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Harb has been a senator since 2003 and had spent many years before that as an Ottawa city counsellor and a federal MP. With such an extensive political background, he was at least reasonably qualified to be appointed to the senate. Too bad he couldn't resist abusing the system for all he could...

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/globe-investigation-the-ford-familys-history-with-drug-dealing/article12153014/ This article in the Globe and Mail is based on 18 months of investigating the Ford family's history of drug dealing. They apparently were mid level hashish dealers for a...

Apart from the period when our sanitation workers were on strike, our garbage has always been picked up regularly. Yes, Ford arguably took a bite out of the garbage union and avoided another strike. Between that and the car tax refund, he probably garnered an early measure of cred but that was...

I live in Toronto and I haven't noticed any reduction in my taxes. What I have noticed is a very large increase in service fees. A 6-month parking permit has gone from $68 to $95. I also had the misfortune of needing to go to the committee of adjustment to get a building permit. The COA cost...

In the last election, Ford's main opponent was George Smitherman, a man famous for his gross incompetence as deputy premier and health minister in the provincial government. Smitherman was damaged goods and should have known better than to run at all. Torontonians were also still pissed off...

Here's another article about how ON is getting screwed. I hope our provincial government starts making waves about this because Ottawa won't do anything about it until it becomes an issue with ON voters...

It isn't really the first time these inequities have been mentioned but the article gave us a clearer picture of the total situation than (I think) we had before. And there is more to it - Ontario was holding its own before the recession (when the CDN dollar was pegged at about $.65 US). While...

This article is a bit of an eye opener for those, like myself, who assumed that Ontario operates on a reasonably level playing field. I was ready to accept some minor disparities in comparison with the rest of the country but this is crazy...

What is so significant about that particular factoid? Ford got elected by promising stuff like eliminating the gravy train, fighting the unions and building more subways etc. He did not get elected by promising that he'd somehow become immune to the normal rules of conduct that apply to all...

Looks like Ford is also using his city staff to help out with his football philanthropy. Since the taxpayers are footing the bill for those staff salaries, doesn't that make Ford part of the gravy train problem he's always whining about? He'd just finished testifying under oath that he'd...

We had just purchased a house and the closing date was October 30, 1995 (the date of the last referendum). Normally, we'd have chosen a mortgage term of 6 months to 1 year but we opted for a 5 year fixed rate mortgage (at a higher rate) in case Quebec voted to separate. We reckoned that credit...

So if Stinz takes more than a week to get all the other counsellors to endorse her long-range transit ideas, you immediately conclude that this is "entertaining"? Sorry if I don't share your enthusiasm. So far, I find this transit debate tedious and mildly depressing but I know it's all part...

At this stage, it doesn't matter whether the province or the other city counsellors start doing cartwheels in support of Stinz's plan or not. Her so-called plan is just an early blueprint for the future of transit in TO and anyone with half a brain knows it will need many more studies...

In all fairness, the province must be getting tired of revisiting Toronto's long term transit plans again and again. The province is already on the hook for $8.4B and transport minister Chiarelli has a responsibiliy to the GTA to get transit built sooner rather than later. I've been pretty...

OK. It does appear that there is quite a disconnect between what you said and what I responded to. My bad. As far as my commenting on those TDSP stories, I see plenty of evidence of collusion and corruption by the maintenance unions and the TDSP. And I agree that the political donations made...

Well duh...all the jobs I mentioned have plenty of training. And, despite the best efforts of those doing the training, some occupations are riskier than others and the per-capita rates of workplace death and injury show that quite clearly. It's one thing to believe cops & firefighters have...

My question about the spiffy uniforms wasn't intended as a joke. I was simply looking for something that would explain your bewildering claim that only cops, paramedics and firefighters should be allowed to have unions. I was also wondering if maybe you had a thing for flashing lights and...

So the federal government can cough up almost 1 $Billion to host the G20 summit (that big "international" conference where the leaders of the 20 largest countries / economies in the known universe attend) and you're quite happy to stand there and dismiss this event as merely "some local story...

I couldn't agree more! It's actually quite hilarious when you consider how many righties on this board routinely dismiss the Star as a loonie left wing rag. Meanwhile, the Star is just about the only major newspaper that consistently investigates the issues and comes up with these kinds of...

Why are you exempting cops, firefighters and paramedics from your proposed banishment of public unions? Is it because they are perceived (and endlessly glorified by the the US film industry) to be risking their lives for the public good? Or is it all about those spiffy uniforms? I'm not so...