Tuesday Debate Day – Mayors

We’re back again, to give you an opportunity to share your input on political issues.

Yesterday Toronto’s Mayor Rob Ford was found guilty of violating provincial conflict of interest rules and was forced to vacate the Toronto mayoralty. Earlier this month Montreal mayor Gérald Tremblay resigned in the face of conflict of interest violations alleged in the Charbonneau Commission.  This coming April, Winnipeg’s Mayor, Sam Katz, will be in court over a conflict of interest lawsuit.

These three cases are alike yet different all at the same time. This week we’ll take a brief look at each circumstance and discuss whether they should all be treated the same or not.

Starting in Montreal, Gérald Tremblay’s resignation stems from allegations that he and his administration were involved in, or aware of, large illegal cash contributions to unions and governments from corporations bidding on construction contracts. This scandal is so massive in scale it required Provincial Officials to call for a a public inquiry known as the Charbonneau Commission. It is like something you would expect to see in the movies complete with corruption at the highest levels, exclusive clubs of the powerful elite of Montreal, and even ties to the notorious mafia crime family of Vito Rizzuto. This mayoral vacancy is high drama and comes without actual formal charges against the mayor, at least not yet. If it were found to be true that Tremblay received, or was aware of, funds being exchanged for construction contracts, it would be a pretty clear case of conflict of interest. From there, losing his job as mayor would only be the start of his concerns.

In Toronto, Rob Ford was forced out of office because he, as a city councilor in 2010 and before he was elected mayor, violated fundraising rules while soliciting donations for his football club’s charity. As a result he was expected to pay back a little over $3000. From my understanding, Ford ignored the fact he was expected to pay the donors back and a year later was elected mayor. This year he, along with other city council members, voted to rescind the previous decision that he would have to pay back the money and they would not pursue the matter any further. Because he didn’t pay back the donations, which relatively speaking is a small amount, and because spoke at and participated in the council vote the court found him guilty of conflict of interest charges resulting in removing him as Mayor of Toronto.

Now here in Winnipeg, Mayor Sam Katz will be in court this April over allegations he spent city money on a council Christmas party at a restaurant he used to own. The allegation is that Katz is in conflict because he is using city funds  without a fair bidding process and that the money was used with someone he had previously had business dealings with.

As we can see these a three very different circumstances with varying degrees of severity. What do you think? Is conflict of interest a simple matter where no-matter the incident in question people should lose their jobs?

Add your comment and join the conversation!

Gaza Youth’s Manifesto for Change

A group of young people in the Gaza Strip are frustrated with the politics that surrounds their communities. I think we can ll take a moment to learn about this international conflict and take a moment to support these young people. They are not on anyone’s side, they are angry but they are sick of the violence and the political hypocrisy and indifference, of even the United Nations. They are young people like ourselves, trying to have their voices heard. Please check out their information and decide for yourself.

You can view their website here

There is a news article you can read by clicking here.

You can find their facebook page here.

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Gaza Youth’s Manifesto for Change

“Fuck Hamas. Fuck Israel. Fuck Fatah. Fuck UN. Fuck UNWRA. Fuck USA! We, the youth in Gaza, are so fed up with Israel, Hamas, the occupation, the violations of human rights and the indifference of the international community!

“We want to scream and break this wall of silence, injustice and indifference like the Israeli F16s breaking the wall of sound; scream with all the power in our souls in order to release this immense frustration that consumes us because of this fucking situation we live in…

“We are sick of being caught in this political struggle; sick of coal-dark nights with airplanes circling above our homes; sick of innocent farmers getting shot in the buffer zone because they are taking care of their lands; sick of bearded guys walking around with their guns abusing their power, beating up or incarcerating young people demonstrating for what they believe in; sick of the wall of shame that separates us from the rest of our country and keeps us imprisoned in a stamp-sized piece of land; sick of being portrayed as terrorists, home-made fanatics with explosives in our pockets and evil in our eyes; sick of the indifference we meet from the international community, the so-called experts in expressing concerns and drafting resolutions but cowards in enforcing anything they agree on; we are sick and tired of living a shitty life, being kept in jail by Israel, beaten up by Hamas and completely ignored by the rest of the world.

“There is a revolution growing inside of us, an immense dissatisfaction and frustration that will destroy us unless we find a way of canalising this energy into something that can challenge the status quo and give us some kind of hope.

“We barely survived the Operation Cast Lead, where Israel very effectively bombed the shit out of us, destroying thousands of homes and even more lives and dreams. During the war we got the unmistakable feeling that Israel wanted to erase us from the face of the Earth. During the last years, Hamas has been doing all they can to control our thoughts, behaviour and aspirations. Here in Gaza we are scared of being incarcerated, interrogated, hit, tortured, bombed, killed. We cannot move as we want, say what we want, do what we want.

“ENOUGH! Enough pain, enough tears, enough suffering, enough control, limitations, unjust justifications, terror, torture, excuses, bombings, sleepless nights, dead civilians, black memories, bleak future, heart-aching present, disturbed politics, fanatic politicians, religious bullshit, enough incarceration! WE SAY STOP! This is not the future we want! We want to be free. We want to be able to live a normal life. We want peace. Is that too much to ask?”