One of the better sites of this kind. But it doesnt show everything. One of the more curious things is Theresa Rodrigues who lives in Oakville (and still doesnt have a website up.) Her campaign is really a placeholder operation and you can see that her locally raised money has dropped every year and so has the Party contribution. In 2008 it would appear that the party gave her zero money. BUT that year was the same campaign that there was the "in and out" funding scandal. According to the Canadian Press Theresa Rodrigues was one of the candidates (many said no) who accepted money from the national campaign and then sent it back.
I'm creating a survey to send out to all federal election candidates in Davenport and posting the answers to this website. In general I'd like to keep the questions specific to Davenport and the JT, rather than broad party policy stuff, though often the party policy stuff does relate directly to local issues. This could help us judge how in-tune our candidates are with our neighbourhood, and also make them aware that we're involved and paying attention.
Do you have any questions to ask? Post them here, or send them through the contact form. Questions for specific candidates will not be accepted, as this is a survey for all of them. Questions from anonymous posters and obvious partisan trolls may be ignored. :)
Deadline for questions is this Friday, April 15th at noon.
Here's an interesting link to the Pundit's Guide entry for Davenport. Tons of info about recent elections in Davenport. Results, links to Elections Canada financial statements, etc..etc...
My grandmother lived in this building in the 80's. My father thought it would be a good option for her since the building was brand new and close to us that we could walk to her and help her out if she needed us. My father was wrong. The building might have been brand new but it came with problems from day one. The place was infested with cockroaches and they were even in her fridge. When my grandmother passed away in 1984 there wasn't much of her things that we were able to keep. Her grandchildren were not able to have any mementos because of the infestation. We pretty much had to throw out all her belongings. Things have not changed. I like the part where the landlord says he is working on fixing things. Why has this taken nearly 30 years?
Here is link to Ontario Liberal Party website and to list of candidates for election. Unless I am missing it, I don't see Ruprcht's name there: http://www.ontarioliberal.ca/OurTeam/WhoWeAre/Candidates.
Also, see this link to Jonah Schein website where he states intent to run for NDP. (but I guess it is possible that the nomination meeting was held after he posted this and that he lost to Pighin.) http://www.electjonahschein.com/
I was just looking at the Liberal Party of Ontario's website and noticed that Ruprecht's name is not on their list of candidates for the 2011 election. Is there anyone out there who is a member of the Liberal Davenport Riding Association? If so, as Ruprecht been nominated as your candidate again?
Also, I hear Jonah Schein is after the ndp nomination in the riding.
Back to Fiorito: A hellhole is not a home
Fiorito: A hellhole is not a home
February 14, 2011
Joe Fiorito
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health may soon move 20 residents from its schizophrenia program into 1011 Lansdowne Ave., a building with a rotten reputation.
How’d that happen?
Turns out the landlord approached CAMH; turns out such overtures are not unusual, perhaps because such tenants provide a landlord with a secure source of income.
CAMH, of course, is not a landlord, but it does provide outreach; also, in this instance, an outside agency may be hired to provide on-site support.
Is everybody happy?
Define happy.
Last week, I talked to a couple who used to live at 1011 Lansdowne; they have mental health issues and they moved recently, after five years of being threatened, offered drugs, propositioned and eaten alive by bedbugs.
I also talked to two men who live there still; both men said they think the building is dangerous.
And then I talked to Dr. Kwame McKenzie. He runs the schizophrenia program at CAMH. He said that CAMH staff have sized up the building, and “the landlord has been trying to fix things up.”
Sounds hopeful.
“Some of our clients already live there, and they have support from out outpatient department.” He added, “We’ve also been relying on the experience of clients who are already there, who found the place by themselves. We’ve asked them if it’s safe. We haven’t had negative reports come back.”
Here’s one.
On Friday I had a note from a city social worker who said he had stopped housing clients in that building because the conditions were horrid; he added that anyone who is willing to house the mentally ill at 1011 Lansdowne ought to be prepared to live there themselves for a month.
McKenzie said, “We won’t move anyone if we think it’s bad for their mental health . . . we won’t put anyone in a place that isn’t safe.”
