C-H-I-A-R-E-L-L-I
After a humiliation mayoral loss in the 2006 municipal election which led to the cancelation of then Mayor Bob Chiarelli’s legacy North-South light rail transit (LRT) plan, Bob Chiarelli is now back as Ontario Minister of Transportation. That’s right. He’s minister of the very department that will be one of the super funders of the revised replacement LRT plan.
Expect to see some little changes in the current LRT plans as the project moves forward and expect to see some of the old LRT ideas work their way back …

a)      You’re behaving like a NAZI
b)      I was JEWED out of a promotion
c)       Quit that NIGGER
d)      That shirt is so GAY
Which of these statements are you most likely to let slip by without raising an eyebrow?  None of them should.  They all are very offensive and represent the of type verbal bullying that has become all to normal.
In light of Jamie Hubley’s suicide which was caused, in part at least, by bullying, I wanted to make sure that we all realize that bullying is not just the big ogre in …

Yesterday, Councillor Allan Hubley issued a press statement regarding his late son, Jamie Hubley:
This past Friday, our family suffered one of the worst experiences that can happen to a family when we lost our boy — Jamie. To make this even more difficult, his death was the result of suicide.
I would like to thank all the family and friends that have been helping us get through these very difficult days. Very special thanks to everyone that came out in the rain to walk every foot of our community to look …

It was a very unhappy weekend in Ottawa as we learned through the news of two untimely deaths.
First there was Ottawa Sun journalist, Earl McRae who passed suddenly while at work.  I read McRae’s pieces often and although not always agreeing with his take on topics, felt I could understand clearly his point of view.  His sometimes sarcastic writing style made me chuckle.  He knew how to make a point.
My one personal interaction with him two and a half years ago was when I chaired the Martin Luther King Jr. …

Well, there you have it folks.  The Liberals elected to a third term as the government in Ontario (congratulations Dalton McGuinty for another well run campaign).  The Liberals lost 19 seats in the process and now have a technical majority with 53 seats out of 107.  It’s a technical majority because they will elect a speaker from the opposition to make it 53-53 on the floor and in cases of tie votes, the speaker will vote for the government.  I think everybody lost.
But neither the seat loss nor the size …

I don’t know how today’s provincial election will turn out.  The polls seem contrary to my intuition, not that my intuition is very reliable.  I read the numbers of the different polls then I drive through the neighbourhoods and talk to people and what I see and hear don’t reconcile.  In Ottawa ridings, except for Ottawa Centre, there are more PC personal lawn signs than other party signs (maybe Liberals are embarrassed to display signs).  And this is true in some surprising ridings.
In Ottawa South, there are plenty of Jason …

You know things are changing when former mayor Larry O’Brien writes about the protesters in New York (and all across the USA now) are on the right side of history.  From Warren Buffet down, I think the privileged class is starting to realize that the system is not working fairly.  And more importantly, some government policies need to shift to bring this fairness back into line.
Great piece of writing Mr. Mayor!
Read his blog here: THE WALL STREET PROTESTERS ARE RIGHT!

As I drove to the studio this morning, I started thinking about how we got where we are as a culture. How did a country with so much promise and opportunity, so much to offer, end up on the verge of economic, and societal collapse? How is it that a nation that on one hand, has unimagined wealth, largely untapped human resources and room to grow both economically and geographically within it’s own borders, end up with lacklustre leadership and generally speaking, a population so complacent and bereft spirit, that …

There were two polls released over the weekend that showed an interesting side of Ontario voters.  The first was a Sun Media/Leger Marketing poll that showed 2/3 of Ontarians don’t trust Dalton McGuinty to hold the line on taxes.  They believe that under a McGuinty government, taxes will probably go up.  The second is a Nanos Research poll that shows the Liberal party and the PC party are tied for the October 6th election.  The only conclusion I can come up with to explain the two polls is that Ontario …

There is no wiggle room to break a promise made in the last municipal election.  Mayor Jim Watson made a promise to Ottawa taxpayers that if he was elected mayor, he would not raise property taxes more than 2.5% in any year of his tenure.  In fact, after winning the election, in his first speech to City Council as mayor, he reminded us “In my campaign I pledged that I would hold the line on property tax increases to no more than 2.5% a year.”  Then, one of council’s first …

