Toronto - What A Leadership Mess

Rarely have I seen such a total vacuum when it comes to leadership in the Toronto City Council. Led by two brothers who would make a tag team wrestling match and share a need to bully council to their way of thinking. They carry the ultra right Conservative idea to the extreme. One was elected to be Mayor and the other is his body guard. Elected to get the city back on a balanced budget they immediately hired a consulting firm to tell or advise council what it should do.

I always thought that task was the responsibility of the finance committee of council with the mayor leading the way. All the rhetoric during the election was about all the cuts that could be made because of the waste. There was some waste but not much and as a matter of fact the previous administration did a pretty good job. Since the election the mayor has gone off in all directions and appears to be completely out of touch with reality when it comes to finances. He did have a dinner with our Prime Minister who shares the same right wing beliefs and has added his support to cutting programs (social) but keeping the taxes low for high income people. At this same dinner party the PM also jumped into the provincial election and supports a leader who wishes to keep the province reliant on oil. Cut the green energy policies which will one day make us self supporting for our energy needs.

There is something wrong about the approach that this movement has nurtured. It does not look to the soft services that make our society a rich and caring place in which to live. Yes it makes it OK for the ones with means so the hell with the rest. Every dollar spent on our young and needy saved thousands later on in life when it really counts. So education, health, research and arts provide the stuff of the future. These are the programs being trashed both here and in America.

We are going down a path to place us as a third world country. The problem could be solved quite easily. Raise taxes a little and get a lot. There must be a way to tax our industries (oil) to help carry the load. Many of our most profitable companies never pay a cent and the very rich are not paying enough. Really it is our wealth and should be used to provide a good life for all.

Observe what Toronto does and we will be looking at a microcosm of what will be in the future of Canada.