My deputation at city hall last week.

[Erella Ganon]

Last week, I went to City Hall to give my deputation about the proposed KPMG-recommended cuts to just about everything that makes Toronto wonderful.

I spoke about arts cuts in particular that day.

Here are some more statistics for your curiosity. http://artsvotetoronto.ca/faq/

Like everyone, I waited hours and hours to speak. 

Constantly interrupted once I started to speak and treated with derision and disrespect by the Mayor and his members of the executive council, I found the experience to be shocking levels that I cannot yet fathom.

We each prepared 5 minutes to speak and were instead given only two when we arrived.

Even those two minutes, none of us had the full council's executive's attention and the mayor cut us off at every turn.

Actually, the full Executive Council wasn't present. In fact, they had difficulty maintaining the very minimum number of members. Several times, at least 5, the meeting had to be halted because they needed a quorum and a councillor wandered out of the chambers.

They made it clear that whatever they were doing on their smart phones or the pals they were joking with, was more important than what they were there to listen to. Here's our new mayor and his brother. You can't see him in the video, the man on the right here is the one that is cutting me off mid-word many times in the clip. 

Perhaps you'll enjoy watching this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0voXlEsO5n0

It was a very unpleasant, discouraging lesson in democracy. Civility.  We'd scold our children if they behaved like this in front of visitors to our home. The mayor and his brother a suburban city councillor did their best to make the deputations process as difficult and uninviting as possible. 

Look around on youtube for some more of those deputations from that 20-hour day on youtube. 

There were some absolutely brilliant speeches that make tons of sense that will make you think.

I loved Ana Bailao, our City Councillor's question. 

I was so glad she was there. I wish I had ended it with; if I was a developer, I would start to hang around art galleries.

When we're asked a question, this the only way that we can get an extra few moments to make our points.

Wasn't Councillor Adam Vaughan great too? I wasn't sure where he was going, but he knows me well enough to make this question, a stand out.

Here's my favourite Adam video. He's asking questions of KPMG.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ncv8RgBb4Uk

Here's a little Mayor Ford Voodoo Doll that comes with a little Councillor Mammoliti in the pocket.

It was for sale outside city hall at the rally today for $20.

 

enjoy

Erella