Municipal Politics – Page 11

Horwath needs to read her Machiavelli

Andrea Horwath needs to do some more reading before she decides to negotiate further with Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty. Specifically, she needs to read more Machiavelli. The Prince, in particular. This week the Globe & Mail reported that Horwath announced that, “…NDP Leader Andrea Horwath (is) now abandoning another major proposal in return for her party’s support of the governing Liberals’ budget, it will be easier for the two sides to strike a deal.” Her “proposal” – actually a demand in exchange for the NDP’s … click below for more ↓

Machiavelli in popular art: Don MacDonald’s graphic novel

2012-04-08 2012-04-08 Arts / Books & Reviews / Municipal Politics / PoliticsLeave a comment

A graphic novel about Niccolo Machiavelli… who woulda thought? It’s not like the Florentine was exactly the X Men or Mr. Natural as a comic book hero. Artist Don MacDonald has put together a graphic biography of Machiavelli on his blog, stretching more than 150 pages (so far) ranging through the entire span of Niccolo’s life. He even includes footnotes for some of the historical material he has drawn on, with sources listed. It does help to read his notes, and even more to have … click below for more ↓

Scribble, scribble, eh what?

2012-03-26 2012-03-26 Arts / Books & Reviews / Municipal Politics / Personal Reminiscences / What I'm Reading Now7 Comments

Just passed the 13,000 word mark on my current book about Machiavelli and municipal politics, this weekend. So far, I have gone through explanations of Chapters 1-10 of The Prince. The Prince has 26 chapters, so I’m about 40% of the way through my analysis, more or less on track for a 35,000-40,000 word book. It’s a little tough in places trying to fit Machiavelli’s words and ideas to modern issues and themes, but so far I think I’ve done a fair job of finding … click below for more ↓

Is Machiavelli relevant to today’s municipal politicians?

2012-03-20 2018-09-05 Books & Reviews / Canadian Politics / History & Biography / Municipal Politics / PoliticsLeave a comment

Are the political theories of a 16th-century Italian diplomat relevant to today’s municipal politics? Yes, assuming you know and have read his works, not just the bumper-sticker over-simplification that says, “The end justifies the means.” Actually, Machiavelli never wrote those words. That’s a modern condensation. It’s also an erroneous paraphrase of what he wrote in The Prince, because it overlooks a lot of his comments on the effect of some types of behaviour on the honour and reputation of the ruler. Machiavelli stressed the cause … click below for more ↓

That squiggle cost taxpayers HOW much?

2012-03-10 2012-03-10 Canadian Politics / Collingwood / Language & Grammar / Municipal PoliticsLeave a comment

I read in the latest edition of the Collingwood Connection that: “Regional Tourist Organization 7 (is) now Bruce Grey Simcoe.” Were you even aware of Regional Tourist Organization 7 before that story? According to the Connection, The organization announced its new brand and logo on Thursday at the Bear Estate in Collingwood. Bruce Grey Simcoe is one of 13 regional tourism organizations across the province. Executive director Jeffery Schmidt said the group has been doing research and marketing over the past year in preparation for … click below for more ↓

Grim outlook for Canadian manufacturing

2012-03-07 2012-03-07 Canadian Politics / Collingwood / Municipal Politics / PoliticsLeave a comment

The outlook for Canadian manufacturing, warns the CIBC, will remain grim as long as a strong dollar keeps labour costs high, “deepening the hollowing out of the industrial heartland and boosting regional income inequality in the years ahead,” says the Huffington Post. The Canadian loonie looks good for shoppers who buy consumer and retail goods made outside Canada. Our import prices are actually 10% lower than they were a decade ago. Back in 2002, when the loonie was $0.62CAD to the $USD, our labour costs … click below for more ↓

The Drummond Report: economic disaster or salvation?

