"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Monday, 14 April 2014

A Lesson Learned

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Sing a song of sixpence":

"Officially" the Hydro Building WAS NOT occupied by anyone. It was vacant, there were no interested purchasers.

The Parks department may have been using the facility to make picnic tables and storage, but they were squatters.

You can be revisionist but that is the reality. 


**************************

The comment  above is published to illustrate how determined people can delude themselves,
would delude others if they can get away with it . All without naming themselves. 

The hydro building was vacated by Power stream without notice. 

Nigel Kean. a councillor proposed it be used as a teen centre. An election was in the offing, .Kean was making a bid for Mayor. 

The incumbent Mayor  jumped on that wagon and agreed. 

I noted  twenty-seven jobs had been lost.  Assessment revenue on the building would be $69,000 a year. The  property should be sold. 

In the meantime, the parks department , a town operation .moved into a  town property  and proceeded to make good use of it.

Office space provided storage for town archives.

The yard provided storage for a barn that had been carefully dismantled  and moved to the location;heritage salvage,

During one season, a handsome gazebo was pre-fabricated  ready for  erection in a park in Spring.

The suggestion that parks were "squatters "  is preposterous.

There were inquiries if and when  the property would be offered for sale.

The property was never declared surplus to  town needs.

To the contrary. it was deemd to be needed in  a space needs report.

It was never listed for sale.

That there were no interested purchasers is craven falsehood.

That the property was a liability to the town is  nefarious untruth designed to deceive.

The decision  made can be explained  but by  no means justified , by the eagerness of known parties to accommodate  Queen's  York Rangers desire to move out of the Armories at the town park because of talk of the federal government shutting down the operation in the drill shed.

Town  needs were set aside without conscience.

In return for bumpkin, idiotic perception of  political advantage of accommodating  an institution entirely the responsibility of the federal government.

With a lease that had to be confidential for national security reasons of which town staff could be privy but elected representatives could not. 

Bullshit.

Attempts to whitewash  shameful betrayal of the town's  interest  with lies, deceit,blatant, twisted  misrepresentation  and perverted truth for cheap and paltry political advantage will not wash.

They doserve to remind us what was and could be again if we are not vigilant.



17 comments:

Anonymous said...

"With a lease that had to be confidential for national security reasons of which town staff could be privy but elected representatives not."


That's a good one! Confidential? What had to be confidential? How great a deal it was for the Dept. of Defence? Or confidential as in we don't want Canada's enemies knowing that our reserves and cadets are training over there on Industrial Drive? Oops, did I just give something away?


Question of the day: In the running of a government, be it municipal, regional, provincial or federal, what percentage of decisions made by the elected politicians are made for political reasons? And then we should know what percentage made on sound knowledge, good management and for the betterment of the people and community (without political manoeuvring, influence, vote buying, appeasing special interest groups or those who are currently shouting the loudest or future political gain - ie. we did it because it was the right thing to do) Except for the fact that other decisions may not be on sound knowledge, good management and so on. So the remaining % will be in error.

Don't worry I realize my naivety - all decisions are political because the vast majority of decisions are done for future gain and re-election.

To Paraphrase said...

"They serve to remind us what was and could be again if we are not vigilant."

Fasten your tinfoil hats, it's going to be a bumpy night!

Anonymous said...

Ha! Gallo has a Facebook page titled Mayor Gallo.

Anonymous said...

I love the " squatters" accusation for town staff using town property. You must have hit a nerve, Evelyn.

Anonymous said...

It seems awfully goofy to try to rewrite history from just the last term - like we were not here and capable of seeing for ourselves ? I know Cllr Gaertner is memory-challenged but there is no excuse for the others.

Anonymous said...

13:37
"How great a deal it was for the Dept. of Defence?"

How do you know how good it was? It is confidential!

Anonymous said...

Taxpayers were not asked if they approved the disposal of the Museum either. Just saying.

Anonymous said...


Only three days to go to locate a potential York University campus and thus be able to submit a bid.

Can we find it? Will we do it?

Ask the CAO.

Anonymous said...

15:34
DOD is cutting back. It is quite possible that they will wish to reduce facilities.

Anonymous said...

@13:54
You are in the wrong place for tin-foil.
You want the third aisle with Cllr Gaertner if you are looking for conspiracy theories.

Anonymous said...

Christopher

Anonymous said...

Also, donors were not asked if the artifacts they gave could be sold.

Anonymous said...

And no teen centre ever materialized despite all it's supporters on that Council. Instead the Rangers came in. But then Morris called them the ' kiddies '.

Anonymous said...

Cllr Gallo has declared himself to BE the Mayor on Facebook.
Is that not illegal ?

Anonymous said...

9:54

Grow up! Facebook is nothing legal.

I am the king of the world. Arrest me.

Anonymous said...

Wasn't it Facebook that shut Cllr Ballard down for registering his dog as a " friend " ?

Anonymous said...

Whoa, 10:46. Are you saying it is fine to misrepresent yourself while running for Mayor or any other position ? If you just do it on Facebook ?