In case it wasn't obvious, I'm VERY political. It's not my fault. I realized the affect politics could have on me when Mike Harris decided that people on welfare were leeches and "common sense" dictated that he cut off their "gravy"...which literally meant me in high school, with no parents and no family, on welfare, trying to get by, lost 30% of his only source of income...which meant next to no food, except gravy (ironically) on rice, dry cornflakes and peanut butter on white bread washed down by lukewarm ginger ale.
Harris engaged in "othering" an exploitation of human group psychology. He got what he wanted (power) by making things "us" against "them". Despite life not really being like that.
So excuse me when I rail against an unfair system run by hypocrites & sociopaths and policies, laws & by-laws driven by personal ideology, not facts. These people can only get and stay in power with the help of others like them, by using obfuscation, pushing false narratives and most damningly depending on the silence of those who claim they are "better".
With that being said, on the municipal level, in my ward, Trinity-Spadina, Adam Vaughn (the embodiment of the champagne socialist) sits on his taxpayer funded ass, while we, the entrepreneurs and hard working people of the Entertainment Industry & the young people and adults who frequent and support that industry get tarred and feathered as blights on Toronto's social landscape as opposed to...I don't know...the ones that got us top ranking in the world. We beat out cities like NYC & Berlin in the "Youthful Cities inaugural report". It was a close race...the defining factors? Our Entertainment & Diversity.
Toronto has alot of potential but so far the only thing we've shown the world is our ability to produce a world class asshole & despite what he says, our city is NOT "booming" for everyone.
Toronto's unemployment rate is the HIGHEST in Canada amongst big cities and Toronto's youth employment rate at 43.5% is the highest in the country, period.
Last night, Mayoral candidate Olivia Chow was being interviewed on CP24. She said the solution to address unemployment for young people is to create jobs in the small business entertainment industries.
Newsflash Ms. Chow, we lost close to 3000 jobs in the entertainment district due to Adam Vaughan's crusade to destroy nightlife and patios. Most of these jobs were occupied by university and college students, new immigrants and young adults supplementing their income and in many cases, depending on it as their SOLE source of income. Olivia, the MP for the area, stood by and did nothing to stop it. Will she do something about it now? Will she call out and expose Adam Vaughan? More importantly, will she enact policies and support the businesses that are responsible for Toronto being named tops in the world? Or will she just be another politician?
As a good friend of mine commented
"Olivia Chow would like to celebrate and take credit for Toronto's vibrant entertainment scene, which is all well and good, but we have Councillor Adam Vaughan making life miserable for the people who actually work in the industry. You don't get to celebrate Luminato, TIFF, Nuit Blanche, and Fashion Week while at the same time trying your hardest to put those staffers, bartenders, and DJs out of work. This is Olivia's riding, and those are her constituents losing jobs and businesses because this total fraud of a councillor is trying to run the ward like his own Condo-funded fiefdom".
From the sandwich shop, to the hot dog carts to the cab drivers, to the barback supporting his sick parent to the bartender paying her way through school, to the barely speaking english latin immigrants in the bathrooms cleaning up after us, there are literally THOUSANDS of people who rely on a strong and healthy nightlife & the money it puts in their pockets to feed their families and pay their bills.
All of that destroyed by someone who never depended on any of the above jobs, because he always had the privilege of his affluence & family connections to fall back on. All destroyed because that same someone managed to make an "other" out of the people he didn't like. Sound familiar? Yeah, Rob Ford does it and so did Harris.
In my opinion, Adam Vaughn is an out of touch scumbag, but he didn't get where he did on his own. He had help from people like Olivia Chow who sat quietly on the sidelines while he approved 50 NEW condo developments & waged war against the small businesses & the hardworking people that make up the nightlife industry in her riding.
His attacks and tactics are now being used against all the eclectic bars and neighbourhood hangouts and art-spots that us "elite downtowners" claim to love so much and prefer over the "douchey 905 bottle service" clubs.
Oh, those 50 condo developments in the ward. Yeah...those are all NEW developments. 50 MORE on top of what's already being built. That's not "across Toronto", that's JUST in his ward. Say goodbye to your condo values, folks!
So ya see, I won't be supporting Chow for Mayor unless she makes restoring our nightlife and all the jobs that come with it a priority...and not just talk about it in interviews.
KB