Showing posts with label City Council. Show all posts
Showing posts with label City Council. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Toronto’s Board of Health wants to License Hookah lounges and Ban Patio Smoking?



As a non-smoker myself, I disagree with the chair of Toronto’s public health committee, a political anti-tobacco activist's with a personal political agenda at the expense and rights to the fundamental freedoms of Torontonians.
Including freedom of assembly, association, and other means of communication as guaranteed under our Canadian charter of rights.
This committee on the one hand for purely political reason continues its attempts to appease anti-smoking groups a major growth industry that has accomplished all of the reasonable and rational measures which the science can support.
Then on the other for solely monetary reasons seeks to license water pipe hookah patios and lounges?
The city’s Board of Health should and must stick to the health and safety issues mandated by the province for which the city receives 100% reimbursement.

Until such time as the province of Ontario mandates that smoking be banned on all restaurant patios throughout the province it is a not a health issue but rather a political one.

 

While anti-smoking groups thanks to their political allies have become a growth lobbying industry they must continually keep up the political pressure for more draconian legislation that takes away the rights of their fellow citizens in order to obtain funding and thus keep their jobs.
Society is well aware of the enormous monetary and political pressures faced by public health units and scientists whose financing to a great extent are controlled in large part by eliminates by special interest groups, lobbyists and unelected bureaucrats.
Perhaps that is why we have recently and continue to witness the abuse of scientific integrity through an unfortunate generation of faulty and questionable scientific outcomes in a number of prevalent issues pertaining to the environment and health issues through mischievous statistical acts and findings.
Yes, smoking is harmful and so is the elimination of the individual’s fundamental freedoms of choice, association, and assembly by other means of communication.
Other Stories:

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/1278818--dimanno-toronto-s-choke-out-for-smokers-escalates


Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Gold Plated Salaries of Elite City Councillors and Canadian Politicians Have Left the Rest of Us Footing the Bills.






Toronto city councillors have an annual salary of $99,619.52 plus an annual tax free expense account of $30,000 on top of their 100% taxpayer paid extended health and dental coverage, life insurance of 2 times salary, long term disability at 75% of salary, mileage reimbursed @ 52 cents per kilometer, one years full salary and benefits upon leaving office and OMERS pension plan.   



All Ontario members of the legislature recently received a 25% increase which resulted in cabinet minister’s salary rising to $157,633 in addition to benefits and expense accounts. 
Canadian federal cabinet members in parliament enjoy an annual salary of $218,500, plus expenses, benefits and lavish pensions. 
The elected provincial members of the legislature receive an annual salary of $126,321 plus expenses, benefits and pensions at the same time our federal elected members of parliament are paid an annual salary of $147,700 plus expenses, benefits and pension. 
All these politician's salaries, expense accounts, benefits and lavish pensions, of course, are paid for on the backs of  Canadians with the average annual salary of a mere $44,366?    
Thus it is not just only the top executives but over paid basketball, baseball, hockey, tennis and soccer players etc. along with actors and actresses who ALSO play a significant role in driving the growth in income inequality throughout Ontario, Canada and the world. 

Talk about media hypocrisy…

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1109514--top-canadian-ceos-got-27-per-cent-pay-hike?bn=1