How far along is the deal?
A tentative contract has been drawn up between CAMH, the landlord, and an outside agency, Madison Social Services. I’ve seen a copy. I have been assured that nothing has been signed.
Not yet.
The contract requires Madison to provide round the clock support. “Supports may focus on visualizing the Client’s new living arrangements at a pace that works for each Client throughout the transition period.” Can you visualize a prostitute having sex in a stairwell?
I have a lot of respect for social workers, but I have yet to meet anyone who can handle a caseload of 20 vulnerable people while at the same time tackling bedbugs, drug dealers, thugs and prostitutes.
The contract also obliges the landlord to inspect and treat for bedbugs. McKenzie said the bedbug clause is a standard provision in such arrangements.
The question in my mind is not whether the landlord will or will not routinely treat for bedbugs. The question is, why would anyone want to move 20 vulnerable people into a building where there are bedbugs?
The most vulnerable among us need the safest housing; that does not sound like 1011 Lansdowne.
Oh, look, let’s be kind. This is a real and painful dilemma. There are hundreds of people waiting for high-support housing, and people with issues can’t stay at CAMH forever.
The lesser evil?
It is an evil.
I prefer to visualize Edmund Place, a residence in Parkdale, which sets the standard in this city when it comes to supportive housing for those with mental health issues. McKenzie said, almost wistfully, that Edmund Place is a one-off. I think it ought to be a template.
We need a housing strategy in this town. They have a housing strategy in Calgary.
More on Wednesday.
Joe Fiorito appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Email: jfiorito@thestar.ca
Agreed. This day and age a candidate has to have a working website and hers is still not up. Surprising. There is nothing wrong with voting for Theresa Rodrigues but she has been a placeholder candidate for quite a while in a riding she has zero chance of winning; she was almost beat by the Green party last time. You see the same thing the other way around in other ridings where Liberals or NDP have no chance. Since they have been stagnant for some time maybe it is time for a fresh face next time around. I think we all prefer posters not to be condescending towards others and so far things have been pretty constructive so lets keep it that way.
Strongly suggest people come out to The next DIGIN meeting takes place on Tuesday April 12 2011, 7:00PM in the Ambrico Room of the Wallace-Emerson Community Centre, 1260 Dufferin St. (at Dupont).
Just like when they did the City Councillor debates, they archive on their site but you have to subscribe (and I could not afford to watch myself, lol)
Thank you for a thoughtful contribution. For the record, my problem with 1011 is the unsavoury LACK of people. At one point a couple years ago it was over 2/3rds empty. Work is being done to improve units and rebuild a stable resident base. The developer involved in the new proposal ran into a lack of people when he planned to build two towers on the south side of Bloor just west of the Value Village - he only ended up building one. If you were determined to build a tall tower, at least the Bloor / Lansdowne intersection has enough transit that it might not be a problem for traffic. This won't be the only development either. There has already be an approval for a massive development at the site of the Galleria Mall. So that empty feeling you get on Dupont Street won't last - assuming developers can actually sell all these new units they want to build. Of course, in many cases they sell to individual "investors" who plan to rent units out. These ambitious individuals may not do all their homework and underestimate the potential impact of development currently planned. If infrastructure can't support the addition of an additional two 26 story towers, we could end up paying the price for bad planning long after the developer is gone.
Oh, I rent too, nothing wrong with that.
If we are going to talk about the Federal election I think all federal issues should be fair game. Perhaps only in this forum. Part of the decision making process demands that we put issues into their appropriate context. Some groups will invariably avoid discussion of substantive issues, some federal issues are difficult to deal with or get an appropriate handle on. There may be four local issues and six broader issues; it would be most helpful to put them all on the table as individual citizens weigh them and consider where they stand.
For example, one local federal issue far outside our cold steel rails is the cod fishery of Newfoundland. The current moratorium was intended to be short term and has clearly failed. The repercussions for the economy, individual livelihoods, and the whole culture are so grave that it is a difficult issue to even discuss on the rock. If the issue is left only to be discussed locally it will not be addressed. But all drag net fishing should be stopped. At minimum the federal fuel subsidies that enable drag net fishing should be recognized for the obscenity they are.
