Oshawa city council has again distinguished itself across the country with another first! NOT!
FIRST--Oshawa Council voted on April 30, 2007 to return to the general vote for the election of city council for no reason other than to protect their council positions until their death or resignation. They rigged a plebiscite question to confuse voters and skew results the way they wanted, refused to provide any public information about the question or the reasons why it was being asked and now at 160,000 become the largest city in the country to use the general vote without municipal political parties. They know that with an impossible general vote election ballot with close to 100 names, their ability to raise the necessary $35,000 campaign funds through political donations from their political favours and their ability to grab the press over the term of council, that they will be the only candidates familiar to the voters and thus will be impossible to dethrone. This method of election means that city council is not accountable to the citizens and they can rule dictatorially with impunity…something they are presently doing in regards to University/College student rental housing. As an Oshawa "First" for the country, we may have the only city council in the country that puts their personal electoral interests ahead of the public good….shame!
SECOND—With police and a locksmith in tow, Oshawa Bylaw Officers enter private student residences without permission searching bedrooms for rental documents. In most parts of the country, we’d call this a “break and enter.” We might understand this uninvited entry in the event of criminal activity…but for student rental documents—never! With no doubt, this is an Oshawa “First” for Canada.THIRD—As another Oshawa “First” in the country, Oshawa politicians devise a bylaw to license and control student rental accommodations in a defined area of Oshawa. This is blatantly discriminatory against the owners, some of whom had been approved for up to 7 bedrooms by city planning officials and had plans approved by the building inspections department. If the city succeeds in closing this student housing area, the students will simply move further afield. In the process though, the city inconveniences students in causing them to live further from their studies and drives up student rents.
FOURTH—City Council calls a public meeting to get input regarding their bylaw. Despite an overflow crowd with many legitimate and intelligent concerns being raised by spokespeople, not one voice I heard spoke up in defense of the proposed city bylaw. No matter, if citizen experience with the general vote/ward vote issue is any indication, the meeting was a sham anyway. Council will plunge ahead and do what it wants no matter the opposition. The real test will be comparing the bylaw council passes with the draft distributed at the meeting.
The large turnout at this meeting resulted from the real and immediate personal financial consequences to everyone involved. Unfortunately, the ward/general vote issue did not attract the same attention because the consequences to the public while just as real were unfortunately more abstract. People have not yet realized that this kind of irrational council action will be repeated by a general vote council that is not accountable to the people because councillors know they are not in danger of being voted out of office for irrational and irresponsible actions.
On the other hand, perhaps council action will motivate those affected to solidify their organizations and work for the defeat of council at the next election. With the general vote, block voting of the size represented by those concerned will be able to turf the whole council out of office.
I would be pleased to lend my efforts to any such organization
Showing posts with label Durham College. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Durham College. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Knock! Knock! The Oshawa SWAT Team Calling!
What kind of town are we living in?
First City Council denies citizens information they need to make intelligent decisions on a city referendum on the voting system to use and then a City SWAT team with police and locksmith in tow show up at UOIT/ Durham College private student residences to search student bedrooms for leasing documents. This was such an enormous news story among North American Universities that it was featured on an international website about university towns.
In the case of the plebiscite on the voting system we should use, City Council comes up with a trick question to skew voting results the way they want and then deny citizens information to catch them “cold” in the voting booth to vote on a difficult question that they are seeing for the first time without any prior knowledge, consideration, or debate about it.
This is contrary to everything that is basic about a democracy. In Canada, the Supreme Court states that citizens have the “right” to information before voting, as does Elections Ontario which is expending $6.8 billion in informing the public about the Provincial referendum on Election Reform.
And yet Mayor John Gray states emphatically, "city council had no responsibility to inform the public!" Amazing.
And now, at the behest of city council, civic officials with police and a locksmith in tow and armed with a search warrant enter private student housing often while the students were in class snooping for evidence of bylaw infractions …incredulous!
What will they think of next?
Doesn’t this remind you of some Nazi actions or those of other despots who slash and burn through their citizenry?
I wonder if the university students in Kingston, Toronto, London, Guelph, Hamilton, Peterborough, North Bay or the many others across Ontario and the rest of the country get their residences ransacked by civic administrations accompanied by police and locksmiths at the direction of politicians…simply to look for housing rental agreements.
We could understand such police raids if they were to pursuing criminals or criminal activity…but student housing documents? NEVER!
Will your house or my house be next? Can't we expect sanctuary in the privacy of our Oshawa homes?
Yet the Mayor says it’s okay! And this is the same guy who said city council had NO RESPONSIBILITY to communicate details of the plebiscite question to city voters.
