The real meaning of 3P

Bill Johnson
Cobourg Daily Star

Lately we have been hearing a lot about "3P" programs. The power brokers would have us believe this means "Public Private Partnerships" which, in the health care field in particular, is thought to be the way of the future. I'm here to tell you, as the old song goes, "It ain't necessarily so."

It is just possible, dear readers, the real meaning of "3P" is nothing more than Politics - Prozac and Promises. I'll let you decide on what the proper order should be. 

Looking up Prozac on the web, I was not at all surprised to learn it is "the most widely prescribed antidepressant medication in history." This came from the Eli Lily website. Particularly when you read, "Since its introduction in 1986, Prozac has helped over 40- million patients worldwide, including those suffering from depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, bulimia nervosa and panic disorder." When you think about what has been going on in Canadian politics, three out of four ain't bad. 

This is not to make light of depression. It is a very real disease faced by many people every day. I would suggest, however, politics in Canada and the Excited States is definitely a major cause. Think about it! 

Little wonder so many Canadians are depressed. Bad enough we have only one Canadian team still in the hunt for Lord Stanley's Holy Grail but, even more depressing ,is the fact there is not one natural-born Canadian goalkeeper to be found still strapping on the pads. What has become of our national game? (Okay, I know. Lacrosse is the official national game, but let's get real. It's hockey.)

Even more depressing is the state of Canadian politics. At every level. Here we are facing an election nobody really wants, living in a country where voter turn-off has resulted in ever lower voter turn out, at a time when we voters really can't afford to screw up. We have a Liberal and a Conservative Party - both operating in self- destruct mode - plagued by more double dealing and back stabbing than we've seen since Caesar met Brutus at the Senate House in Rome back in 44 BC.

We have the NPD, led by Jack Layton, salivating in the wings, dreaming of controlling a minority government. If the rest of Canada doesn't get out and vote this time, a minority government in which the NDP holds the balance of power could happen. And isn't that a frightening thought?

As if Layton in Ottawa isn't scary enough, now we have Olivia Chow(Jack's significant other), declaring she will be a candidate when Paul Martin finally decides to call an election. Layton and Chow both in Ottawa would give an entirely new meaning to parliament or, as it is better known, the "House of Comics."

 

Chow's declaration is an example of political opportunism at its best. After seducing the voters in Toronto into reelecting her as a city councillor just six months ago, she is now trying for the brass ring, a seat beside Jack in Ottawa. Assuming, that is, Jack wins, too. Chow, according to CFRB in Toronto, could walk away from council with a full year's salary package and leave the taxpayers there facing a byelection bill of an estimated $150,000. You see, Olivia is not resigning her Toronto council seat; just taking a leave of absence in case she doesn't win federally. Samuel Johnson sure hit the nail on the head when he said, "Politics are now nothing more than a means of rising in the world."

The Conservatives could sure use a little Prozac. Looks to me like many Conservative hopefuls are suffering a panic disorder of considerable magnitude as Joe Clark leads a charge against the party he suffered with for so long. Joe reminds me more than a little of Junius, the unknown author of a series of letters published with the sole intent of discrediting England's Prime Minister Grafton way back in the late 1700s. Junius wrote, "There is a holy mistaken zeal in politics as well as religion. By persuading others we persuade ourselves." Sounds like Joe to me!

The Liberals seem to have been suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder for a long, long time. 

Now we have Chuck Guite and Jean Brault being charged by the RCMP as a result of the sponsorship scandal. With each of these fine gentlemen now facing six fraud-related charges, I believe we are going to see some very interesting days ahead. Guite and Brault will not take the "fall"quietly, and if they begin to "sing", there is no telling where the trail might lead. I bet there will be a lot more Liberals lined up for Prozac before we hear the end of this one.

Guite was the bureaucrat who directed the sponsorship program. Brault, who headed the ad agency which worked (?) for the government, was both a major contributor to Liberal campaigns and the recipient of some pretty rich contracts. Big bucks were moving back and forth. Someone in government had to know what was going on.

Having dealt with Politics and Prozac, I now move to Promises, the third "P." It will be a very long time before we can ever again believe our political leaders.

Promises today are quickly forgotten tomorrow and there is always somebody else to blame for government's failures. The government - government of all political stripes - will promise us anything to get our votes but fall woefully short on delivering on those promises once elected.

There is no doubt in my mind we have too much government, too big and unmanageable a civil service and too little recourse when it comes to ousting candidates who fail to deliver. We are in urgent need of political reform, but don't hold your breath.

I am sure many enter public life with the very best of intentions, but as Robert Louis Stevenson said, "Politics is perhaps the only profession for which no preparation is thought necessary."

Well, perhaps this is where we should start. Perhaps we should insist all candidates attend and graduate from courses on honesty, morality and responsibility before they are allowed to run for office.

They would then have to pass an independent constituent's review panel assessment every year to remain in office. It might not change things a lot, but it would be a step in the right direction. 

Proportional representation would be worth considering too. 

