Boges

Well then it's a win-win for both sides. And this means that Ford has achieved some of his goals, All with only a 2.5% increase in property taxes. People in Mississauga would probably kill for 2.5% If you need to dip into your tax return to pay your phone bill then you clearly have a spending problem.

So putting $15 million from one-time surplus that was supposed to go towards debt to stave off cuts, that if that surplus doesn't exist next year the will be on the table again, counts as a huge win? This is still the first year that Toronto actually spent less than the year before and garbage services east of Yonge have been outsourced. This is like putting money tax return money that is supposed to go to paying off your mortgage towards financing a TV.

I used that arguement in another thread. I guess when you consider all the ads in that magazine they probably make money publishing that thing. It also probably drives people to try different brands.

Well the thesis of this thread isn't about the prices the LCBO charge, though I would argue they are too high. The LCBO has the buying power that it can ask it's suppliers for lower wholesale prices but it doesn't. Think how many subsidies for the poor the LCBO can provide if their buying practice weren't idiotic. Oh BTW are you saying poor people don't drink? Check the LCBO on 15th and 30th day of the month.

I guess Toronto needs to STFU about property taxes. Today they approved a 2.5% hike. I just heard on the news that Mississauga is getting a +7% tax increase. WOW!

Well you still have to be within the borders of said festival. In the US you can BYOB and drink in the parking lot. That's one of the reasons the NFL may never work in Canada: because you can't tailgate properly.

Yeah so instead of being fenced off at a Ribfest you can walk around and drink a beer while waiting in line.

Apparently the price of beer and liqour is going up again in March. Not wine though, gotta act like you're keeping a vibrant Ontario Industry competitive.

Or maybe people who wanted a divorce abroad did research and discovered that in order to get divorced in Canada you need to be a resident for at least 12 months. And unlike these two women (From FLA and the UK) they said WGAF it's not like it's legally binding in our country anyway.

If the Niners Ravens win next week, get used to the term: Harbowl.

I hate having to cheer for the Ravens but the Brady Bunch are so tiresome. Not sure who to cheer for in the NFC. That ending of the Niners game was amazing. No one can predict anything involving either team that were both dismissed by many last week. I think people still see Alex Smith as a crappy QB. He's got a tougher defense to face in this game. There's no reason not to pick the G-men though. Every argument against them is moot after beating the Packers on the road . . . in the playoffs. . . again!

Non-Union Toronto staff got a pay freeze under Miller administration. In good times administration trade labour peace for lucrative bennies. When money is tighter things have to be reined back a bit.

Yeah but he's trying to indoctrinate people with his religion so he's a bad person.

So there are only two options: essential or non-essential workers? Well 3 when you consider many civil servant strikes end with back-to-work legislation and an arbitrators decision. The problem is that the arbitrator might not consider the administration's mandate or what the public(who are essentially the shareholders) thinks.

Good to know. This means those Marines weren't desecrating the bodies they were just attempting to sterilize them to prevent the spread of disease.

That's sort of the MSM buzzword for it. Ford wants to outsource garbage collection. Most, if not all, municipalities in the region have private garbage collection. Toronto is way behind on this actually. But the clause says that anyone who loses their job to this is entitled another job in the city doing whatever. This is what Rob Ford wants to change. Well it's public perception. Assuming there's a work stoppage here they will have happened under 3 different administrations. Lastman, Miller and now Ford. All three mayors having vastly different political views. It's widely believed that Miller's handling of the last strike is why he didn't run again because it would appear he caved to the Union and his popularity plummeted. In regards to public services, yes I do. I doubt this will ever happen but they have a monopoly on the service they provide and their defacto customers (the taxpayer) have to pay regardless of their performance or if they strike or not. I suppose during a garbage strike you can pay for private garbage services but how is that fair when you're already paying taxes? I've heard it be said that many of the outside workers don't even live in Toronto. So it's not like they're in this for some greater good of "city building". All they want is their money, the City be damned.

There in lies the problem I have with unionized public servants. They have a job that people are forced to subsidize through taxes yet they have a monopoly over the service. It's not like if GM goes on strike, people don't need to depend on GM to make cars. If civil servants go on strike and you can't bring in "scabs" they're holding the public hostage.