We have to start questioning Mayor Gray’s judgment and his connection with the people. Is he a heartless mindless bureaucrat blinded to the rigid routine of administrative details without exercising any judgement?
Our Mayor cannot be a cheerleader for these un-Canadian actions.
Under the Mayor's leadership, our city fathers are undermining the reputation of our university and this city for potential non-resident students. This will jeopardize the quality of the institution for our own Oshawa born students.
These strong arm tactics may motivate UOIT/Durham College students to rise up and organize to take over city council which they will have the power to do under the general vote.
It’s hard to believe all of this is happening in Canada!
So I wonder what’s next for our city council gang under the leadership of Mayor John Gray.
Will they put out a call to hound you or me?
It seems nothing is beyond this Mayor and his gang of followers!
First City Council denies citizens information they need to make intelligent decisions on a city referendum on the voting system to use and then a City SWAT team with police and locksmith in tow show up at UOIT/ Durham College private student residences to search student bedrooms for leasing documents. This was such an enormous news story among North American Universities that it was featured on an international website about university towns.
In the case of the plebiscite on the voting system we should use, City Council comes up with a trick question to skew voting results the way they want and then deny citizens information to catch them “cold” in the voting booth to vote on a difficult question that they are seeing for the first time without any prior knowledge, consideration, or debate about it.
This is contrary to everything that is basic about a democracy. In Canada, the Supreme Court states that citizens have the “right” to information before voting, as does Elections Ontario which is expending $6.8 billion in informing the public about the Provincial referendum on Election Reform.
And yet Mayor John Gray states emphatically, "city council had no responsibility to inform the public!" Amazing.
And now, at the behest of city council, civic officials with police and a locksmith in tow and armed with a search warrant enter private student housing often while the students were in class snooping for evidence of bylaw infractions …incredulous!
What will they think of next?
Doesn’t this remind you of some Nazi actions or those of other despots who slash and burn through their citizenry?
I wonder if the university students in Kingston, Toronto, London, Guelph, Hamilton, Peterborough, North Bay or the many others across Ontario and the rest of the country get their residences ransacked by civic administrations accompanied by police and locksmiths at the direction of politicians…simply to look for housing rental agreements.
We could understand such police raids if they were to pursuing criminals or criminal activity…but student housing documents? NEVER!
Will your house or my house be next? Can't we expect sanctuary in the privacy of our Oshawa homes?
Yet the Mayor says it’s okay! And this is the same guy who said city council had NO RESPONSIBILITY to communicate details of the plebiscite question to city voters.
We have to start questioning Mayor Gray’s judgment and his connection with the people. Is he a heartless mindless bureaucrat blinded to the rigid routine of administrative details without exercising any judgement?
Our Mayor cannot be a cheerleader for these un-Canadian actions.
Under the Mayor's leadership, our city fathers are undermining the reputation of our university and this city for potential non-resident students. This will jeopardize the quality of the institution for our own Oshawa born students.
These strong arm tactics may motivate UOIT/Durham College students to rise up and organize to take over city council which they will have the power to do under the general vote.
It’s hard to believe all of this is happening in Canada!
So I wonder what’s next for our city council gang under the leadership of Mayor John Gray.
Will they put out a call to hound you or me?
It seems nothing is beyond this Mayor and his gang of followers!
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Durham College Students---Exercise Your Student Power!
Hey Durham College Students...You live here for most of the year and have a city vote in municipal elections. Did you know that if Oshawa gets the general vote, it will provide you with a wonderful opportunity to take over control of Oshawa City Council?
By organizing a slate of candidates, and organizing your student body to vote for them, you can pass any bylaw you want to enhance your student life. You can provide permits for street parties in the student housing areas, or anywhere for that matter. Your leaders could even increase councillor salaries beyond the present exorbitant levels counting all of the perks, honoraria, expenses and allowances to make them richer than they've ever been. This would more than pay off their tuitions. As student politicians, they could even get into the student housing business with all the extra scratch?
With the general vote, councillors cannot be defeated so student politicians could do anything they want without fear of voter sanctions. Why not close the downtown for street parties every weekend? You could have a real bash! With 8 votes at the Region, you can be influential in getting taxpayer subsidized yearly student public transit passes. By "block voting" you can be the most influential "player" in Oshawa and Durham Region.
Just canvas your student body to see what they want and make that your election platform. I'm sure that a platform promising perks popular to the students at the taxpayer expense will gain you city council control. But, hey, don't take my word for it. Listen to Jack Layton's advice to college students in the video below about how he used student power to get both himself and his wife elected to Toronto City Council.
