A Secret not for telling

The Honourable Doug Holyday had a go at the Minister of Transportation in the Provincial Assembly yesterday.

He went up one side of the Minister and down the other.

The issue; the length of the  planned new subway. The  Province intends to cut it short.

As former  Deputy- Mayor of  Toronto, Mr. Holyday is of  course very familiar with what has gone before.

I'm not so sure about Glen Murray, the Provincial Minister  of Transportation.

It's not that long since he was Mayor of the City of Winnipeg in the Province of Manitoba.

According to the media, Mr Murray resigned   that position and came to Ontario
in time for the last Provincial election.

He promptly won a Toronto nomination and  a city riding. He may even have taken George Smitherman's former riding.

M.Smitherman resigned  his cabinet post and position of Deputy Minister to Dalton McGuinty to  be a candidate for the office of Mayor of Toronto

Te question that comes  automatically to mind is why Ontario Liberals had to reach out to the Mayor of Winnipeg to be  their candidate in  a Toronto Riding.

Was there no  qualified Liberal living in the Riding.?

Then being elected, was there no  better qualified Liberal on the government bench better qualified to be Minister of Transportation , in charge   when the hot issue of the Toronto subway to Scarborough had to be decided.

The Honorable Tim Hudak is quoted this week  that the Government wants  an election because they  have no plans to provide jobs.

Mr. Hudak appears to have forgotten , we have still not received the final tally for the cancellation of the  two gas-fired  generation plants. Expected o be in excess of a billion dollars.

An election call would save the Liberals  from having to disclose those figures.

Yet they are surely sitting in a folder on the Premier's desk even as we speak.

The Premier is out there this morning campaigning at a Polish Festival in the city.

The lady is not telling them the secret either.

What We Know Can't Hurt Us

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The Supreme Court Can Quash a Municipal Bylaw.":

Won't work. You cannot legislate against stupidity or cupidity.
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The Supreme Court Can Quash a Municipal Bylaw.":

The operative word here is " can ". The Supremes can just decline such a case as it has not national interest. They need to give no response at all. This is strictly small potatoes, a local issue. The OMB might work. And the crucial word there is ' might '.
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The Supreme Court Can Quash a Municipal Bylaw.":
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The Supreme Court Can Quash a Municipal Bylaw.": OMG !
Give us some time to catch up !
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If nothing else, it's an interesting topic of conversation. 
I am told anyone an make an application to quash a bylaw. 
By-laws are municipal. If there's an  opportunity to make application ,there must surely be an opportunity to be heard. 
I may have misunderstood which level of Supreme.
There's no cost to make  an application  if one is willing to  go it alone.
Given the history, I think I can make an argument.
The report recommending a schedule of workshops over twelve months for public input into a decision that does not  involve  a  legal commitment of  financial support  beyond this Council''s mandate, would be a good start. 
Obviously, homework  needs to be done  and  questions answered. 
When Reeve Jim Murray filed his appeal with the O.M.B against the railway museum in 1967,Council opted not to argue.  .
Would this Council proceed on  a course that didn't provide    opportunity for public input ? 
Did they listen only to the  clamour for public funds  to satisfy  cultural aspirations of a few?
Would they direct a solicitor, at public cost,  to defend their decision?
Or would they allow a court to rule on whether or not  Council  acted in good faith and the Bylaw be allowed to stand? 
Council's  decision is yet to be made but we know what's  intended. 
 I believe the administration exercised  influence beyond  their authority  for this decision  to come down as it has. 
Even if the option to file an application to quash the bylaw is not  ours to access,  I think the subject needs to be explored and precise and factual information  needs to be obtained.
Information is key.