Toronto a Sanctuary for Violent Youth and Huggers of Law Breakers?

Wait a minute here. First off, this young man contrary to what his friends have said obviously had not at all adjusted well to living in Canada or the Canadian way of life.

What he did was unacceptable. He broke the laws of the country he came to reside in when he first exposed himself on public transit, then provoked a situation, put innocent transit riders at risk and in harms way by brandishing a knife demanding that they get off the streetcar in the middle of the night.

In my humble opinion, such actions are not those of a person who is flourishing in Canada! 

Many questions have to be answered starting with the reason why he left his job and for what reasons, why he moved out of his fathers residence and who had he been with just prior to his illegal actions of hijacking a public transit vehicle?

Also was this TTC streetcar driver the same person who Mr. Yatim junior previous had a confrontation and attitude problem with?

A scrawny 110 ten pounds of sweet, very loving kind-hearted and well-adjusted guy in civil society does not go around exposing himself, brandishing knife or gun and hijacking public transit vehicles and demanding everyone get off and then further start taunting and calling police officers f... ing pussies

Are these the actions of a law-abiding well adjusted teenager with respect for the rights of others and authority as learned or was taught by his youthful friends and family?

Now after the fact,  why are some of these previous passengers claiming, after the fact that they were in no immediate danger or threatened by this drug high knife provoking passenger?

As they now claim no perception of threat, so why then did they not group together and disarm this skinny kid as opposed to fleeing the streetcar and leaving it to the police who did not run yet perceived a threat of self-defence and thus demanded that he drop the weapon and not move towards them or he would be shot?

As tragic as it was this young man was obviously high on marijuana or other illegal drugs and decided to end his life with the assistance of the officers, in my humble opinion.

The bottom line in any confrontation with police is NOT to refuse an order to drop any weapon that one is obviously holding be it a knife, bat, scissors or gun.

Unless one wishes to commit suicide!

  

Source

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/07/28/toronto-police-criticized-for-shooting-of-cornered-man-brandishing-a-knife-on-empty-streetcar/#disqus_thread

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/07/31/streetcar_witness_says_crazedlooking_sammy_yatim_wasnt_a_real_threat.html

A Subway Funding and Congestion Solution.

City streets represent the most utilized and fastest commuter transportation mode and account for 75% of Toronto's daily commuters by people, cars, trucks and vans.

Tearing up these streets to put streetcar tracks or LRTs, with or without right-of-ways, and reduce the available road width usage for these daily commuters and commerce purposes are NOT visionary or leadership.

Toronto's previous mayor Miller should have upgraded the City's and TTC's outdated signalling systems and traffic signals before borrowing close to a Billion dollars for new streetcars and subway vehicles in my humble opinion. 

LRT cost forecasting, as witnessed with the ST. Clair line (call it a streetcar or LRT) and the Eglinton LRT already $400 Million over budget and not even a third of the way completed, are continually underestimated in costs while overestimating the demand. 

Reports by non elected technocrats and bureaucrats are slanted in order to produce unrealistic cost figures that favour and constitutes technical justification for political-public works programs rather than real economic or technical criteria. 

Streetcars or LRT's are in NO way the solution to any cities transit requirements across Canada that have populations of over 2.6 million residents. If one wishes to see how engineers, planners and bureaucrats have screwed up a pedestrian, cyclists, autos, vans and commerce transit within a city go to Zurich, a city of less than 400,000 that is congested with inner city streetcars, LRTS or whatever one wishes to label them.

What Toronto urgently requires is funding from the province and the federal government for construction of a Scarborough subway today not tomorrow, replacing and upgrading the TTC signalling system coupled with the upgrading of all existing four-way traffic signals throughout the city, now, and within 3 to 5 years start construction on the DRL and then 2 years later finish the Sheppard subway connection to Scarborough and Spadina.

Now for the funding to accomplish all this is rather easy if the politicians had the political courage and the best interest of citizens in mind and not their respective unelected political parties.

A transit and infrastructure levy of 2% should immediately be required from all corporations operating and doing business in any province of Canada that has annual gross revenues in excess of $500 million dollars. This would be their mandatory investment for doing business within Canada. 

This levy would be designated solely for communities that already have an existing subway operation. Like it or not there is just no way Individual taxpayers and property taxes can continue to absorb and bear the brunt for transit and infrastructure costs in Toronto or any Canadian city.

Corporations, banks, unions and organizations like individual taxpayers all have an obligation when it comes to funding costs for transit and infrastructure within our cities.  

Its either a 2% tax levy now or a minimum 10% tax in the very near future for corporations with annual gross revenues that exceed half a billion dollars in my opinion. 

Sources

http://timestoronto.blogspot.ca/2013/05/metrolinxs-future-liberal-ontario-is.html

http://timestoronto.blogspot.ca/2013/07/a-subway-funding-and-congestion-solution.html

Up Dates:

Nobody knows what it will really cost for subways, streetcars or LRT’s

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/transportation/2013/07/19/ttc_says_scarborough_subway_costs_a_best_estimate.html

The United States, Canada and other leading world economies that want multinational corporations to pay more taxes.

http://www.thestar.com/business/economy/2013/07/19/world_finance_chiefs_threaten_to_force_multinationals_to_pay_more_taxes.html

Sources

http://timestoronto.blogspot.ca/2013/05/metrolinxs-future-liberal-ontario-is.html

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/07/18/province-will-provide-estimated-1-4b-to-build-scarborough-subway/

The Candidates Pledge that Ontario Voters Require.

A pledge voters need to see from candidates in these by-elections and ALL elections: 

1. That he/she shall fulfil the entire term of office voters elect them for. 

2. Independent candidates who put the interests of voters ahead of party politics. 

3. Independent candidates with the fortitude to tackle controversial issues through a human connection with the voters' support.  

4. A voice for the people NOT a puppet vote for a political party. 

5. The candidates passionate that work, education and integrity in seeking our votes to represent us in elected public service must ensure their commitment as a candidate for TRANSPARENCY, FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY and ACCOUNTABILITY. 

No longer can we afford the luxury of complacency by allowing unelected individuals to occupy the chairs of decision making.

Our right to vote is another democratic obligation people within civil society have and has been taken for granted for far too long.

It should be a mandatory requirement, like jury duty, compulsory schooling, driver’s licenses and paying taxes.

Cheers,

Peter Clarke

Source

http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2013/07/03/ontario_byelections_opposition_parties_blast_wynne_for_timing_of_vote.html

http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2013/07/02/ontario_liberals_likely_to_hold_etobicokelakeshore_and_candidate_doesnt_matter_poll.html