“Toronto – Canada’s version of a Democrat run city”

In the year before John Tory took charge of Toronto as mayor, there were 32,474 incidents in what police deem to be major crimes. As of this past Sunday, there have been 42,925 and we still have two weeks to go in the year.

Since Tory became mayor, there has been a 32% increase in major crimes. The index, updated weekly by Toronto Police Service, includes assaults, break and enter, auto thefts, robbery, sexual assault and of course murder among other crimes.

Something is missing from this analysis but I can’t put my finger on it.

We aren’t yet as bad as many US cities but the contours of the GTA’s tribalized no-go zones are already apparent.

One thing is certain it will get much worse and is unlikely ever to get better. That is the future of all Liberal-Left run cities.

Toronto city councillors Josh Matlow and Mike Colle are calling for a public inquiry into the Eglinton Crosstown project after sharing leaked confidential internal Metrolinx documents that suggest there is no “credible plan” to complete the project.

“This is a historic boondoggle, billions of dollars, years of delays,” said Matlow.

“It’s both taxpayer’s money but it’s also the loss of income from so many small businesses, the impact on the quality of life of residents,” he added.

“I’ve seen a lot of naked people – like taking a s— in the middle of the street. Just not pleasant. A lot of drug use, which I know happens, but I feel like you kind of lose the empathy you would have for people struggling when it’s happening in your backyard.”

Mayor John Tory, re-elected last month promising to keep a lid on taxes, is now warning of big tax hikes and deep service cuts unless Queen’s Park and Ottawa rescue Toronto’s pandemic-ravaged finances.

Tory on Thursday released a letter to Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland saying, after months of discussions, he needs commitments for hundreds of millions of dollars in bailout funds by Nov. 30.

With 1,100 people before the courts on firearm charges currently free on bail instead of sitting in jail, few are surprised when they end up involved in a shooting.

You read it right — 1,100 people on gun charges are currently free from custody on bail until their case makes it way to trial or is resolved.

Toronto – aspiring to become Canada’s version of a shithole Democrat Run City.

Wanna bet we’ll never see a demographic breakdown of the “1100?”

Only 29% per cent bothered to vote in the last election that saw John Tory swept to victory in a sort of reverse landslide of the couldn’t be bothered.

What explains this level of absenteeism?

Are people happy with the status quo?

Are rising taxes and deteriorating services simply accepted as normal?

“Putting in time until I can afford to get out” has become a common discussion.

What’s behind it? Are we so balkanized by diversity that a shared connection to the city is no longer possible?

Do you consider Toronto or some other GTA city home? Reading about recent events in Brampton brought to mind Chamberlain’s reference to the Czechoslovakia crisis as a “quarrel in a far away country, between people of whom we know nothing.” 

Maybe as Trudeau might suggest Toronto is Canada’s first Post-City City, nothing more than a mass of transients, a settler pit stop to be exploited until greener pastures come along.

The specter of Leicester looms over Toronto & the GTA, it too was portrayed as a beacon of diversity.

Shocka!

Perhaps rats, not raccoons, should be Toronto’s official mascot since their numbers have grown during the pandemic.

Multiple pandemic lockdowns led to bolder rodent activity and migration to residential neighbourhoods, according to Orkin Canada.

When John Tory was elected mayor in 2014 there were 177 shootings in Toronto, 76 people were wounded by gunfire and 27 people were fatally shot.

Last year, there were 409 shootings (a 131% increase), 163 people wounded by gunfire (a 114% increase) and 46 people fatally shot (a 70% increase).

Candidates running for mayor and city council are not talking about Toronto’s crime problem.

But Toronto citizens are forced to live with — and are being victimized — by it.

The AusterityTO project highlights ‘absurd’ level of disrepair in the run-up to the Canadian city’s municipal election in late October

Overflowing garbage bins. Crumbling roads and broken water fountains, scattered throughout Toronto. A chaotic downtown core, where cyclists battle with cars for use of the road.

For some, the disarray might signal urban decay and rudderless leadership. But to the pranksters behind the recently unveiled AusterityTO project it’s the work of a “bold, world-class artist” who is using Canada’s largest city as his canvas to create a sprawling public art project.