The transit strike is now into its 46th day with no apparent settlement on the horizon. There is no doubt fault to be found on both sides but I am particularly concerned about the city's side of the debate and the poor leadership being provided by mayor Larry O'Brien. Council appear to be united behind him; something that would normally be considered laudable, but in this case is an unfortunate mistake.
Only one councillor, Clive Doucet, has taken any initiative to stand up to the mayor and even he was made (forced) to withdraw his comments, apologize and get back in line.
Because all council deliberations on the strike are being held in camera it is not possible to learn the positions of individual councillors. Contacting my own ward councillor (Peter Hume) revealed that "..City Council by unanimous resolution has designated spokes persons with respect to various aspects of the dispute and I am not one the spokespersons and I will abide by the unanimous will of Council" - wonderful!
The federal government has indicated it will not force strikers back to work at this time and that the two sides should come together and negotiate an agreement. What I don't understand is why this is so different from the last Toronto transit strike when the provincial government made transit an essential service and had transit workers back at work in short order.
I hope we all remember this come election time in 2010, "its time for change" - a mantra that is very popular nowadays!
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2 comments:
Councillor Peter Hume has asked that I retract the words I designated as his. I have updated the blog posting with a direct quote from his email response I hope that this removes any confusion or misunderstanding caused by my original post.
Colin Hine
I hope that the year 2010 will bring about the year the residents elect people who use common sense. Haven’t we seen what 23 different minds wondering all over the place has done to this city?
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