Another under-discussed issue is the currency. We contract out the printing to the Canadian Banknote company but most money is created and flows into our economy through the fractional reserve banking system. The foibles of that system have a dramatic impact on where the wealth and production of our society are directed. The housing mortgage industry is well established and banks fund it consistently. Military industry doesn't face financing obstacles that are so difficult for other projects. Transit City could threaten the credit rating of both the city and the province; Paul Martin made massive spending cuts to keep the interest rate of federal bonds under control, yet the F35 contract is never questioned by banks in terms of the financial obligations.
I may be in a minority, but I think this site should differentiate itself from facebook with a stronger culture of citizenship. When choosing a local representative, we should talk about all the factors that we need to consider.
Who else loves the combination of an anonymous poster repeating a condescending school yard put down like "kenny Boy" and using bad grammar?
Another approach we might take would be to set aside personal insults and focus on the issues.
For your information Kenny boy just because Theresa Rodrigues the Conservative or con as you call her website is not running does not mean her campaigne is not in full swing. I work the phones on a daily basis and I speak to a lot of people. Let me tell you something kenny Boy their are many people who are switching their vote from Liberals to Conservative. Big Thanks goes to Fantino and Rob Ford. Let me tell you another thing their would never be a NDP MP or MPP in Davenport.
Click on Theresa Rodrigues website today and you get: This site is under development
...ummm,. hasn't she been already running for the conservatives forever? There are signs around the riding that have been up since a few elections ago9.
Cons have definitely given up on Davenport, as it is, I agree a left-centre riding, trending more left as time goes by.
I would caution not to judge by colour but by actual numbers. Many of the red polls were won by only a few votes and also many of the areas that were won by Mario Silva continue to undergo demographic change. Overall Silva won by 5,000 votes in the last election which is pretty good but it is interesting to take a longer look at results. Because turnout changes from election to election you only go by % and even there things can be effected by the number of candidates.
Davenport % of Vote
--------Liberal ---NDP
1993 73% ---9% (this was possibly the highest % ever for the ward)
1997 65.9% ---18.4%
2000 66.7% ---13.6%
2004 50.7% ---34.1%
2006 51.9% ---32.6%
2008 45.8 % ---31.3%
The Reform/Alliance/PC (combined) has hovered around 10% for the last 15 years.
In the last election the Green vote jumped from 4.8 % up to 10.5 % almost beating the PC party. This mirrors a widespread interest in environmental issues. It will be interesting to see if this interest is still there.I have a feeling it is not.
It would be safe to say that this riding is a centre left riding.
Two interesting things. One, Mario Silva (and Tony Ruprecht) are trending down and that may have something to do with voter fatigue of their personal brand as both have been around a long time. Second, Andrew Cash is the first NDP candidate in the riding with a wide profile. Gord Perks was certainly known but Andrew also has years of public performance under his belt and a lifetime of political activity. Unlike previous weak NDP candidates Andrew brings a whole group of people with him who are attracted to him personally. With the changes in the south and Bloor stretch of the riding, and potentially new voters, this could end up being a real close race.
This profile seems a bit cut and paste and a little out of date. The riding is undergoing a massive change in demographics and transportation and development. I wish they would not do these broad stroke portraits at all and instead do feature stories.
"Televised DAVENPORT All Candidates Debate on ROGERS' GOLDHAWK LIVE, Monday April 11 at 9:00 8:00 PM. (The night before the Party Leaders' English Debate)"
Wayne Scott has posted this debate on Youtube, in four parts: http://www.youtube.com/user/HOOFandCYCLE
One of the better sites of this kind. But it doesnt show everything. One of the more curious things is Theresa Rodrigues who lives in Oakville (and still doesnt have a website up.) Her campaign is really a placeholder operation and you can see that her locally raised money has dropped every year and so has the Party contribution. In 2008 it would appear that the party gave her zero money. BUT that year was the same campaign that there was the "in and out" funding scandal. According to the Canadian Press Theresa Rodrigues was one of the candidates (many said no) who accepted money from the national campaign and then sent it back.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/03/01/tories-in-and-out.html
Interesting reading.
