I was reading the news this morning about the latest Rob Ford gaffe and the CBC had posted images of the protests going on outside city hall. It is pretty telling that this is actually going on in the first place. I don’t recall during either Mel Lastman’s or David Miller’s time in office there ever being people actively protesting them. Sure people may have been protesting their policies or decisions, but this is different. People act actually protesting the man in office.
I think the best sign of the protest is this one: “We’re citizens, not taxpayers”. The reason I like the sentiment so much is that emphasizes the people of Toronto are more than just contributors to the city coffers. Taxpayer would denote that another is a tax spender and that the tax spender, by reducing the burden on the payer is performing a positive act. I would take exception to this.
Citizen denotes rights and responsibilities.
Rights we hold sacred in this country are things like the right to a fair trial, the right to protection from unlawful imprisonment and the right to certain freedoms like association, peaceful assembly , expression and so on.
The responsibilities are also outlined in the documents of citizenship such as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Most notably you have a responsibility to obey the law. One of Canada’s founding principles is the rule of law. Individuals and governments are regulated by laws and not by arbitrary actions. No person or group is above the law.
Ford Nation and those who voted for Rob Ford may have been attracted to his “supposed” fiscal responsibility, and I have to admit when the guy spends a quarter of what his counter parts do on city business he looks good. But people have to take into account that Rob Ford doesn’t need your money. He inherited a multi-million dollar company; and just because he didn’t expense it to the city, doesn’t mean he didn’t write it off his taxes, meaning the taxpayers still ended up paying.
Citizens in Toronto need to start looking a little deeper. Ignore the sound bites, and the quick wins and look for a candidate that has an actual vision. Surely there is someone out there who can be fiscally prudent without being an embarrassment to their position and to their family. Surely there is someone out there who can focus on being respectful not just to the taxpayers of Toronto but the citizens of Toronto.