Taxpayers Acknowledge Receipt Of Chow’s Position

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Today, Olivia Chow became the first mayoral candidate to respond to the survey we sent out on July 8th regarding matters that are important to Toronto taxpayers: taxation rates, size of council, infrastructure, transit and congestion, labour relations, and emergency preparation.

We’d like to thank Olivia Chow for her swift response well ahead of the deadline.

This survey is an important tool for voters to help make up their minds ahead of the election this October. We look forward to receiving responses from the other campaigns in the near future.

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Ward Boundaries – Why They Will Be Different In 2014

Today, City Council will debate a petition calling for cutting council in half.

Formally known as item CC37.2 Petition to Redivide Ward Boundaries, the item was placed on the agenda when Toronto Taxpayers Coalition submitted a petition under Section 129 of the City of Toronto Act (COTA) on June 27th, 2013. This initiated a 90 day process in which City Council has to implement our request or we can appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB).

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Letter To Toronto Star Editor RE: Cutting Councillors? Good Politics, Bad Policy

I read with interest a recent column by Royson James on the prospects of increasing and decreasing the number of City Councillors in Toronto. While Mr. James disagrees with our petition to cut city council in half, we’re delighted the public debate is being had. However, the column failed to mention the backers of the petition in question. The petition was organized and delivered by Toronto Taxpayers Coalition. I believe an innocent oversight that neglects such an important fact should be noted, even belatedly.

Matthew McGuire, President, Toronto Taxpayers Coalition

Responding To Today’s Toronto Star Editorial

Today, the Toronto Star published an editorial that admonished Toronto Taxpayers Coalition for budget analysis we made in January of this year. We noted that spending increased $1 billion over David Miller’s first three budgets as mayor. We contrasted that to Rob Ford’s record which increased spending $20 million over his first three budgets.

The Star editorial correctly pointed out that Rob Ford increased spending by $180 million (1.99%) in his first budget in 2011 over David Miller’s final budget in 2010. But it neglects to compare this to David Miller’s first budget in 2004 increasing spending by $200 million (3.12%) over Mel Lastman’s final budget in 2003.

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