Hi everyone,
I'm creating a survey to send out to all federal election candidates in Davenport and posting the answers to this website. In general I'd like to keep the questions specific to Davenport and the JT, rather than broad party policy stuff, though often the party policy stuff does relate directly to local issues. This could help us judge how in-tune our candidates are with our neighbourhood, and also make them aware that we're involved and paying attention.
Do you have any questions to ask? Post them here, or send them through the contact form. Questions for specific candidates will not be accepted, as this is a survey for all of them. Questions from anonymous posters and obvious partisan trolls may be ignored. :)
Deadline for questions is this Friday, April 15th at noon.
Cheers,
Vic
Here's an interesting link to the Pundit's Guide entry for Davenport. Tons of info about recent elections in Davenport. Results, links to Elections Canada financial statements, etc..etc...
Anyone watch the debate? No conservative representation was present. Anyone know anything about this Simon Luigi?
My grandmother lived in this building in the 80's. My father thought it would be a good option for her since the building was brand new and close to us that we could walk to her and help her out if she needed us. My father was wrong. The building might have been brand new but it came with problems from day one. The place was infested with cockroaches and they were even in her fridge. When my grandmother passed away in 1984 there wasn't much of her things that we were able to keep. Her grandchildren were not able to have any mementos because of the infestation. We pretty much had to throw out all her belongings. Things have not changed. I like the part where the landlord says he is working on fixing things. Why has this taken nearly 30 years?
Here is link to Ontario Liberal Party website and to list of candidates for election. Unless I am missing it, I don't see Ruprcht's name there:
http://www.ontarioliberal.ca/OurTeam/WhoWeAre/Candidates.
Also, see this link to Jonah Schein website where he states intent to run for NDP. (but I guess it is possible that the nomination meeting was held after he posted this and that he lost to Pighin.)
http://www.electjonahschein.com/
Not sure about Ruprecht... As for the NDP, it looks like Paul Pighin already has the NDP nomination (check link above and this Google search).
I was just looking at the Liberal Party of Ontario's website and noticed that Ruprecht's name is not on their list of candidates for the 2011 election. Is there anyone out there who is a member of the Liberal Davenport Riding Association? If so, as Ruprecht been nominated as your candidate again?
Also, I hear Jonah Schein is after the ndp nomination in the riding.
Back to Fiorito: A hellhole is not a home
Fiorito: A hellhole is not a home
February 14, 2011
Joe Fiorito
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health may soon move 20 residents from its schizophrenia program into 1011 Lansdowne Ave., a building with a rotten reputation.
How’d that happen?
Turns out the landlord approached CAMH; turns out such overtures are not unusual, perhaps because such tenants provide a landlord with a secure source of income.
CAMH, of course, is not a landlord, but it does provide outreach; also, in this instance, an outside agency may be hired to provide on-site support.
Is everybody happy?
Define happy.
Last week, I talked to a couple who used to live at 1011 Lansdowne; they have mental health issues and they moved recently, after five years of being threatened, offered drugs, propositioned and eaten alive by bedbugs.
I also talked to two men who live there still; both men said they think the building is dangerous.
And then I talked to Dr. Kwame McKenzie. He runs the schizophrenia program at CAMH. He said that CAMH staff have sized up the building, and “the landlord has been trying to fix things up.”
Sounds hopeful.
“Some of our clients already live there, and they have support from out outpatient department.” He added, “We’ve also been relying on the experience of clients who are already there, who found the place by themselves. We’ve asked them if it’s safe. We haven’t had negative reports come back.”
Here’s one.
On Friday I had a note from a city social worker who said he had stopped housing clients in that building because the conditions were horrid; he added that anyone who is willing to house the mentally ill at 1011 Lansdowne ought to be prepared to live there themselves for a month.
McKenzie said, “We won’t move anyone if we think it’s bad for their mental health . . . we won’t put anyone in a place that isn’t safe.”
How far along is the deal?
A tentative contract has been drawn up between CAMH, the landlord, and an outside agency, Madison Social Services. I’ve seen a copy. I have been assured that nothing has been signed.
