Monday, 29 July 2013

Let Me Count The Ways

You can ask me how I would  run things

It would take more than a blog to outline,

But the first thing I would do is remind  Council and the administration ,the function of  Council is  the business of the Corporation.

It is why we are elected. Why we are sworn into office.

It is why we are paid for our services.

To be making important decisions at midnight ,after six hours at the table, and consistently not completing an agenda , is neither efficient nor transparent.

The function of Council is not to act as social convener for the entire community . Certainly not to put that aspect of the community's affairs ahead of  the business of the corporation.

The voluntary sector of the community is separate from  municipal business.

Council is not an adjunct  to  provide promotional services to the  voluntary sector.

Volunteers have proven  themselves to be entirely self-sufficient without having politicians muscle in   to share the limelight.

Whatever support  is needed from  Council should not interfere with the corporation's business  from running  smoothly and efficiently.

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I brought four new-borns home  in Aurora starting fifty -three years ago.

I never saw a public health nurse.

Well Baby care was their mandate  before we had a health  care system.

What does it have to do with the Municipality?

The Public Health Board functions at the Regional level of government. The Region makes appointments to the board. The Region pays  a portion of the Public Health Board's  budget.

The municipal property owner provides the Region with the tax resources to support the Public Health Board.

I ask  again. If the Public Health Board in Toronto considered it their concern to determine how many cyclist were being hit by opening  car doors...why  aren't  Public Health urses  concerned about how many  infants  have died locked in the family car in a heat wave?

Where are they?  Are they still on the public pay roll. What has been their mandate  in the last fifty years since we have had a  health care system and families have access to health  care by  medical practitioners?

Is  te question not elevant?


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14 comments:

  1. Anonymous29 July 2013 at 10:06

    On the question of how to run Council meetings, I would take that commenter back to the past election. All the new candidates and some of the old ones agreed that the late-night meetings were not productive. [ They even yielded a bizarre lawsuit ]. There seemed to be an acknowledgement that more frequent strictly business meetings would reduce the problems.
    That was one major reason why the last Council was seen out of office. I recall one shop-owner who must have had run-ins with those in power, furious on a Wednesday morning, " Those b.....s were still there at midnight ! "

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  2. Anonymous29 July 2013 at 12:50

    The last time I had contact with a Public Nurse was in TO. They sent one to the home of each new Mom to ' see ' if everything was OK. Didn't come in, just stood at the door for a couple of minutes. Made no sense then or now. That only happened the one time so maybe they were given other chores. Or weren't interested after the first kid?

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  3. Anonymous29 July 2013 at 14:26

    Go for it! Run for mayor!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous29 July 2013 at 16:01

    Nurses are now largely fielded out of the hospitals. At Sunnybrook, you get assigned a team from your Area right in the trauma section. They report directly to a team at the hospital, co-ordinating treatment & visits back to the hospital.

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  5. Anonymous30 July 2013 at 08:43

    Globe July 30 Karen Howlett
    " McGuinty sought ex-judge's advice of de-railing power plant inquiry "
    We finally have lift-off on this story.

    ReplyDelete
  6. News that is fit to print30 July 2013 at 10:26

    hey 8:43.....

    The Star - July 30 - Lady Gaga Reveals She Almost Needed a Full Hip Replacement

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous30 July 2013 at 10:55

    10:26 AM
    Thank you for that 'news' . More interested in the NY Mayor election- Part 1

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous31 July 2013 at 07:17

    10:55... the 10:26 news is just as appropriate here as the 8:43 above it

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  9. Anonymous31 July 2013 at 09:58

    @7:17 AM
    Who defines ' appropriate ' ?

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  10. Anonymous31 July 2013 at 10:29

    @ 9:58... good question, I guess the moderator of the board :-)

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  11. Ahem31 July 2013 at 11:34

    @ 9:58 AM:

    ...and I quote, "Our Town and Its Business."

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous31 July 2013 at 12:28

    9:58 AM
    I hope you are a night-hawk. Because you certainly do not handle your mornings well. Whatta grump. Some of us can handle more than one topic at a time.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous31 July 2013 at 16:03

    "Some of us can handle more than one topic at a time."

    But, in your case, not more than one person.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous31 July 2013 at 17:12

    To 4:03 PM
    Does that mean that the 5 by-elections would be beyond your narrow scope too?

    ReplyDelete

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