Even better, because many of you live out of town...you won't even have to cope as taxpayers with the havoc you're able to reap on the City of Oshawa. You'll just move on and move out...and the city taxpayers will pick up the bills. The general vote has tremendous opportunity for you.
Your fantastic gains through the general vote would be at the loss of Oshawa taxpayers. But don't worry about that. Oshawa should "PREPARE TO BE AMAZED" with the possibility of a student run Oshawa City Council. It could even function as your school "student council". Yeah for STUDENT POWER!
So students...how do you get student workers and voters to support your campaign? The answer is the universal student motivation...promise to throw a giant beer fest for workers and voters...if you win. That should be encouragement enough to get students to help and vote for you. With a little creativity, you could throw in some other motivating "entertainments" for students to multiply their efforts. Creativity is only limited to your imagination. The secret though...the party is only on if you win! This way you will be insured of a healthy and handsome city renumeration to pay off your supporters. If they don't get you elected...there is no cost! Sort of like buying votes...but it is no different from post election "victory parties" held at the federal and provincial levels and also by many municipal candidates.
One caution though. There has to be some overall student organization to insure that so many candidates do not run that you divide the student vote among excess candidates. If you run one candidate as mayor, for example, you will get all student votes and have a good chance of winning. If you run more than one candidate as mayor, you divide the vote and are less likely to win. Similarly you will only want to run 8 regional candidates and 3 local candidates so that you don't divide the student votes for these offices.
Students...You should thank our forward thinking and strategic Mayor Gray, and Councillors Pidwerbecki, Kolodzie, Henry, Parkes, Sholdra, and Mariempietri all of whom are supporting a move to the general vote to give you this wonderful opportunity.
Click on Jack Layton's video below to find out all about organizing and exercising your student power.
By organizing a slate of candidates, and organizing your student body to vote for them, you can pass any bylaw you want to enhance your student life. You can provide permits for street parties in the student housing areas, or anywhere for that matter. Your leaders could even increase councillor salaries beyond the present exorbitant levels counting all of the perks, honoraria, expenses and allowances to make them richer than they've ever been. This would more than pay off their tuitions. As student politicians, they could even get into the student housing business with all the extra scratch?
With the general vote, councillors cannot be defeated so student politicians could do anything they want without fear of voter sanctions. Why not close the downtown for street parties every weekend? You could have a real bash! With 8 votes at the Region, you can be influential in getting taxpayer subsidized yearly student public transit passes. By "block voting" you can be the most influential "player" in Oshawa and Durham Region.
Just canvas your student body to see what they want and make that your election platform. I'm sure that a platform promising perks popular to the students at the taxpayer expense will gain you city council control. But, hey, don't take my word for it. Listen to Jack Layton's advice to college students in the video below about how he used student power to get both himself and his wife elected to Toronto City Council.
Even better, because many of you live out of town...you won't even have to cope as taxpayers with the havoc you're able to reap on the City of Oshawa. You'll just move on and move out...and the city taxpayers will pick up the bills. The general vote has tremendous opportunity for you.
Your fantastic gains through the general vote would be at the loss of Oshawa taxpayers. But don't worry about that. Oshawa should "PREPARE TO BE AMAZED" with the possibility of a student run Oshawa City Council. It could even function as your school "student council". Yeah for STUDENT POWER!
So students...how do you get student workers and voters to support your campaign? The answer is the universal student motivation...promise to throw a giant beer fest for workers and voters...if you win. That should be encouragement enough to get students to help and vote for you. With a little creativity, you could throw in some other motivating "entertainments" for students to multiply their efforts. Creativity is only limited to your imagination. The secret though...the party is only on if you win! This way you will be insured of a healthy and handsome city renumeration to pay off your supporters. If they don't get you elected...there is no cost! Sort of like buying votes...but it is no different from post election "victory parties" held at the federal and provincial levels and also by many municipal candidates.
One caution though. There has to be some overall student organization to insure that so many candidates do not run that you divide the student vote among excess candidates. If you run one candidate as mayor, for example, you will get all student votes and have a good chance of winning. If you run more than one candidate as mayor, you divide the vote and are less likely to win. Similarly you will only want to run 8 regional candidates and 3 local candidates so that you don't divide the student votes for these offices.
Students...You should thank our forward thinking and strategic Mayor Gray, and Councillors Pidwerbecki, Kolodzie, Henry, Parkes, Sholdra, and Mariempietri all of whom are supporting a move to the general vote to give you this wonderful opportunity.
Click on Jack Layton's video below to find out all about organizing and exercising your student power.
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