Thursday, March 28, 2024

Opinion/Column

Guest ContributionsNewsRide Hailing newsTaxi industry news

Tory’s surging ride-share bills before quitting

I was planning to wait until the final expense data for 2022 was posted. I also intended to do a more in-depth exploration of whether it matters that mayoral staffers have increasingly relied on a private transportation option to get around while doing their jobs — in the midst of TTC ridership struggles — but recent happenings have caused those plans to change. This data, after all, will be way less relevant with someone else in the mayor’s seat.

Still, I think the data is interesting.

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Guest CommentaryOpinion/ColumnTrucking

Trudeau used the Emergencies Act to nuke Bouncy Castles

Back in 1970 Tommy Douglas was the only Member of Parliament to vote against Pierre Trudeau imposing the War Measures Act. He called it trying to “Kill a Mouse with a Sledgehammer.

Justin Trudeau did the same thing, only this time he used a nuclear bomb to kill Bouncy Castles.

Just look to other countries that have recently had REAL emergencies with bombs and killing in the streets like France, England, Egypt, Guatemala, and many others.

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Guest ContributionsOpinion/ColumnTrucking

When the Most Cynical Amongst Us Are Proved Right

“Enjoy the report.” Those were the last words Commissioner Paul Rouleau uttered before rising and leaving the room yesterday. The room in which he cheerfully announced that the Canadian government was justified when it invoked the Emergencies Act against festive, peaceful, working class protesters a year ago.

Which part did he imagine we’d enjoy? The knowledge that there’s absolutely no accountability in our political system? The knowledge that a vast network of supposed checks and balances (funded year in and year out by the sweat of working Canadians) offers us no protection from tyrannical, rogue politicians?

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Feature/ProfileGuest ContributionsOpinion/Column

What the police told the Public Order Emergency Inquiry is not what Mendicino told Parliament

The OPP did not ask for the Emergencies Act to be invoked and did not ask the RCMP or federal government for any particular authorities or tools. The blockade of the Ambassador Bridge was cleared prior to the invocation of the Emergencies Act… [bold added, page 22]

The OPP says the federal government didn’t ask for advice:

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Photo: Consulat
Feature/ProfileGuest ContributionsOpinion/ColumnTrucking

“Mr. Sunny Ways” Wrecks Valentine’s Day

A mere six years later, Mr. Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act – last resort legislation meant for genuine emergencies. He did so over the objections of seven of Canada’s 10 provincial premiers. He did so before even trying to negotiate with the peaceful Freedom Convoy truckers who’d reached the end of their patience over yet another COVID mandate.

Justin Trudeau didn’t bring people together. He didn’t listen. Instead, he chose February 14th – Valentine’s Day – to turn Canada into a police state. That date will live in memory long after Mr Sunny Ways has left office.

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Attendees took advantage of the Freedom Convoy to express many of their thoughts and emotions. Photo: Donna Laframboise
Feature/ProfileOpinion/ColumnTrucking

Freedom Convoy Valentine’s Day

From the earliest moments of the Freedom Convoy, hearts were a recurring motif. Members of the public held up homemade signs festooned with hearts to communicate their approval, enthusiasm, and affection.

During that cold, grey winter in which Canadian governments were becoming ever more punitive, in which large segments of the public appeared to support the targetting of a minority of the population, a beam of sunshine pierced the gloom. Massive trucks wavying Canadian flags and signs that bore the word ‘freedom’ rolled out of the fog. Lights flashed, horns sounded, and people cheered.

There’s ample testimony, plus ample photographic and video evidence, that the protesting truckers were showered with love during their time in Ottawa. Trucker O’Jay, who happens to be a Jamaican immigrant, described his convoy experience as “filled with love, unity…it was just joy.”

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Guest CommentaryNewsOpinion/ColumnRide Hailing newsTaxi industry news

Unifor backs taxi drivers in case against City of Ottawa

FEBRUARY 10, 2023 – OTTAWA – Regulators at the City of Ottawa acted irresponsibly when they rushed through ride-sharing approvals without a plan to mitigate the impacts on the city’s taxi fleet, says Unifor.

“By capitulating to the demands of multinational tech giants, the local government set up a race to the bottom in the taxi industry and, in many cases, stripped workers of their retirement security,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President. “The resulting two-tiered system was devastating for hundreds of families relying on incomes from taxi services.”

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"Who cares who John Tory sleeps with?" laughs Neil Shorey of City Taxi. "Who believes that really why he resigned?" Photo: BlogTO
Laugh a LittleNewsOpinion/ColumnRide Hailing newsTaxi industry news

Mayor who added 60,000 rideshare vehicles to Toronto’s congested streets steps down

Toronto Mayor John Tory could not find time to get his hair cut during the COVID lockdown, but apparently found time to engage in “developing a relationship” with a staffperson. Photo: BlogTO #BREAKING: John Tory resigns as Mayor of #Toronto,

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