Can Collingwood Pass the Strong Towns’ Test?
Back in 2014, the USA-based Strong Towns group posted a test to “measure a successful Strong Town.” The ten questions or conditions posed include:
Ideas. Opinions. Politics. Culture. Adoxography. Satire. Parrhesia. Skepticism. Terribila meditans. Vox clamantis in oppidum. Stirring the humor praefandus. 
Search Results for: icbl
Houghton Wins Precedent-Setting Lawsuit
Both local media reported that after a lengthy court battle, former Collus CEO Ed Houghton (and former Acting CAO for Collingwood), was awarded costs for his legal expenses during the Saunderson Vindictive Judicial Inquiry (aka the SVJI). This decision has implications for any subsequent lawsuits should our petty, punishment-obsessed council decide to attempt to sue those participants who have never been charged with any criminal activity … (more–>)
I Miss Collingwood’s Elvis Festival
I miss Collingwood’s Elvis Festival. It was a weekend full of visitors, friends, music, entertainment, dancing, and fun. But it was killed in 2019 by a council that dislikes others having fun. Elvis was too loose, too free, too liberal, too wild for their puritanical tastes. Couldn’t have people dancing and singing in the streets, drinking, laughing, and enjoying themselves, could we? Fun, it seems, can … (more–>)
Why Are Council’s Conflicts of Interest Being Ignored?
While local media focuses on our revenge-obsessed council’s myopic intent to punish people who committed no crimes, merely thwarted their Great Leader’s personal ambitions in 2012, they blithely overlook the bigger issue at the council table: conflicts of interest. Avoiding even the appearance of conflict is at the core of the recommendations in the Saunderson Vindictive Judicial Inquiry (aka the SVJI), yet these recommendations are routinely … (more–>)
Engineers Disagree With Water “Crisis” Report
In a letter dated July 2, 2021 to the CAO and the mayor, in response to staff report CAO 2021-10, two of Collingwood’s most respected engineering firms took exception to the town’s claim there was a “water crisis” and offered solutions to the alleged problems. In responding to the report’s recommendations about releasing some capacity for development, the engineers said the recommendations fell “considerably short of … (more–>)
Council: Disarray, Disunited, Disrespectful
Chris Pott’s latest blog post, titled “Council in Major Disarray” captures in part the stumbling, bumbling, and fumbling in-fighting that has become endemic in our council and is now on view for the public’s entertainment. Potts writes: Collingwood, when council starts fighting amongst themselves, you know we are in trouble. We already knew we were on the brink of disaster but this now confirms we are … (more–>)
Chris Potts Nails It
Nailed it! In his latest blog post, former Town of Collingwood employee, Chris Potts writes about our council’s ill-conceived plan to hire a “climate change specialist” to add to the already egregiously expensive and bloated town payroll that taxpayers are burdened with: The Town of Collingwood seems to just hire and hire and hire, the next time we see this the position will be a coordinator, … (more–>)
More Secrecy, More Deception, More Conflicts
Once again our council scurried behind closed doors to discuss town business that should have been discussed in the open. But openness was never a watchword for this council. However, secretive and deceptive seem appropriate adjectives. Two of the three items on Friday’s (June 11) “special” council meeting were about or related to the job-and-revenue-killing interim control bylaw (ICBL) that was passed in late April without … (more–>)
Saunderson Abandons Collingwood
In his latest email to PC Party members, Brian Saunderson predictably celebrates his anti-democratic appointment as candidate without having had to actually work for it. Our much-disliked mayor was rescued from likely failure in the nomination process by the intervention of the premier. But at the close of his email Saunderson writes, …it is time to turn our heads to an election in 2022. We know … (more–>)
Ignoring the Potential Conflicts of Interest
A story in CollingwoodToday notes that council will hold a meeting on May 31 to consider exceptions to their job-and-revenue-killing interim control bylaw (ICBL). That bylaw abruptly ended all growth, building, and development because our inept council had failed to pay attention ever since they were elected to the water issue and the pipeline contract, despite staff reports about both. I wrote about this last month, … (more–>)
Saunderson’s Petty Vindictiveness on Display
If you ever doubted our mayor, Brian Saunderson, was engaged in a petty, personal vendetta against people who thwarted him in 2012, you only need to read a recent article in CollingwoodToday, titled, Council to hire lawyer for potential action against parties involved in judicial inquiry. And, as usual, our secretive council scurried behind closed doors to hold their discussions in order to make their decision … (more–>)
Saunderson Follows Stalin’s Lead
In the 1930s, the Soviet dictator Josef Stalin removed his political rivals and enemies from history. Literally: he had their images brushed out of photographs, their names removed from books. Those he didn’t like simply disappeared from public notice. Kim Jong Un and Mao Tse Tung similarly erased their opponents. And now our own mayor wants to follow the example set by these dictators. But while … (more–>)
Bring Back the Salons
Today if someone mentions a “salon” you probably think about a haircut or manicure. But in the 18th century, prior to the French Revolution, salons were the focus of civil debate, intellectual curiosity, and culture. They were centres of discussion on everything from manners to literature to philosophy to science. And they were run by women. Salons were the bright stars of the Enlightenment; cauldrons of … (more–>)
2014 predictions always good for a giggle
I had barely finished writing my post on the failed 2013 predictions of the self-described “psychics” and “clairvoyants” who are the media darlings du jour, when the sorry lot of charlatans published their latest lot of flim-flammery and codswallop: predictions for 2014. These will, of course, prove as wrong as the predictions for 2013. And 2012. And 2011, And 2010, And 2009. And on and on … (more–>)