Worth Reading – January 24, 2013

We often hear how government needs to be run more like a business. But government is not a business and it is not operated like one. Mayor Rob Ford, a proponent of this sound-bite, has some logical inconsistencies that need highlighting. From Spacing – why city hall isn’t run like a business under Ford.

Tim Harper of the Toronto Star points out a disturbing trend in our country; at the moment not one of Canada’s legislative bodies is sitting. Worse still, several of them have no firm date of when they will return. So much for holding the government to account.

This week Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario leader Tim Hudak has been releasing policy papers on education. Earlier this week he proposed that extracurriculars should not be restricted duringunion-government negotiations and teachers incentivized for participating inthem. 

Another piece from constitutional expert Peter Russell on the “prorogation disease”. Russell advocates better oversight and regulation of the use of prorogation based on an initiative by Jack Layton.  

A whistleblower at the Ministry of Justice has raised worrying questions about whether or not laws are being obeyed to ensure the constitutionality of bills. The Ministry of Justice is suppose to check to make sure that all proposed bills are compatible with the constitution, but apparently this has not been happening for years.

Toronto’s chief planner is working on building Toronto up. Midrise buildings will soon (hopefully) bridge the gap between low-rise suburbs and businesses and the monstrous skyscrapers. 

Martin Regg Cohn of the Toronto Star asks if the next Liberal Premier will level with voters about congestion and traffic in the GTHA. I’m generally not optimistic on this topic, but it’s a problem inching towards crisis that the government appears paralyzed on.

Here are a few links related to the Ontario Liberal leadership race I think might be worth checking out.

Earl Washburn crunches the numbers on the delegate count. 

Kathleen Wynne may be the best choice for Premier. 

Steve Paikin asks if Sandra Pupatello wins, will she be able to win a seat? 

Cohn reveals Harinder Takhar’s shady dealings and the embarrassment he presents for the Liberal Party of Ontario.