Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Monday, December 19, 2011

Ottawa drops the ball and Toronto lets it get away

Justin Trudeau got one thing right last week: But why stop at federal anti-environment minister Peter Kent?

Isn’t he just another political lackey happy to do his master’s bidding regardless of the cost? Still, Prime Minister Stephen Harper must be grateful for Kent’s willingness to debase himself — and the country — on his boss’s behalf.

Watching Kent squirm and prevaricate, one almost feels sorry for the man. Those darting eyes and verbal discomfort, the defensiveness, make it clear he knows his position is indefensible. He understands that what he’s doing will reinforce Canada’s reputation as global laggard, and reaffirm this country as the world’s most brazen environmental scofflaw.

The Conservatives’ switch to the dark side didn’t come out of the blue, but still it was a shock to listen as a senior member of the regime laid bare his government’s indifference to the planet.

For urban Canada, the message was clear — what Ottawa refuses to do, it must. It now falls to cities to fill the leadership vacuum that Harper’s studied inaction has left.

Until a year ago, that was a role official Toronto was keen to play. We had regulations about everything from blue boxes and green roofs to Bixis and bicycle lanes.

But with the election of Rob Ford, Harperism came to City Hall; that has meant the requisite assault on government, the public sector and the services it provides.

There are many examples, but the most damaging will be Ford’s mishandling of the TTC. Conceived on the basis of road rage, his transit policy, an acknowledged logistical and financial disaster, is a culture war under another name.

Earlier last week, TTC chair Karen Stintz tipped the administration’s hand during a radio interview. After proving herself a master of the obvious — “one of the most important things a transit system needs to do is move people”— she explained the commission’s job is “to make sure that people who don’t have access to a car have mobility.”

Ah yes, those people again, the poor, clueless and carless, clogging our roads on streetcars, buses and bikes, always in the way, always slowing traffic. Best to get rid of them altogether and bury them below in subways we haven’t built and can’t afford.

Like Kent, Stintz’s job is to preside over the managed decline of a once-proud system now fallen from political favour. Though the TTC sets records — more than 1.7 million rides daily — Ford and Stintz will cut service and increase fares. These knee-jerk responses are further signs of a regime badly out of touch with the city.

Under Stintz’s watch, TTC users have been reminded that they sit — or rather huddle — at the bottom of the heap. They are of little interest to our leaders, who prefer to be known for what they cut not what they build.

Talking about the Sheppard subway on CP24 Thursday morning, Ford sounded even more delusional than usual: “We’re gonna get shovels in the ground, hopefully this year or next year,” he said, ignoring every shred of evidence to the contrary.

Maybe that’s what reality looks like from a Tim Hortons drive-thru in north Etobicoke, but no one else in Toronto has the least idea what Ford is talking about.

What are we to make of these performances? Do Kent, Ford and Stintz really believe what they say? Or are they knowingly telling lies?

In any case, the chances that either transit or the environment will be saved are the same — zero.

Origin
Source: Star 

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