Left-wing principles aren't to blame for the Toronto civic strike

I'm not too sure that progressive politics always lead to "nothing works". But certainly things are not doing well in Toronto presently. As I see it the real problem isn't the general drift of Toronto civic politics -- the problem is that raises were given to some and others were asked to take haircuts. And that was obviously not fair. That said, the piece below, from the Post, is worth a read:

http://www.nationalpost.com/m/blog.html?b=fullcomment&e=kelly-mcparland-toronto-the-workers-paradise-where-nothing-works&s=Home

Toronto at the moment is a shining example of a major city operating along left-wing principles. Nothing works.

It's a workers' paradise, paradise in this case being a place where you no longer have to do your job. The services that two million people have paid for aren't being delivered, because two city unions can't get what they want and are on strike. The interests of the majority are subverted to the demands of a small, privileged minority. It's the Family Compact in reverse. The unions, ultra-conservative in their left-wing zeal, resist change at all costs. They want a world that remains forever unchanging, if change requires acceptance of fewer personal privileges. The state, according to the striking city workers, is them. The rest of us are supplicants.

Toronto has ceased functioning. The daycares aren't open. The community centres are closed. The pools don't operate. City-run camps are shut. Parks aren't maintained.

Families that counted on services to help amuse the kids over the summer are out of luck. Working families -- the sort the left is supposed to care about, more than hard-hearted right-wingers -- are on their own, forced to juggle jobs, in a recession, with unexpected and unnecessary childcare complications. Small businesses, the kind that fuel the economy and employ the sort of people unions champion, are suffering. The normally left-friendly Toronto Star reported on Sam Sinnthurai, a restaurant owner who spent $7,000 adding an outdoor patio for customers, but now can't open it because he can't get fire and safety approvals from the city. (Why you'd need a fire or safety inspection for a concrete slab surrounded my a metal fence is another issue). "I'm a hardworking man and we're losing business," he complains.

Do the city unions care? Nope. Because unions, despite their rhetoric, care only about themselves, public sector unions in particular. Private sector labour groups have had to concede the reality of the recession, contributing to the survival of their jobs. Air Canada, Chrysler, GM -- even Globe and Mail employees agreed to concessions Thursday to avoid a strike. But the city can't go bankrupt, and the strikers jobs are safe whatever the case, so there's no such pressure on Toronto workers. All the pressure is on the politicians, and in Mayor David Miller Toronto's unions have an unusually vulnerable opponent.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4

416 225 2777