It’s looking very bright for the future of Downtown

Things are looking decidedly brighter for all who live Downtown. Despite the seeming breakdown of the three governments that dominate our lives, things should actually get better for us. I’ll get to the local scene in a bit, but first let’s work our way down from the top levels of government and see how much things should improve for us as a result of shakeups there.

Federally, the scandals that arise from senate boondogglers and expense cheats are a heartening sign that change is fast coming and that means improvement. Give any group too long a stay in power and things seem to atrophy.

Answer this: Are your living conditions better or worse today than when Stephen Harper was first elected?

I thought so.

Clearly Harper has made his ultra-conservative point that government is an intrusion in our lives, that it lies, and things would be better for us if it were just barely there. So the feds, for most of us, have been just barely there.

He promised both to have an open and responsive government, and to reform the senate, making it elected and effective. Then Harper proceeded to show how intrusively evil and lying government can be by playing the role of a secretive control-freak and appointing every hack he could to the senate.

Now let’s take a look at good things which come from that. Harper proved his point about how bad government can be. Kudos to him for effectiveness in that.

The beauty is that soon there will be a new federal party in control seeking to prove their point that government can be just and kind and perhaps generous to the public and not just to their supporters.

Maybe it will refrain from signing those ruinous free-trade deals that let huge corporations dominate our economy, elevate our jobless numbers and ship our jobs and industries overseas.

Provincially we’re in fabulous shape, shining with promise for better things municipally. Since the guys have made a mess out of Queen’s Park under Dalton McGuinty, we now have a much-needed feminine dynamic ruling Ontario. Best yet, it’s a collaborative effort and women are unsurpassed at that.

While the Liberal Party of Ontario is presumed to be progressive, judging by its label, the truth is under McGuinty it has been as reactionary as the Mike Harris Tories he replaced.

The only difference seemed to be a brainier premier, but one who nonetheless retained all the regressive and oppressive aspects of the Harris years, including the downloading of his government’s rightful burdens onto the municipalities.

He did render further evidence that the much-touted marketplace has no wisdom when it comes to anything but feathering the nests of the biggest or most predatory practitioners, and that it surely has an extremely limited role in public affairs and probably no role in ownership of the commons.

There is another hopeful outcome for our besmirched city that’s possible from the province and I’ll get to that at the very end.

But first, let’s look at the wonderful things in store for Toronto.

Having been through a series of dopey mayors almost from the day we were forcibly amalgamated with the dissimilar suburbs by the Harris Tories, Toronto has suffered disgrace upon indignity upon mortification.

And even before that we were assaulted by suburbanites under the metropolitan government chaired by an appointed civil servant, Paul Godfrey.

Among the several evils he rained upon Downtown was the SkyDome that makes a further mess of traffic and belongs in a suburb like Etobicoke, or North York from whence hails Godfrey.

His removal from the provincial gambling operation, it is hoped, removes him from leading any further efforts that may result in harm to Downtown.

Also losing ground are the brothers Ford from Etobicoke. Having come on to power a groundswell of revulsion after years under a dopey blond Harvard grad who gave us such absurdities as ugly “street furniture” that provides an ad bonanza for a huge corporation, the Fords looked like the light at the end of a tunnel.

That proved illusory as they either mismanaged or sought to mismanage as much as they could touch in our city and would have sold off as many of the assets we own as they could.

The good news is they are so arrogant and inept that they immediately alienated the newbie councillors who might have been allies and who are now experienced, generally sensible and utterly resistant to the blandishments from the bros.

Waterfront Ferris wheels are a distant hallucination, the Fords can’t win most council votes and except for the wilds of Etobicoke, probably can’t reclaim their electoral seats.

Furthermore, in light of the disasters suburbanite politicians have wrought on our city, there’s every reason to hope the new provincial regime will give us our deserved freedom and self-determination and de-amalgamate this ungovernable megacity mess.

It augurs well for us. Good times, they are a-comin’.