Councillor's = ideas shot down at executive committee meeting

Councillor's ideas=20 shot down at executive committee meeting

Councillor's ideas=20 shot down at executive committee meeting=20

September 6, 2007 01:35 = PM=20
DAVID = NICKLE=20

It = wasn't a good=20 first day of school for Ward 22 (St. Paul's) Councillor Michael Walker = when he=20 walked into Tuesday's executive committee meeting.=20

But in spite of having all three of the ideas he brought forward shot = down -=20 asking for tax breaks for bicycles, an end to the Ontario Municipal = Board, and=20 beer and wine availability at corner stores - Walker is vowing not to = drop out=20 of the political discourse at city hall.

"Just because people kick you doesn't mean you don't rise up," said = Walker,=20 fresh out of his three-for-three loss at Mayor David Miller's executive=20 committee meeting.

Walker had brought forward three motions: one, to ask the provincial = and=20 federal governments to exempt bicycle purchases from the GST and PST; a = second,=20 to end Toronto's troubled relationship with the OMB once and for all; = and a=20 third, to ask the province to allow the sale of microbrewery beer and = Ontario=20 VQA wine at corner stores.

The last motion went down the quickest, when Miller ruled it out of = order=20 because it referred to a bill that is no longer before the legislature. = Walker=20 said he'd rephrase the motion and bring it forward in the future.

The OMB motion and the bicycling tax break were both sent to = political=20 oblivion, when the committee voted to "note and file" the motions.

Walker argued the OMB is a 19th-century institution that no longer = meets=20 city's needs. Other councillors wondered whether the request would cause = the=20 city other problems, particularly in light of provincial OMB = reforms.

And when Walker argued that the bicycle motion would help Toronto = with its=20 objectives of improving public health and reversing global warming, Ward = 21 (St.=20 Paul's) Councillor Joe Mihevc was quick to pour water on it.

"If this was the only issue on the agenda on the environmental front, = I=20 suppose one could support it, but we're making several asks to the = province and=20 to do a one-off on bicycles, I don't think it's going to be met with = much=20 credibility," Mihevc said. "It will go to the province, and be 'noted = and=20 filed.'"

Shortly after that, the committee voted to do exactly that with the=20 motion.

Walker said the whole affair smacked of "partizan politics at its = worst."

He added: "Certainly local democracy is quickly crumbling at city = hall,=20 because you're either in the politburo in the mayor's political party, = or you're=20 out. And that's not good for citizens, and not good for open government. = It's=20 not good for public debate and it stifles=20 creativity."