hours ahead of a 2 p.m. deadline for candidates to register for the upcoming election, though officials within his government say that deadline will be pushed back to Sept. 14.
Speaking with reporters at a hastily-called news conference on Friday morning, Mayor John Tory said he is “angry” over the manner in which the changes are being thrust upon the city.
Tory said he actually only found out about the changes after reading a report in the Toronto Star on Thursday night, though he did concede that Ford mentioned the idea during a meeting the pair had a few weeks back.
“I sort of dismissed it on the basis of saying well that is not something that could be done and the matter was dropped. I didn’t have the sense he was pursuing it,” Tory said. “This is not right, this is not fair, it is not respectful of the people and it is not a proper process to be followed when it comes to a major decision having to do with our democracy.”
Number of wards was subject of years-long review
The number of wards was supposed to increase from 44 to 47 in time for this year’s municipal election following a years-long boundary review process that included extensive public consultation.
As part of that review, a slimmed-down council of 25 members in which ward boundaries would mirror existing federal ridings was considered but ultimately dismissed.
A report from May, 2016 noted that “only a very small number of councillors and the public supported” that scenario. The report also said that the model would not meet the “test of effective representation going forward,” as the population of the 25 wards would vary from 96,614 to 135,298 by 2026.
On Friday, Tory said that while he is open to having “a discussion about the size of council,” he can’t support a process in which a “gigantic decision about the City of Toronto” is “rammed down our throats without a single second of public consultations.”
“They promised to be a government for the people, they campaigned on that every day and so I would say to the premier and his government, be true to your words. If you are truly a government for the people than let’s put this question to the people and let them decide,” he said.
Tory moved a motion at today’s meeting of city council asking the city clerk to hold a referendum on the prospect of reducing the size of city council to 25.
He said that he will also seek a legal opinion on whether the province is within its rights to unilaterally alter the size of city council.
“While I don’t question that the province has very broad authority to deal with the City of Toronto there are words in different statutes that may allow for us to assert very forcefully the notion that there is some degree of cooperation and consultation that is expected and required here,” he said.
Matlow calls plan ‘anti-democratic’
After the news of the cuts surfaced on Thursday night, Ward 22 St. Paul’s Coun. Josh Matlow called them “anti-democratic” and “reckless” while Ward 14 Parkdale Coun. Gord Perks accused Ford of “taking a wrecking ball to democracy.”
Liberal Member of Parliament Adam Vaughan, himself a former city councillor, also came out against the changes in an interview with CP24 on Friday morning, calling them among “the most idiotic things” he has ever seen proposed.
“You have 123 agencies board and commissions that have provincial laws and regulations that require a certain number of city councillors on their board of directors, from Toronto Hydro to the library, the police and the TTC. It is not as simple as just cutting 25 city councillors; there is myriad of legislation that is impacted by a transition like this and it has not been thought through to the point where it is just absolute chaos right now.”
Some councillors support move
While the reaction to the proposed changes has been largely negative among city councillors, a number of them have spoken out in favour of the move.
“I think that we waste a lot of time and money with the much larger council,” Ward 7 York West Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti told CP24 on Friday morning. “I think a smaller council will allow us to get to the really important issues a lot faster than we do now and deal with them. And I think there will be less politics at city hall.”
“The proposed system right now says we are going to pack downtown versus Scarborough and North York so I am absolutely thrilled with this,” Scarborough-Agincourt Coun. Jim Karygianis added. “If you can have 25 Members of Parliament, why can’t you have 25 councillors?”
Ford announced on Friday morning that his government will table legislation on Monday that will slash the number of councillors in Toronto from a planned 47 to 25 in time for the Oct. 22 election.
The premier also said that he would cancel planned regional chair elections in Peel, York, Niagara and Muskoka and revert to an appointment process that was in effect prior to 2016, effectively halting the campaigns of former PC party leader Patrick Brown in Peel Region and former Liberal cabinet minister Steven Del Duca in York Region.
Ford also brushed aside suggestions that he is unilaterally imposing the changes after not mentioning anything about reducing the size of municipal governments during the provincial election campaign.
“I consulted with thousands of people right across the city and every person I talked to said you have to reduce the size of government,” he said. “No one has ever said to me ‘Doug we need more politicians.’ In fact it is the opposite. People tell me that we have too many politicians making it hard to get things done and making it harder to get things built.”
Ford said that slashing the size of Toronto city council will save municipal taxpayers $25 million, however it is not known whether additional staffing costs related to larger wards could cut into those savings.