Not yet.
The contract requires Madison to provide round the clock support. “Supports may focus on visualizing the Client’s new living arrangements at a pace that works for each Client throughout the transition period.” Can you visualize a prostitute having sex in a stairwell?
I have a lot of respect for social workers, but I have yet to meet anyone who can handle a caseload of 20 vulnerable people while at the same time tackling bedbugs, drug dealers, thugs and prostitutes.
The contract also obliges the landlord to inspect and treat for bedbugs. McKenzie said the bedbug clause is a standard provision in such arrangements.
The question in my mind is not whether the landlord will or will not routinely treat for bedbugs. The question is, why would anyone want to move 20 vulnerable people into a building where there are bedbugs?
The most vulnerable among us need the safest housing; that does not sound like 1011 Lansdowne.
Oh, look, let’s be kind. This is a real and painful dilemma. There are hundreds of people waiting for high-support housing, and people with issues can’t stay at CAMH forever.
The lesser evil?
It is an evil.
I prefer to visualize Edmund Place, a residence in Parkdale, which sets the standard in this city when it comes to supportive housing for those with mental health issues. McKenzie said, almost wistfully, that Edmund Place is a one-off. I think it ought to be a template.
We need a housing strategy in this town. They have a housing strategy in Calgary.
More on Wednesday.
Joe Fiorito appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Email: jfiorito@thestar.ca
Agreed. This day and age a candidate has to have a working website and hers is still not up. Surprising. There is nothing wrong with voting for Theresa Rodrigues but she has been a placeholder candidate for quite a while in a riding she has zero chance of winning; she was almost beat by the Green party last time. You see the same thing the other way around in other ridings where Liberals or NDP have no chance. Since they have been stagnant for some time maybe it is time for a fresh face next time around. I think we all prefer posters not to be condescending towards others and so far things have been pretty constructive so lets keep it that way.
Strongly suggest people come out to The next DIGIN meeting takes place on Tuesday April 12 2011, 7:00PM in the Ambrico Room of the Wallace-Emerson Community Centre, 1260 Dufferin St. (at Dupont).
Candidates will be there to do Q&A !
It does require yiou subscribe to Rogers cable.
Just like when they did the City Councillor debates, they archive on their site but you have to subscribe (and I could not afford to watch myself, lol)
I'm not sure it it will be watchable online. Rogers does stream certain things, like council debates... Their website is a bit confusing.
Some recent shows are available to watch, but I didn't see any episodes of Goldhawk Live listed. And I couldn't find a live stream.
So...we might need someone to record this and post online. :)
I also emailed Rogers and asked them if it would be posted.
It would be a shame if the only debate (that I know of) requires Rogers Cable TV service to watch it.
I'd also like to watch the debate online. Will it be streamed anywhere?
Can anyone tell me if I can watch the debate online somewhere?
Thank you for a thoughtful contribution. For the record, my problem with 1011 is the unsavoury LACK of people. At one point a couple years ago it was over 2/3rds empty. Work is being done to improve units and rebuild a stable resident base. The developer involved in the new proposal ran into a lack of people when he planned to build two towers on the south side of Bloor just west of the Value Village - he only ended up building one. If you were determined to build a tall tower, at least the Bloor / Lansdowne intersection has enough transit that it might not be a problem for traffic. This won't be the only development either. There has already be an approval for a massive development at the site of the Galleria Mall. So that empty feeling you get on Dupont Street won't last - assuming developers can actually sell all these new units they want to build. Of course, in many cases they sell to individual "investors" who plan to rent units out. These ambitious individuals may not do all their homework and underestimate the potential impact of development currently planned. If infrastructure can't support the addition of an additional two 26 story towers, we could end up paying the price for bad planning long after the developer is gone.
Oh, I rent too, nothing wrong with that.
If we are going to talk about the Federal election I think all federal issues should be fair game. Perhaps only in this forum. Part of the decision making process demands that we put issues into their appropriate context. Some groups will invariably avoid discussion of substantive issues, some federal issues are difficult to deal with or get an appropriate handle on. There may be four local issues and six broader issues; it would be most helpful to put them all on the table as individual citizens weigh them and consider where they stand.
