EPCOR and The Block’s Big Lie
For all their evils and its wrongs, the Soviets did some things very well: propaganda and disinformation. As one writer commented in the Spectator, “Communist ideology dismissed the idea of…
Council
Alectra says no: The Block screwed us again
The headline on the media release reads, “Alectra selling its shares in Collus PowerStream to Collingwood.” What it should add is that Collingwood residents and taxpayers were betrayed by members…
Open vs secret at Collingwood Council part 2
In the previous part of this story, I provided dates of meetings and events in the terms of the previous council (on which I sat) and the current council. I…
In camera, closed door meetings in Collingwood, 2015-17
Using the agendas posted on the town’s website, I tallied up the number of Council’s in-camera meetings for three specific topics this term: Collus-PowerStream (including the share sale, shared services…
Open vs secret at Collingwood Council
How two Collingwood councils handled the utility sale process very differently Last term, Collingwood Council went through a lengthy, open and public process to sell a portion of its electrical…
It’s about the process, stupid…
My negative comments on the impending privatization of our electrical utility (and potentially our water utility once the first deal is sealed) drew some online criticism recently. None of those…
The secrecy and deception behind Collingwood’s utility sale
Meetings held behind closed doors late into the night. Personal vendettas. Kickbacks. Conspiracy theories. Scams and phony reports. Backroom deals. Unethical politicians conniving. Dubious legality. Shady characters pulling strings from…
Collus in purgatory
Purgatory is how a staff person described to me the current situation of our local electrical utility, Collus-PowerStream (CPS). It’s the result of The Block’s and the administration’s incessant interference,…
The secret costs of the EPCOR deal
Whether or not The Block sell our share of our public electrical utility to the for-profit, Edmonton-based EPCOR, it will still cost taxpayers millions. And I don’t mean just the…
The dogshit dilemma
We have a problem with dogshit. Well, all municipalities do, of course, but ours is increasingly evident: it’s everywhere. And with the growing popularity of pets and our growing population,…
Collingwood’s first postliterate council
At the Corporate & Community Services standing committee meeting this week, the committee discussed the Art on the Street festival, its operation and management to be taken over by the…
The Block are privatizing our public assets
So Brian and his Block minions want to sell our airport. Our publicly-owned asset. And they’re doing it without even the pretence of the courtesy to tell us why. No…
True Integrity? Not The Block…
There’s an interesting article online called, 13 Traits of People With True Integrity that opens with the (unintentionally?) funny line: Integrity, for those who are not familiar, is quite important.…
Montaigne and The Block
I do love reading Michel de Montaigne. And writing about him. In 2014 alone, I wrote ten separate posts about him and his famous book, Essays. But since then, my…
Why not to run for council
A recent article shared with me on Facebook, titled “Five Terrible Reasons to Run for Municipal Office” lists many – but far from all – of the reasons people should…
Brian just keeps bashing our hospital
I see DM Saunderson continues his assault on our hospital with his motion on the upcoming Sept. 11 council agenda: Whereas the Collingwood General and Marine Hospital has received information…
Why are they called The Block?
Seven members of our council are collectively referred to as “The Block” in common parlance. A fitting nickname for a group that includes its leader, the deputy mayor, Brian Saunderson,…
The work of politics
Politics is like many other skills, jobs and pastimes in that it requires work to succeed. Hard work, sometimes, for some folk, and easy for others, but always it requires…
Disrespectful treatment of the mayor, again
There’s a seemingly innocuous story in the Connection this week titled, “Collingwood to sell railway to County of Simcoe for $900,000” that underscores the ongoing disrespect The Block and the…
The Block’s worst abuse of power yet
I warned you. I warned you The Block would blame others for their own evil acts, that they would scheme and connive to sell your assets behind closed doors, and…