On Friday, the premier called Toronto council the “most dysfunctional political arena in the country” and said that it is his hope that it will function more fluidly with a reduced number of councillors.
He also repeatedly mentioned that Los Angeles, a city of nearly four million people, has only 15 city councilors. There are numerous other cities in North America though, with comparable populations to Toronto that have larger councils, including Chicago where there are 50 elected members. In Canada there is a significant range in terms of the size of city councils with 64 people sitting on Montreal’s city council but only 10 plus the mayor on Vancouver’s city council.
“We have 25 MP’s, 25 MPP’s and 25 school trustees. Why do we need 47 councillors?” Ford said.
Tory calls for referendum
Ford’s plans to slash the size of city council came just hours ahead of a 2 p.m. deadline for candidates to register for the upcoming election, though officials within his government say that deadline will be pushed back to Sept. 14.
Speaking with reporters at a hastily-called news conference on Friday morning, Mayor John Tory said he is “angry” over the manner in which the changes are being thrust upon the city.
Tory said he actually only found out about the changes after reading a report in the Toronto Star on Thursday night, though he did concede that Ford mentioned the idea during a meeting the pair had a few weeks back.
“I sort of dismissed it on the basis of saying well that is not something that could be done and the matter was dropped. I didn’t have the sense he was pursuing it,” Tory said. “This is not right, this is not fair, it is not respectful of the people and it is not a proper process to be followed when it comes to a major decision having to do with our democracy.”
Number of wards was subject of years-long review
The number of wards was supposed to increase from 44 to 47 in time for this year’s municipal election following a years-long boundary review process that included extensive public consultation.
As part of that review, a slimmed-down council of 25 members in which ward boundaries would mirror existing federal ridings was considered but ultimately dismissed.
A report from May, 2016 noted that “only a very small number of councillors and the public supported” that scenario. The report also said that the model would not meet the “test of effective representation going forward,” as the population of the 25 wards would vary from 96,614 to 135,298 by 2026.
On Friday, Tory said that while he is open to having “a discussion about the size of council,” he can’t support a process in which a “gigantic decision about the City of Toronto” is “rammed down our throats without a single second of public consultations.”
“They promised to be a government for the people, they campaigned on that every day and so I would say to the premier and his government, be true to your words. If you are truly a government for the people than let’s put this question to the people and let them decide,” he said.
Tory moved a motion at today’s meeting of city council asking the city clerk to hold a referendum on the prospect of reducing the size of city council to 25.
He said that he will also seek a legal opinion on whether the province is within its rights to unilaterally alter the size of city council.
“While I don’t question that the province has very broad authority to deal with the City of Toronto there are words in different statutes that may allow for us to assert very forcefully the notion that there is some degree of cooperation and consultation that is expected and required here,” he said.
Matlow calls plan ‘anti-democratic’
After the news of the cuts surfaced on Thursday night, Ward 22 St. Paul’s Coun. Josh Matlow called them “anti-democratic” and “reckless” while Ward 14 Parkdale Coun. Gord Perks accused Ford of “taking a wrecking ball to democracy.”
Liberal Member of Parliament Adam Vaughan, himself a former city councillor, also came out against the changes in an interview with CP24 on Friday morning, calling them among “the most idiotic things” he has ever seen proposed.
“You have 123 agencies board and commissions that have provincial laws and regulations that require a certain number of city councillors on their board of directors, from Toronto Hydro to the library, the police and the TTC. It is not as simple as just cutting 25 city councillors; there is myriad of legislation that is impacted by a transition like this and it has not been thought through to the point where it is just absolute chaos right now.”
Some councillors support move
While the reaction to the proposed changes has been largely negative among city councillors, a number of them have spoken out in favour of the move.
“I think that we waste a lot of time and money with the much larger council,” Ward 7 York West Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti told CP24 on Friday morning. “I think a smaller council will allow us to get to the really important issues a lot faster than we do now and deal with them. And I think there will be less politics at city hall.”
“The proposed system right now says we are going to pack downtown versus Scarborough and North York so I am absolutely thrilled with this,” Scarborough-Agincourt Coun. Jim Karygianis added. “If you can have 25 Members of Parliament, why can’t you have 25 councillors?”
https://www.cp24.com/news/ford-defends-decision-to-slash-size-of-toronto-council-amid-calls-for-referendum-1.4030266
No comments:
Post a Comment