The truth is that a very large portion of the electorate does not follow politics on a daily basis. I would haphazard a guess that more than 90% of the population don’t fully engage in an election until the last week or so and that is why this week’s Ontario leaders’ debate was so important. It really would be the first time that many voters would be able to see and hear their choices for the October 6th election.
It’s always fun to hang out with “normal” Ontarians who …

There was no knockout punch by any leader in last night’s Ontario leaders’ debate but PC leader, Tim Hudak, did not have to land one in order to come out on top. He just had to look sane and to look like a capable, credible alternative to Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty and by that standard, Hudak won the debate.
Hudak answered questions using by using facts already laid out in Changebook and had antidotes as examples in many cases. By sticking to his party script, he articulated that a …

Over the weekend, the CBC ran an article on their website titled Challenger Jets’ True Cost Revealed. Besides the fact that the reporter’s calculations are wrong, it totally overshadows the purpose that the government has its own jets in the first place.
Regardless of who our elected officials are, they are elected by the public and they are there to provide and carry out some pretty important jobs. Beyond the obvious such as security, government is there to protect the rights of Canadians from foreign interests. The Canadian …

Yesterday, on CFRA’s municipal panel with Rob Snow, his guests were Councillors Allan Hubley, Tim Tierney and Rick Chiarelli. One of the topics was their office budgets which are now made public monthly and in some detail.
Councillor office budgets are $234,000 per year for councillors to spend on staffing, office and community related expenses. AS CFRA notes, they highlighted that Councillor Doug Thompson had the lowest expenditures to date at $59,000 and Councillor Mark Taylor the highest at $142,000. The issue discussed was are some councillors on …

“Ontario’s Green Energy Act will create 50,000 new jobs” says the Ontario Liberal government. And if you believe that, I know some land in Florida you can buy very cheaply.
I don’t know why they stopped at promising only 50,000. They should have said 75,000 or 100,000. These predictions and promises are worth as much as Liberal promises not to raise taxes. You know a carbon tax or ECO type tax is coming if they win again in October.
Listen, the only tactic the Liberal government has against …

Paul Dewar for NDP leader.  I would support that.
I’m often asked, outside the Conservative parties, who do I think are good politicians.  Paul Dewar is usually one of my first responses.  Why?  Because he is exactly what he says he is; nothing more, nothing less – and I totally respect that.
Working under the shadows of two high profile politicians, his mom Marion Dewar and former NDP leader Ed Broadbent, Paul has cut his teeth on left wing politics.  But if you met him and talked to him, you would learn …

I have a very active Facebook group page for Perspective Ottawa where many comments are posted (http://www.facebook.com/groups/perspectiveottawa/).
You can also now directly post the group wall by sending at email to this address: perspectiveottawa@groups.facebook.com.
If you are not yet a member of the group, please join.  And if you are, please share this note with your friends so they too can participate in the discussions.
Thanks.
Blake

With the election a mere 17 days away, the provincial Progressive Conservative party has not yet plainly defined the ballot question: Are you happy with the programs and policies of Dalton McGuinty and the governing Liberals with the full understanding that if re-elected you will pay more in taxes and fees to support these policies or do you want to stop the growth in the tax burden on you and make government prioritize and spend more smartly?
Simply put, do you want to vote to pay more taxes to keep growing …

I should have written about this last month but didn’t get around to it so I’m doing it now.  I want to say congratulations to Councillor Maria McRae, city staff, the staff at Ottawa Community Housing and in particular, Jo-Anne Poirier.  Remember the blow up over the new pavilion in Ledbury Banff community?  A new building was provided by the city but they opened it up to the surrounding area which meant that the local summer programs were squeezed out of its use.  It wasn’t until a very public scene …

Lately, City Hall has been listing to the nanny state side.  After opening up to the ideas of bar patios, they are now looking at more smoking restrictions and potentially more late night restrictions in the Byward market on restaurants and bars.
But I think there is a little bit of hope.  Councillor Tim Tierney actually asked how much the new smoking restriction would cost the city in terms of enforcement, staffing and signage.  Good question!  That’s the first question every councillor should ask.
I’ve long been a proponent of every motion …