For example, one local federal issue far outside our cold steel rails is the cod fishery of Newfoundland. The current moratorium was intended to be short term and has clearly failed. The repercussions for the economy, individual livelihoods, and the whole culture are so grave that it is a difficult issue to even discuss on the rock. If the issue is left only to be discussed locally it will not be addressed. But all drag net fishing should be stopped. At minimum the federal fuel subsidies that enable drag net fishing should be recognized for the obscenity they are.
Another under-discussed issue is the currency. We contract out the printing to the Canadian Banknote company but most money is created and flows into our economy through the fractional reserve banking system. The foibles of that system have a dramatic impact on where the wealth and production of our society are directed. The housing mortgage industry is well established and banks fund it consistently. Military industry doesn't face financing obstacles that are so difficult for other projects. Transit City could threaten the credit rating of both the city and the province; Paul Martin made massive spending cuts to keep the interest rate of federal bonds under control, yet the F35 contract is never questioned by banks in terms of the financial obligations.
I may be in a minority, but I think this site should differentiate itself from facebook with a stronger culture of citizenship. When choosing a local representative, we should talk about all the factors that we need to consider.
Who else loves the combination of an anonymous poster repeating a condescending school yard put down like "kenny Boy" and using bad grammar?
Another approach we might take would be to set aside personal insults and focus on the issues.
For your information Kenny boy just because Theresa Rodrigues the Conservative or con as you call her website is not running does not mean her campaigne is not in full swing. I work the phones on a daily basis and I speak to a lot of people. Let me tell you something kenny Boy their are many people who are switching their vote from Liberals to Conservative. Big Thanks goes to Fantino and Rob Ford. Let me tell you another thing their would never be a NDP MP or MPP in Davenport.
Click on Theresa Rodrigues website today and you get: This site is under development
...ummm,. hasn't she been already running for the conservatives forever? There are signs around the riding that have been up since a few elections ago9.
Cons have definitely given up on Davenport, as it is, I agree a left-centre riding, trending more left as time goes by.
I would caution not to judge by colour but by actual numbers. Many of the red polls were won by only a few votes and also many of the areas that were won by Mario Silva continue to undergo demographic change. Overall Silva won by 5,000 votes in the last election which is pretty good but it is interesting to take a longer look at results. Because turnout changes from election to election you only go by % and even there things can be effected by the number of candidates.
Davenport % of Vote
--------Liberal ---NDP
1993 73% ---9% (this was possibly the highest % ever for the ward)
1997 65.9% ---18.4%
2000 66.7% ---13.6%
2004 50.7% ---34.1%
2006 51.9% ---32.6%
2008 45.8 % ---31.3%
The Reform/Alliance/PC (combined) has hovered around 10% for the last 15 years.
In the last election the Green vote jumped from 4.8 % up to 10.5 % almost beating the PC party. This mirrors a widespread interest in environmental issues. It will be interesting to see if this interest is still there.I have a feeling it is not.
It would be safe to say that this riding is a centre left riding.
Two interesting things. One, Mario Silva (and Tony Ruprecht) are trending down and that may have something to do with voter fatigue of their personal brand as both have been around a long time. Second, Andrew Cash is the first NDP candidate in the riding with a wide profile. Gord Perks was certainly known but Andrew also has years of public performance under his belt and a lifetime of political activity. Unlike previous weak NDP candidates Andrew brings a whole group of people with him who are attracted to him personally. With the changes in the south and Bloor stretch of the riding, and potentially new voters, this could end up being a real close race.
A map that shows poll-by-poll results from the 2008 election:
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/actualites/elections-federales/canada-2008/
Pretty solidly Liberal red, with a few pockets of NDP orange. Will be interesting to see how it changes (or not) this time around.
This profile seems a bit cut and paste and a little out of date. The riding is undergoing a massive change in demographics and transportation and development. I wish they would not do these broad stroke portraits at all and instead do feature stories.
According to Wayne Scott's website:
NOTE: Time has changed from 9:00PM to 8:00PM.