Source: Johnson, B. 2004, The real meaning of 3P: [Final Edition], Don Mills, Ontario, Canada.

Of all the ships in all the world you got on mine ; Moscoe, Kelly find themselves on same cruise

The Skinny

at City Hall 

When Councillor Howard Moscoe decided to take a relaxing winter cruise in the sunny Caribbean over the holidays, he thought he'd left politics behind in snow-bound Hogtown. 

But of all the ships in all the seas in all the world, who should Howard spot across the casino floor of the luxury liner but colleague Councillor Norm Kelly and the ineffable Charlotte Ting, Kelly's spouse and former executive assistant. 

(Charlotte, as we know, had to bid bon voyage recently to her $60,000-plus salary after council banned the practice of allowing councillors to hire wives and family members.) 

"This is the first time Kelly's travelled not on the public purse," cracked Moscoe, an allusion perhaps to the $26,000 the well- travelled Kelly and the missus spent travelling to Barcelona in the dying days of the Toronto Harbour Commission.

Takes one to know one. Howard's no slouch when it comes to getting the public purse to pony up for his out-of-towners. 

If there was ever a time for the centre-left to solidify its base on council, this seems to be it. 

The Adams Mine debacle which caused a humiliating about-face for Mayor Mel Lastman gave the unofficial opposition on council a sense of unity it's never had before. 

Now the mayor is facing the messiest personal scandal of his career and Harris & Co. at Queen's Park blame the Mel-mouth for jeopardizing the big bucks needed to save city homeowners from a whopping tax increase. 

But alas, it appears a happy new year is not in the cards for council's progressives. Post-election, husband-and-wife team Councillors Jack Layton and Olivia Chow held a powwow chez eux and even managed to persuade centre-independent Councillors Michael Walker and Anne Johnston to drop by for some dubious dip and stale crackers. 

At the meeting, life-time lefties Chow and Councillor Pam McConnell were urged to find common ground on who would be child and youth advocate. 

When Chow refused to bend on the issue and ruled out a compromise that would have split the headline-grabbing portfolio in two, McConnell had some choice words for her at a subsequent meeting in the office of fellow social democrat Michael Prue. 

Some disaffected NDPers on council refer with scorn and derision to the "Jack and Olivia Show" and fewer of them than ever are planning to attend regular luncheon meetings with colleagues. 

Earlier this week, two people on two separate occasions have suggested a future mayoral bid may be in the cards for the handsome couple. 

But they were not talking surprisingly about Jack (who tried and failed once before in a mayoral bid in the former city of Toronto) but about Olivia. 

Our advice in that case is for the two to brush up on their team- playing skills. 

He's ba-a-c-k. 

Freshly deported from the Land of Tulips, former (and groan probably future) mayoral candidate Tooker Gomberg issued a news release to announce his return to his home and native land. 

After garnering 50,000-plus votes in the November campaign, Gomberg immediately jetted off to the Netherlands to the international conference on climate, only to burn his Canadian passport to protest our country's weak-kneed contribution. 

The media missive goes on to say Gomberg and anti-nuclear activists "allegedly" cut a hole in a fence at a NATO base and entered "for reasons of civilian surveillance." 

The Tookster then spent nine days in the klink before authorities, deciding he was no Dutch treat, decided to send him packing. 

"Gomberg is looking forward to getting back into the trenches in Toronto," the statement concludes (threatens?). 

Plans to pass the hat around the city hall media gallery to fly Gomberg off to another foreign destination (a one-way ticket only since funds are short) is under serious consideration. 

Politics is a hard habit to break, especially for ex- politicians. 

So it's small wonder that former councillor Mario Giansante, defeated in November's municipal election, has been beating the bushes to persuade former colleagues to appoint him to the Greater Toronto Airports Authority. 

Word is Giansante faces stiff competition from super-lobbyist Jeff Lyons and parking authority chair A. Milliken Heisey for this seemingly innocuous post. 

(It makes one wonder why this appointment is suddenly such a hot ticket.) 

The rumour mill also suggests former councillor Bill Saundercook may be returning to city hall as a consultant (read: lobbyist). 

Consulting pays better (a lot, actually), has better hours and there are no more Sunday morning pothole complaints from irate residents. 

Lobbyists (sorry, consultants) also have a special place in the power structure at Mel's twin towers at Bay and Queen, as city hall watchers are learning with growing alarm.

Source: Of all the ships in all the world you got on mine ; Moscoe, Kelly find themselves on same cruise: [Ontario Edition] 2001, , Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Won't be paid during election

Letter, May 18.

While it seems obvious that Olivia Chow should not accept a salary while running for a New Democratic seat in the upcoming federal election, it is even more obvious that Chow's constituents were misled into believing she was sincere in fulfilling her obligations to those who elected her as their city councillor. It appears Chow knowingly ran for council with one foot in the race for a seat alongside New Democrat leader Jack Layton (her husband).

