

Canada’s biggest city

Model-T Ford breaks down

A city and its government are stuck in gridlock

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Readers' comments



He is a right-wing nut bar. And true to fashion, the right-wing thinks that removing him from his office is wrong. The same right-wing would have no hesitation barring a lefty. The right-wing in most areas talk the good talk, but their actions never follow. Actions such as this one are fine if it isw done by the right-wing and their supporters, but otherwise, it is absolutely wrong.

Mr Ford's supports think that this is similar to a tempest in a teapot. The amount involved is tiny, and should not count. It goes back to fraud and undue influence. I ask the right-wing that if you allow this action because it is so small, then when do the conflict of interest, undue influence and fraud begin?

Do we let 3100$ go by the boards? After all, in the grand scheme of things, it is hardly worth talking about. Well, if it were 31000$ is that too small? Or 310000$, or 3100000$? Mr Ford stepped out of line while acting as the Mayor of Toronto. We either penalize him, or let it go - regardless of the amount involved.

I say the Mr Ford must go, period. He has shown that he is unfit for office.


Who wrote this? The facts are bent out of shape by inputs from the screaming left. Where was the credit for privatizing the garbage, for bringing to light the waste and indulgent spending by the councillors, for the absolute resolve to keep taxes down and try and make the city more affordable; or the issue of the subway debate where the outrageous ambition of key players, who sided with the Mayor when appointed, opted for LRT's in a 'bush league' effort to embarass the mayor and raise thier own profiles. He was elected to expand the subway system. The lack of support from council was not what the electorate wanted. Where is the mention of the LRT and the St. Clair Ave disaster. Rob Ford is a good man with a business background trying to lead a pack of left wing 'nutbars' who think spending is a god given right and the taxpayer is fair game. Toronto is a major league city with a terrible municipal government system that makes it very difficult if not impossible to manage. Rob is rouph and independant, is that bad. As to the legal issues, another attack from the left, no question, a ego driven citizen and an ambitious lawyer with nothing to do, worked Pro Bono, when does a Canadian lawyer work for nothing? When they nave nothing better to do. Disappointed in the Economist for such a biased out of touch article. Shame on you!


I was surprised to see the word "bombastic" used in connection with Rob Ford. Check the meaning. Bombastic language is typically used to make meaningless arguments sound impressive by using big words. It's a kind of intellectual intimidation tactic. This is the antithesis of Ford's populist style. If he actually tried to sound intelligent, I'm quite sure the result would be (has been?) a laughable failure.


If a full blown story on the pages of the Economist is a sign the city has emerged from obscurity then there may be common ground to agree that the election of Rob Ford for mayor of Toronto is indeed a good thing. Also, the rumours of his demise as are being quickly spread by publications such as this are greatly exaggerated. A stay of execution to the expulsion order has already been granted pending appeal of matter which is currently scheduled for early January 2013. A number of prominent lawyers agree that Ford has an excellent chance to win his appeal - so everyone is well advised to take a deep breath and standby for more news.


Unlike most American cities, Toronto receives practically no funding from the federal government. Add to this a neo-conservative fixation on never increasing taxes and you have a city that is dying from a thousand cuts. Our subway system is incomplete and inadequate because nobody wants to pay for it. Citizens from the "old" city favour tax increases to fund a relief subway line, but those in the amalgamated areas do not. Why? Because when they get on the subway there are always seats, or at least standing room, whilst those further down the line do not. Yet the "inner" city is hamstrung by counsellors from the "outer" city.

All this while 100,000 people per year pour into the area increases the strain on already overburdened infrastructure. Planners do everything within their power to make driving more difficult, lowering speed limits, restricting traffic from non-arterial roads, putting bike lanes on arterial roads reducing capacity, all in the name of getting people out of cars and onto public transit. The problem is the transit system is operating over-capacity, and surface routes must plod along in the same snarled traffic the planners have created. Something's got to give. Evidently, it already has!

And with all these problems, it is still the city I love to call home.

David P Montgomery

Say what you like about Rob Ford but I don't think the Economist has generated this much Canadian traffic since they labelled Paul Martin "Mr Dithers"


Toronto's "problem" is that it combines an automobile transportation culture with a highrise residential culture. The numerous highrises tightly pack millions of people in a narrow belt around Lake Ontario. Then these people all jump in their cars and commute to work.

American cities suburbanize with lower-density single family residences. The traffic IS dreadful in Miami, Atlanta, Chicago, and Los Angeles, but there is nowhere worse than Toronto. It is just awful all the time. It is nerve-wracking just getting off the freeways to eat lunch because you don't know if the traffic will be too jammed to let you get back on.

Highrise residentdial towers and automobiles don't mix.

Zee eyeboy in reply to Langosta

Toronto's "problem" is the suburban commuters like yourself whose vehicles clog the arteries in and out of the city during peak traffic hours.Those who live in all the high-rise towers in downtown Toronto are not the ones whose cars clog the highways into the city.

Your comment regarding getting off the freeway to eat lunch suggests to me that you are one of the commuters, or part of the 'problem'.

editboy in reply to Zee eyeboy

Toronto's problem is it's voters. We've had several years of an ineffectual city council yet we continue to re-elect it.

A no-incumbent movement may help move things along, but Torontonians will always play it safe (better the devil you know) at election time.

World class cities need world class leaders and TO's council has none.

Langosta in reply to Zee eyeboy

Now take it easy there, Zee :-) I'm not one of those nefarious "suburban commuters." I'm an American who transits Toronto from time to time going to other places in Canada. I used to work in Toronto though, so I do know it well.

Among other things, I know that hose high rise towers aren't all in downtown. They are spread out all over the five or six former towns like Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, etc. that were consolidated into the City of Toronto. And every one of those high rises DOES have a parking lot full of cars!

