July 2010
14 posts
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I've been put in a mood
Just reading Free Press coverage of the Fontana presser from today - he promised to “lead by example” and ride the bus; he quickly managed to kill his transit credibility by saying that money earmarked for transit in the draft transportation master plan “scares the bejesus out of (him).” He also made a whole bunch of other traffic-flow related promises that likely...
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London City Council: inside baseball zinger of the...
I’m working on a lengthy post on water rates but wanted write a quick post about decorum at the meeting last night - particularly during the water debate. It was quite a cordial debate for such a hot button issue, with most councillors providing remarks of substance. I’d even venture out on a limb and say it was a fruitful exchange of ideas, rather than a series of pre-canned, made...
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Census flap: future public policy driven by...
Like most Canadians, I’m a pretty moderate guy when it comes to public policy. I do carry a Liberal membership card, but that doesn’t define me. I tend to lean left of centre on lots of things, but I’m also pretty right of centre on others. I think I’m all over the map because I approach issues with an open mind; I want to know what the data show, seek out advice of...
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Progress: London Community Engagement Policy, and...
A very short entry today to give kudos to city staff for moving forward an issue that is near and dear to my heart: effective community engagement.
I’m particularly heartened by the objectives that have been set for the working group - in my opinion the group is starting from the right grounding, which is more than half the battle. I also agree that in exercises like this the...
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$16 billion deserves a robust debate in Parliament
I’m not against investing in the Canadian Forces in principle - but I also believe we shouldn’t spend a penny more than we absolutely need given that defence dollars could be spent on other pressing domestic priorities. It isn’t a pure zero sum game - a dollar spent on the military is a direct trade-off for other domestic issues - but it can sometimes feel that way. So at the...
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Census long-form: bad policy, even worse politics
There’s been lots of great commentary about why scrapping the census long-form is about the worst public policy decision since scrapping the Avrow Arrow, so I’m not going to go there. What interests me most about this issue is just how crappy the Conservative’s issues management folks (read: the political operatives in the shadows) have been on this file. I was just watching...
Giving Voice to London's Silent Majority
Life has intervened as they say, so I won’t be able to deliver my Ignite talk this evening. For all five of you that are dissapointed - my mamma taught me to be humble - here are my prepared remarks. Not the same, I know…but the best I can do in a pinch.
1. A very small minority of people affect political decision-making in London. They are the elected politicians, civic...
Ignite London: What have I gotten myself into? :)
I’ll be giving a 5 minute talk at a really cool upcoming event, Ignite London. The rules are 20 slides, 15 seconds per slide - should be interesting. Anyway, my blogging activity will be reduced over the next week as a I’ve got to write my talk, and synch it up with the slides…and then practice. I’m usually an ‘off the cuff wing-it’ kind of speaker, but that...
#darkTO compared to Blackout 2003: the social...
During the blackout of 2003 I was working in downtown Toronto. When the power went out, we knew nothing. I remember calling home to my partner Megan, and she mentioned that she’d heard from her parents that power was out along the eastern seaboard, but nobody really knew why. Speculation was rampant. We weren’t that far off from 9/11 and it wasn’t inconceivable that this...
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Wanted: that ‘vision thing’
I’m hoping that the upcoming municipal election is focused on vision, and not a disconnected set of retail promises that are only tangibly linked to the long-term success of London.
No Board of Control candidates means that our mayoral candidates will have more space during the election to present clear visions for the future. As the only official elected city-wide – compared to the mayor and...
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Reblog Hubert: Promises, Promises
Paul Hubert has a great post today - I think we all need to start applying our critical thinking skills to the promises we hear during the election this fall.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I’m working on Paul’s campaign team. But I wouldn’t shamelessly promote this post unless I thought you should read it!
Promises, Promises - Ward 8 Councillor Paul Hubert
On the cusp...
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Canada Day: Citizenship Resoultions
A big interest of mine is how governments can better engage with their citizens - basically, move closer to participatory democracy and away from traditional Western representative democracy. But the part I sometimes miss is that citizens also have a responsibility to engage with their government. It takes two to tango, and sometimes people can use the “my government isn’t...