It's gravy train season in Toronto!
Episode Stats
Summary
It's the gravy train season, at least for political leaders of Canada's largest city, who never cease to use an election to beg for a handout. Mayor John Tory wants another 75 million just for this year in federal budget relief, on top of what he already got, and get $1.5 billion next year to cover all kinds of losses.
Transcript
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it's the gravy train season at least for political leaders of Canada's largest city who never cease
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to use an election to beg for a handout recently mayor John Tory wrote to all federal party leaders
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once again asking for bags of cash he wants another 75 million just for this year in covid
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budget relief funding on top of what he already got and get this 1.5 billion next year to cover
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all kinds of losses he asked the leaders to commit to a funding partnership with the city
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to ensure that Toronto continues to be the driving engine of Canada's economy and the nation's
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economic recovery well we should never overlook the fact that Toronto is indeed the center of the
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universe let's not forget that the city got a total of more than 1.4 billion from the feds in what was
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called safe restart funding that came last year and this year but with an election in the wind a variety
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of federal ministers turned up on Toronto's doorstep over the past months to announce yet more goodies
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social development minister Ahmad Hussein was here a couple of times with at first 14 million for
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affordable housing in June he then doubled down triple down quadruple down his efforts in July with
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another 132 million and just days before the election he pledged another 96 million for black community
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organizations in April health minister patty had you through 7.7 million into the Toronto drug kitty for
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more harm reduction efforts and safer drug drug supply well there's nothing like shoring up your support
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in vote rich Toronto using our tax dollars you might say there's been a kind of symbiotic fiscal
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relationship between mr torrey and mr trudeau especially during the pandemic
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torrey even admits that trudeau has been quite good for toronto but i'm wondering if a fiscal
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conservative leader like aaron o'toole who has an eye on balancing the budget at least some point
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before we're all old and gray will fall for toronto's constant cries for cash a good fiscal conservative
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would not especially given toronto council's track record for spending without an eye to the bottom line
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there's so many examples of ways i could go on for an hour but i'll cite just a few there's the recent
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decision uh to rename dundestry to appease a few thousand activists at an estimated cost of 7 million
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i say estimated because whenever the city of toronto gets their hands on some project it goes way over
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budget take the renovation of union station it was delayed by at least four years was 30 percent over
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budget and was the subject of more than 17 reports it came in around an obscene 823 million
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torian council have used covet as an excuse not to tender out construction of the city's modular
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housing projects these are self-contained units for the homeless that has driven the cost up by at least
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two and a half times according to one of the competitors in the business who was shut out of the bidding
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because money money is no object the spendaholics at city hall have opted to put homeless in three
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and four store hotels at 220 dollars a night this will continue it seems until next spring and not one
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city staffer has lost their job during the pandemic but i would imagine that that is uh pretty much typical
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of all levels of government my point is it seems that yet again toronto council has no problem with
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spending with impunity and begging with impunity someone needs to remind them that there is only one