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Rob Ford's approach: Create a crisis — then slash and burn
Article from:
Published On: Wed Dec 14 2011
Written by: John Cartwright
The city's proposed budget for 2012 finally shows that the election slogan of "No service cuts, guaranteed!" was never meant to be honoured. For there are cuts all round — in nearly every city department, in community and arts grants, in services for the poor, in transit service, in library hours . . . the list goes on and on.
The mayor and his supporters have made it clear that their objective is to dramatically shrink city government, cut its workforce and outsource as many jobs as possible. To justify that, they "invented a crisis" with a deficit number that has been fictional since the day after its inception, along with deliberate cuts to city revenue.
Now there is a stunning list of cuts outlined to the different city services, along with more user fees. It is clear that none of these cuts need to be made — but the mayor's office has made choices and expects councillors to fall in line with these choices. Closing a shelter for seniors in Scarborough, swimming pools in east Toronto, and less ice time in Weston represent minimal cost savings, but each are important for our communities.
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