Occamensis in reply to Langosta

The article focuses narrowly on the city, but the commuter zone includes the whole Greater Toronto Area, pop. 6 million, consisting mainly of sprawling low-density suburbs - on top of the "highrise culture" in the core. Toronto needs to take a cue from Berlin, where the regional transit authority integrates commuter and within-city rail with the underground U-bahn and surface routes. The provincial agency Metrolinx could do the job but lacks a popular mandate. What we need is a new Metro Council for the whole GTA, with a unified transit authority taking over from Metrolinx and the regional systems. Also, why can't we finance expansion through municipal bonds, so that the system will be paid for by the future commuters who will actually use the system?

Zee eyeboy in reply to Langosta

Ahh... one of 'those'... :-)

True, not ALL the towers are downtown, but the vast majority are... interestingly enough most of those downtown towers do not have a parking spot for each unit, at $20-$30K per a lot of folks pass and use transit and taxis.

That said, there has been a severe lack of forethought from the transport planners coupled with a complete unwillingness on the part of the suburban voters to fund road projects.

a congestion charge and possibly road tolls might provide the funding, but the will is not there.












Media are used to seeing an uproar after a politician has gone wrong, but what we are seeing here is a power grab by the city's economic parasites using archaic legal points. It's not about governance at all.


Here in North America we have a thing called property taxes (based on real property (including buidlings) values.

The following is therefore false:

messmore in reply to Altavistagoogle

You would never know it to hear "Ford Nation" going on about property taxes, but Toronto has a ridiculously low property tax rate, far out of step with most other municipalities in the region. We own a house in Toronto and also a house in a small town about an hour away, which is worth about a third as much as the Toronto house - and yet the taxes on the two are almost the same.



RealG in reply to DivineMsM




truefriction in reply to DivineMsM










Ironically the lawyer who attacked the mayor serves as a paid adjudicator and paid corporate director for the Law Society of Upper Canada, Ontario's regulator of lawyers, in addition to having a private practice. Talk about conflicts of interest? Most lawyers might expect disbarment for attempting such a stunt.

Mr. Moon


franklin galvin

You quote Josh Matlow, a councilor also said to be angry because a local radio station took back his radio slot and gave it to the mayor who previously had a show at the station. Now the mayor shares the show with his brother, councillor Doug Ford. The mayor has said on his radio show that simple changes at city hall have saved over $700m.


This article was far too kind towards Ford. In truth this man's ignorance and stupidity is compounded by am alarming sense of entitlement and a confrontational stubbornness that limits his capacity for even the most basic insight.


I am American but I have spent time in Canada. I find ironic that Mr. Ford was voted into office in a major Canadian metropolitan area. He is the type of politician I would expect to see in places like Alabama and Missippi. I can picture him earn praise from the likes of Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh. But in Canada? Aren't you guys supposed to be much better than this?

tavares1978 in reply to guest-ljaewsw

Yes our Mayor can be stubborn and yes he talks before he speaks...and yes we expect more out of political figures. He was democratically voted and has done many good things in this city...you just never read about them. He volunteers to coach a football team of at risk youths, he raised some money ($3100) albeit questionable way and that's what got him into trouble. he voted on a motion to not have to pay back charitable donations..which is a conflict of interest. but like my previous statements, he lowered the cities budget by $400 million...lowered the deficit...he negotiated a contract with unions with out a strike...and privatized garbage pick up for half of the city saving the city $11 million...he would be comparable to Governor Chris Christy of new Jersey...except maybe a bit more outspoken

Drake_S in reply to tavares1978

Ford, like many polictians, bullied his way over most laws. Declaring he's too busy to follow the rules (or laws) and he honestly believes the laws and rules do not apply to him. The judge's ruling is a refreshing reminder to ALL politicans that no one is above the rules. Maybe this will inspire more citizens to hold their elected leaders responsible for their actions

lolatengo in reply to tavares1978

"Volunteers" turns out to mean that he coaches football on city time, sometimes using city staff and resources. Sure some of this is his own private time, but it's a stretch to see this as a great act of benevolence. Most people in high positions do some charity work.

guest-ljaenla in reply to tavares1978


Mr. Moon in reply to guest-ljaewsw

It was a "perfect storm" that led to his election (including terrible opposing candidates). There is no irony lost on us that he ended up as mayor of one of North America's most liberal cities.

He will not last his term (this is not his only legal troubles).

messmore in reply to tavares1978

He did not "lower the deficit". When he was elected, there was a budget surplus.

He created the deficit single-handedly by cancelling the land transfer tax and refusing to consider taxes that might affect car drivers.

messmore in reply to tavares1978

tavares - I think you have your facts mixed. Like our dear mayor, you appear to "talk before you speak". (I assume you meant that he speaks before he thinks...?)

Mayor Ford is actually not in favour of sports teams for at risk youth - he has publicly referred to those as "Hug a Thug Programs". The team he coaches is the school team for an affluent Catholic high school.



Drake_S in reply to tavares1978

"ambushed at home by media early in the morning"...

A COMEDIAN from a national satire news programme showed up dressed a Xena - cone bra and all. This was a not a reporter and just one medium (not media).

these little lies discredit your entire argument as a gross embelishment of the truth.

guest-ljaenla in reply to tavares1978

It wasn't his political foes that stopped him from getting subways built, it was the fact that he had no plan to finance it other than saying that if the city started then the private sector would step in. Everyone would prefer subways over surface routes but others understand that you have to build what you can afford.

RealG in reply to tavares1978


Ford wanted Subways, which EVERYONE in Toronto would like, but there is no funding. If Ford came with a credible plan -- actually ANY plan -- to pay for the subways, people would flock to him.

Do you actually investigate the facts, or do you simply read talking points?


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