As I gather it. If you lose your job through no fault of your own AKA as being laid off. The City of Toronto has to find another job for you if there is someone with less tenure. Now there has to be limitations. A garbage man with tenure over a paramedic can't just bump the other person, at least I would hope not. But if you have tenure over someone at the City of Toronto, even if they don't have the same job description as you, you can bump them. I suppose at some point they'll run out of people to bump. I believe in 2001 there was a Strike, in 2009 there was a Strike and it appears in 2012 there will be a lock out. That's 3 in 11 years.

I did a google search on this and the first site that came up has the Green's first http://www.lilith-ezine.com/articles/canada/The-Canadian-Political-Spectrum.html Here's their analysis of the CPC What have the Conservatives Privatized in their 6 years in power? Any site you find probably won't provide an objective analysis of each party. Basically it's: Conservative: Right/Centre-Right Liberal: Centre/Centre-Left NDP: Left Bloc: Left/Separtist Green: Environmentalism is number one priority but they're kinda fiscally conservative. Each party has members that are from one end of the spectrum to the other. That's why I don't see the NDP and Liberals merging because there are many Liberals that share more in common with the CPC. Also this last election proves that NDPers in Quebec are just Separtists that don't feel the Separtist vibe right now.

There's got to be a provision about snow removal like there is with paramedics. You can't just stop doing things that relate to public safety because of a labour dispute, you would think. The main beef with the last strike was the garbage piling up in the parks.

http://www.thestar.com/news/cityhallpolitics/article/1114625--city-wants-deadlock-declared-in-contract-talks-strike-or-lockout-looms I've said earlier that the "jobs for life" provision is kind of silly and if that's the sticking point I doubt the public will be very sympathetic to the union. From what I remember from that last strike, This Mark Ferguson guy made an ultimatum and his Blondness caved regarding being able to bank unused sick days. I don't see Rob Ford doing a similar thing. The reason it'll end up being a lockout and not a Strike is because of the time of year. Garbage doesn't stink as bed when it's cold out. So it looks like the union will have to hold out 2 or 3 months before people will care about the lack of garbage disposal. Isn't this 3 out of 4 contracts that have resulted in a work stoppage? That's pretty BS, unless you're 100% pro-union how can you side with CUPE 416?

No, Jaywalking just makes fun of anyone. For example he'll show people a picture of, say Winston Churchill or Osama bin Laden and sees if the person can identify them. Or ask them history questions like "When was the war of 1812". They usually go to touristy areas so they get a wide cross section of people. I think the difference here is that Canadians seem to be shocked that most Americans have little regard for us and don't know much about anything outside their borders. Of course people in border towns are different, I doubt Rick Mercer spends much time in border towns for the skit though. Canadians have the luxury of getting much of their media from the US so we know stuff a lot about both cultures. Why should Americans care about Canada? I'm surprised there are Americans that post on this board actually. Asking Americans questions about Canadians is sort of like asking Canadians about Sweden, or the UK or Mexico. Why should the average Canadian care about those countries?

This is not like Abu Ghraib. That was about torture and humiliation of live prisoners. These guys are dead. Presumably they were trying to kill these soldiers before they died. It's OK to kill the guys but defiling their bodies is somehow so much worse? I can't judge the mindset of a soldier in combat. And I don't think any of us can unless we have been in similar situations. I'm not saying it's right. They shouldn't be doing this. But what type of punishment should be served? Of course if it's found that this video is for real.

Big Ben had a very weak first half but in the second half (We all assume he got a shot in his ankle) he looked fine, that's why the game went to OT. Ike Redman played well in replacement of Mendenhall. A big problem for the Steelers was the fact one of their starting safeties, Ryan Clarke, was taken out of the game because of a Sickle Cell problem that would be made worse in the Denver air. As for New England they have one of the worst defenses in the league. In the first game Denver started very well then kinda beat themselves with 3 fumbles in the second quarter. Can't give Tom Brady that many chances. I think Tebow isn't really the question mark in this game. The Denver defense is the question mark. Can Elvis Dumerville and Von Miller get consistent pressure on the Golden Boy? Can they contain the Pats two amazing Tight Ends and Wes Welker at the same time. Last two weeks of the season the Patriots spotted both the Dolphins and the Bills large leads before coming back. They can certainly be beaten. Mark Sanchez's Jets (look what everyone thinks of him today) beat the Pats at home last year.

Rick Mercer still does Talking to Americans? I haven't watched him since his 22 hours days when I cared about the CBC.