A Subtle Pizza Queen

Anne Jarvis is a very interesting columnist to me, especially compared with her Star colleagues. Like her column today justifying the screwing of families on the daycare issue. So calm, so rational, so hiding the fact of lack of consultation with the Community.

She is not as strident as are Gord and mini-Gord. She appears so much "softer" in what she writes. Her column is not just about politics either, often very "societal" oriented. She appears so concerned.

Remember her columns on the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research/Aquarium which helps Edgar's canal or "moving on" after the CUPE strike or about pizzas in London rather than Junior's comments about the CUPE strike and its negative consequences to taxpayers, her "Does it matter" column on the CUPE Strike leak that we now know came from Council via Mr. Basse.

Her column "City needs watchdog with teeth" is another good example of her approach.

Remember there are at least two Integrity Commissioner investigations of Edgar (aka Eddie) outstanding with no results in yet. If the Integrity Commissioner is let go and not replaced, then I guess we never learn what the outcome would be. What a shame for Edgar!

And what does Annie do:

• "Windsor's integrity commissioner has submitted his final report, and frankly, about the only thing worth noting is his bill -- $42,997."
  
  
• "Coun. Alan Halberstadt called the saga of the integrity commissioner bizarre, and he's right.'
  
  
• "The biggest investigation was who leaked the union's position in the middle of the long and bitter city strike last year, ending a potential settlement and prolonging the dispute. The investigation cost almost $16,000 and took 31/2 months -- all for a five-page report saying we don't know who leaked the news."
  
  
• "The only other complaint investigated and resolved was about the propriety of Mayor Eddie Francis meeting with Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick after Kilpatrick had been charged with a criminal offence. Fourteen months after he began investigating, Basse dismissed the complaint, noting that Kilpatrick was still mayor and hadn't been convicted.
  
  
• It was a "simple" ruling, Basse said. So why did it take more than a year?"

And so on to discredit the office.

But of course, Annie needs to replace that office so the masses will be comforted. Her suggestion:

• "I'd like to plow that money into something with teeth that addresses what taxpayers really care about: how their money is spent. Plow that $43,000 into the new auditor general's office."

Oh Annie.

You know that the office exists in name only but that the position has never been filled.

You know that the office has been used to prevent the disclosure of the Dunbar audit. Read Schurr's BLOG on January 14: "Freedom of Information Request Saga Continues"

You know that a Star Editorial said: "Andrew Roman, a Toronto lawyer hired by the committee, says the Dunbar report can't be released because the act states "the auditor general of municipalities shall maintain absolute secrecy about all documents in their possession."

You know that the Auditor General does not investigate Code of Conduct violations.

Unfortunately for Annie, those Freudian slips give it away every time. We know now definitely thanks to her that the effort to get rid of the Integrity Commissioner was deliberate:

• "No one even knows if Basse is still the integrity commissioner. The clerk isn't authorized to continue paying him because his contract has expired. Maybe that's why he wasn't at the meeting.
  
  You'd think council could make a decision on his contract before it expires, not a month after."

However, Annie is ineffective. No one on Council is scared of her. Basse is still around, until June 1, time enough to complete the outstanding Edgar investigations. Subtle does not work with Windsor Council. You have to hit them over the head the way the Editorials do. Like the Daycare one on Monday right before the Council vote telling them what they have to do if they want to get re-elected.

• "Child care debate
  The issue for city council
  
  Quite simply, the economic reality is that city taxpayers can't afford to subsidize child care spaces at a time when the tax base is shrinking, the city's finances have been hard hit by the recession and council has a responsibility to use every dollars as effectively as possible.
  
  There is more than enough information available to make a decision that ensures the interests of taxpayers and families can be balanced."

Get with the program. That's how you get results Annie! No need to listen to the Community.