2012-03-03 2012-03-03 Canadian Politics / Collingwood / Municipal PoliticsOne Comment

[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRToWKtrfCo&feature=related”] “It’s not all doom and gloom,” quips Rick Mercer in this video. “Drummond predicts the province could still turn things around, if it acts now, and no one gets sick, needs a job, or educates their children, for the next… ever.” The Drummond Report – from the Commission on the Reform of Ontario’s Public Services headed by economist Don Drummond – was released last week. It’s a sweeping, 529-page, brick-thick study of Ontario’s fiscal policies and structures, with 362 recommendations about how the province … click below for more ↓

Collingwood’s population on the rise, faster than Canada’s

2012-02-08 2012-02-08 Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Urban Design & Growth2 Comments

Statistics Canada has released some of the key data data from its 2011 Census. In the five years since our last census (2006), Canada has grown in population size almost 6% to 33,476,688. That’s ten times larger than we were in 1861. Once again, our growth rate was the highest among G8 countries. According to the StatsCan analysis of the data, “every province and most territories saw its population increase between 2006 and 2011.” However, it notes that, “The rate of population growth increased in … click below for more ↓

Why Admiral Collingwood should go ahead

2012-02-05 2012-02-05 Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Urban Design & Growth5 Comments

Juxtaposition. That’s the issue Collingwood Council has to wrestle with, Monday: what effect will the juxtaposition of the proposed development’s size and height have on the existing, smaller buildings? Some people are afraid our existing heritage buildings will be diminished by this project. Last week I was in Toronto. At the corner of York and Wellington Streets, I saw the Toronto Club; a beautifully preserved, late 19th-century red-brick, three-storey building. It’s in the, heart of financial district, surrounded by tall, modern skyscrapers, some 30 or … click below for more ↓

Mayor Ford’s troubles a lesson for all Canadian mayors

2012-02-04 2012-02-04 Canadian Politics / Collingwood / Municipal PoliticsLeave a comment

On days like this, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford must be banging his head against the wall. This week he – and indeed every Canadian mayor – was reminded that a mayor’s powers are limited to a single vote. That point was driven home when Councillor Joe Mihevc asked for a legal opinion on Ford’s unilateral decision to kill the Transit City plan, in December 2010, without consulting council. Mihevc also claimed Ford did not have the authority to sign a memorandum of understanding with the … click below for more ↓

Make it happen, crowd tells council about Admiral Collingwood

2012-01-29 2012-01-30 Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Personal Reminiscences / Urban Design & GrowthOne Comment

Four hundred people, perhaps more, packed the Collingwood Legion, Sunday afternoon, to support the Admiral Collingwood development, at Hume and Hurontario Streets. It was arguably the most important public meeting of the last 18 months. The clear message, both from speakers at the rally and audience members, was “make it happen.” So many people packed the Legion hall that it was standing room only, with some forced to watch and listen from the alcove. The rally was called by a group of citizens to counter … click below for more ↓

Annual Mayor’s Levee today

2012-01-08 2012-01-08 Collingwood / Municipal PoliticsLeave a comment

The annual Mayor’s Levee will be held this afternoon, January 8, at Georgian Manor Resort, from 1-3 p.m. This is the annual event in which people who have contributed significantly to the greater good of the community get recognized with the “Order of Collingwood.” It’s also an opportunity for the public to socialize with their council This year the following people will get the Order of Collingwood: Ms. Catherine Campbell Ms. Penny Skelton Mrs. Jennifer Nichol Mrs. Barbara Fawcett Mr. Terry Geddes The following people … click below for more ↓

Musing on mixed heights in urban environments

2012-01-03 2012-01-03 Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Urban Design & GrowthLeave a comment

I recently spent some time looking online for images of cities where mixed building heights could show me how a varied skyline looks when buildings of significantly different heights are close together in an urban environment. This is, of course, because Collingwood council will soon consider allowing a six-storey building downtown, set amidst what are mostly two- and three-storey buildings. The mix of high and low in the core is common in cities, less so in smaller towns. That’s simple economics, however. All of these … click below for more ↓

Politically Speaking: new book on media relations

2011-12-29 2011-12-29 Canadian Politics / Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Personal ReminiscencesLeave a comment

I am pleased and proud to announce that my first of two books for Municipal World has been published. Politically Speaking is a guide to media relations for municipal politicians and municipal staff. Of course the advice and strategies I suggest are applicable to other levels of government as well. My goal was to provide some basic guidelines on how to deal with the media, but also to encourage municipalities to create proper communications policies. There is a video interview about the book here: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJxskjgJwv4] My next … click below for more ↓