Once again, this leaves taxpayers on the hook for the cost of an election and more importantly leaves a community which has come to realize it was used as a pawn for the sake of personal political gain. Sadly, most politicians continue to make decisions that are based on political aspiration and deceit.

Glenn Anderson, Toronto

Source: Chow misled constituents: [ONT Edition] 2004, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 

Layton says he's moving from co-op

Andrew Duffy 

The Toronto Star 

Toronto Councillor Jack Layton is moving out of his downtown co- op. 

An angry Layton made that revelation yesterday after being confronted by a small but vocal group of demonstrators who had gathered outside his Jarvis St. co-op. 

"It's a personal decision that has been in the works for months," Layton said. "We've been looking for many months and we will continue to look (for a house)." 

The decision to move out of the government-subsidized Hazelburn Co-op was made in November after consulting with his wife, school Trustee Olivia Chow, Layton said. 

"We want to find a place that's big enough to allow us to live with Mrs. Chow, Olivia's mother," he said. 

The Laytons now pay Mrs. Chow's rent of $661 a month. 

Earlier this month, The Star reported that Layton and his wife live in an $800-a-month co-op apartment, despite earning about $120,000 a year. 

Layton recently began paying an extra $325 month to offset the mortgage subsidy paid by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. on his three-bedroom unit. 

At the time, Layton told The Star's Tom Kerr that he planned to stay at Hazelburn because he likes the location and believes in the co-op movement. 

However, yesterday Layton rejected any suggestion that he's moving because of the controversy. 

"It's not because of the recent attacks and it's not because we don't believe in co-op housing - it's part of the natural evolution of our family," he said. 

His seven-month search for a house has been fruitless, even though he's willing to rent or buy. 

"We were hoping it wouldn't take this long," he said. "But the downtown ward is the most expensive area of Metro and it doesn't have many homes. 

"It's troubling because I would prefer to live in the district that I represent." 

Two written offers, one made in February and the other in April, have both met with rejection, he said. 

The Ward 6 councillor was visibly angered as he marched through a clutch of placard-carrying protesters outside his Jarvis St. co-op yesterday afternoon. 

"Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack try to talk your way out of it," they chanted. 

"We are being taxed to death to help people and I want to be sure my tax dollars are going to people who need it," said Lynne Lake, one of seven demonstrators. 

She called on the province to impose salary caps to ensure that affordable co-op units are preserved for low- and moderate-income families. 

Darlene Whittaker, 21, a single mother with an 11-month-old daughter, joined the small protest. 

Whittaker, who receives $900 a month in family benefits, is about to move into a $600-a-month bachelor apartment. She's on a waiting list for a unit with the Metro Toronto Housing Authority and has been told that co-ops are no longer accepting applications. 

"I'd do anything for a one-bedroom co-op apartment - that's why I think it's ridiculous for someone like Layton to stay here," she said. 

Accompanied by his 14-year-old daughter, Layton didn't say a word to the demonstrators and stopped to talk to reporters only after stepping inside the front doors of his co-op. 

"I support their (the protesters') call for affordable housing, but I think they fundamentally misunderstand how co-operatives work. 

"Co-ops should be communities of mixed-income people." 

Source: Andrew Duffy, T.S. 1990, Layton says he's moving from co-op: [SU2 Edition], Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Layton should stay in co-op, group says

Tom Kerr
The Toronto Star

Toronto Councillor Jack Layton should not move from his $800-a- month subsidized apartment even if he and his wife do earn $120,000 a year, a housing coalition says.

The issue is not people with high incomes living in co-ops, but the failure of the federal and provincial governments to provide enough affordable housing, Penny McCabe of the Federation of Metro Tenants Associations said at a city hall news conference yesterday.

Layton and his wife Olivia Chow, a public school trustee, legally qualify to live in the Hazelburn Co-op on Jarvis St. and are guaranteed security of tenure under the federal goverment's co-op scheme, said Scott Barry of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Toronto.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. provided the 75-unit Hazelburn Co-op with a 2 per cent mortgage, which costs the taxpayers $405,000 a year. The Laytons want to remain in the co-op and say they recently began paying an extra $325 a month to the co-op to offset the CMHC subsidy on the unit.

"It is wrong and cruel to blame . . . or to suggest they (the Laytons and other members of the NDP who live in co-ops) have somehow betrayed people who are homeless or underhoused," Barry said.

"Ottawa and Queen's Park should get on with the proper funding of affordable housing."

Michael Shapcott, of the Bread Not Circuses Coalition, said evicting Layton and Chow would not do anything for the poor and homeless in the city.

He and others blamed the media for attempting to "shift the blame" for the current housing crisis from the federal and provincial governments to Layton and other politicians and activists who support non-profit and co-op housing.

In a statement released earlier this week, Layton said his residence in the co-op "may seem curious."

But he said: "I support bringing these issues directly to city council and its committees and will participate fully in those discussions to defend the concept of co-op living."

Source: Tom Kerr, T.S. 1990, Layton should stay in co-op, group says: [FIN Edition], Toronto, Ontario, Canada.