Where is the gravy train in Toronto?

CANADA - Rob Ford was elected as Toronto's mayor largely because of his slogan that he was going to cut Toronto's gravy train of wasteful spending.

But here is an important question... Where is the gravy train in Toronto?

Is it in garbage cleanup and recycling?

There have been a number of past people who have pointed out that Toronto could save millions if we weren't sending our garbage to Michigan. Instead we could be shipping it to Northern Ontario... roughly the same distance but at least we're paying a Canadian company right? Not necessarily. A lot of these so-called "Canadian" waste disposal companies are actually owned by Americans.

Disposal wise we could also be burning a lot of our trash in an incinerator, basically a giant furnace for getting rid of trash. The incinerator heats up water, turns turbines and creates electricity... but it also pollutes and Torontonians won't put up with that.

Its also been many times that Toronto could privatize garbage cleanup in an effort to save money, which means hiring companies which use non-unionized labour but are "for profit". Pros and cons? In theory it might be cheaper, but overtime other cities have learned the hard way privateers start jacking up the prices over time.

And seriously, would you pick up garbage for less than a decent wage? Probably not. Garbage pickup is well-paid because so few people are willing to do it.

Remember the last time Toronto had a garbage strike? It wasn't pretty and it smelled rotten everywhere. So yeah, no gravy train there.

What about Toronto Tourism?

Toronto has a lot to offer culturally. We have art galleries (the AGO is the largest art gallery in Canada), museums, the Hockey Hall of Fame, sports venues, Blue Jays okay, Maple Leafs suck... we also have 5 star world class beaches, the CN Tower, a brewery which gives away free beer samples (Steam Whistle), great shopping, great food and a wide assortment of places to go and things to do.

On top of that we have lots of hotels to choose from, from the classic turn-of-the-century hotels to more alternative Toronto bed and breakfast places.

Every dollar spent on Toronto tourism brings in ooodles of tourists and Toronto ends up laughing all the way to the bank as tourists spend their cash. Toronto ends up making way more money out of this.

Rob Ford's answer to Toronto tourism has been to try and woo a NFL team to come to Toronto, an idea that has been vehemently shouted down by Canadian football fans. Bringing the NFL to Canada is a seriously bad idea. (And besides, their balls are too small. Canadian balls are bigger.)

Nope, no gravy train here either.

What about Toronto's libraries?

Well Toronto's libraries are pretty much hands off. Too many elderly voters go there, and they often provide programs for children to keep them out of trouble so that makes parents and police happy too. Libraries keep the crime rate down and is worth every penny as a crime prevention method.

What about Toronto's overpaid police force?

It doesn't take a genius to look at Toronto police's bad reputation to realize they're overpaid. The G20 last year is going to cost the city 10s of millions in lawsuits because the Toronto police are such an inept bunch of brigands that they were apparently playing provocateurs by disguising themselves as the "Black Bloc"... there are photos and videos floating around on the internet now which show Black Bloc members all wearing the same boots as the Toronto riot police. One photo even shows a Black Bloc member with a tattoo on his arm, and a 2nd photo shows a Toronto police officer wearing the same tattoo.



So the only conclusion left is that the whole "anarchist" threat was completely phoney and the result of some weird police conspiracy to pose as anarchists so they could beat up peaceful hippies and later cause millions of dollars worth of lawsuits? For what purpose???

So yeah, there's a gravy train there Rob Ford... but you can be sure the mayor of Toronto isn't investigating it. Instead the Toronto police got a raise not that long ago.

What about the TTC?

Toronto's subways, buses and street cars are an essential service. The city's economy would collapse without them. Cutting anything to do with the TTC will have a dire impact on Toronto's economy. Even a minor strike by TTC staff hurts the economy.

No gravy train there, but Rob Ford keeps talking about cutting or privatizing the TTC instead.

Note: Rob Ford does want to extend the Sheppard Subway line west to Downsview, but he has made a deal to put his brother Doug Ford in charge of the billions of dollars going into the project. His brother Doug will of course be paid handsomely. To pay for the project Rob Ford will probably need to raise land taxes, create road tolls or do something else that basically robs Torontonians and gives the money to his brother Doug. Can you say NEPOTISM?

What about those lazy bicyclists and their bicycle lanes?

Toronto has 3 million bicycles, roughly 1 for every 2 Torontonians. The closer you are to the downtown core the more likely people bicycle to work, use their bicycles for leisure and errands. GET USED TO IT.

Rob Ford however hates cyclists. He thinks they should be riding on sidewalks, endangering the lives of pedestrians... Wow, what a moronic idea that is. Imagine for example you've just had your nails done at a fancy Yorkville salon, and you step out on to the sidewalk without really paying attention to your surroundings because you're admiring your nails... wham, you get hit by a cyclist who was forced to use the sidewalk because Rob Ford is a moron. (There is a reason riding on the sidewalk is a $400 fine! Note: Coasting on the sidewalk is perfectly legal, its only when cyclists go too fast around pedestrians that its considered illegal because it falls under reckless endangerment laws.)

For Rob Ford this has nothing to do with money. Toronto saves more money on infrastructure costs with less cars on the road. More cars = more traffic jams + more car accidents + more sluggish economy. Less cars and more bicycles means Toronto saves money.

What is really stupid is Rob Ford has now approved a plan to scrap several bicycle lanes at a cost of $400,000 just to remove paint lines on the road. $400,000!!! What a complete waste of taxpayer dollars!

Seriously, its time to impeach Rob Ford. We should pack him up and send him air freight to a place that appreciates morons like him. Alabama maybe.

Toronto could do with one less redneck of a mayor.

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