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Newmarket councillors are being invited to a special workshop on the future of Davis Drive on 26 October.

A background paper circulated earlier this month asks councillors to

“consider ways in which the Town can encourage the ongoing transformation of this vital economic corridor”.

There will be a discussion led by N. Barry Lyon Consultants. (The Town must spend a small fortune on outside consultants. Like mushrooms, they spring up everywhere.)

With the end of construction in sight, VivaNext says they are now on the home straight.

Back in March this year, councillors asked staff to come up with ideas within 90 days “to advance the redevelopment of Davis Drive properties”.  A leisurely 191 days later councillors receive an Information Report setting out staff thinking, promising more studies, more plans and, inevitably, more analysis.

Back from the dead

Bringing Davis Drive back from the dead is no easy task. It would test the finest brains on the planet. Developers such as Peter Czapka have been on an investment strike for years, unwilling, for their own reasons, to go ahead with developments which have already received planning approval from the Town.

The precise nature of the redevelopment of the GO rail station at the Tannery is still unclear but this will be of huge long term significance. We do not know as yet if there will be grade separation between the railway and Davis Drive but if we are stuck with a level crossing with its quaint bells and flashing lights we can say goodbye to the possibility of all-day two-way GO trains every 15 minutes.

Compensation for lost trade

As the endless construction took its toll, the shutters came down and businesses vanished.

Speaking like the cautious retired bank manager that he is, Mayor Tony Van Bynen told the Era on 29 August 2014 there were initiatives under way to help businesses cope with the construction, pointing to compensation available through York Region.

“It’s a very delicate balance between being mindful of the impact of the construction and due diligence… for the taxpayer. The compensation is judged fairly on the merits of each situation. What’s important is that there’s a fair and equitable process in place to consider the issues and impact.”

Even now it is still not clear to me how many struggling businesses on Davis Drive got any help at all.

Finally, now that the layout of the new Davis Drive is discernable, I hear Cassandras predicting all sorts of terrible calamities. The lanes seem to be narrower. What about the U turns? Are we going to see more accidents as winter takes its hold? How will the snow be cleared? I am pretty sure the traffic engineers will have thought all this through. And people get used to new ways of doing things pretty quickly.

Members of the Newmarket Economic Development Advisory Committee are being invited along as observers but it seems to me the doors should be thrown wide open for all who are interested and have something positive to contribute.

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Regional Councillor John Taylor and Mayor Tony Van Bynen are reportedly seeking a meeting with Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca to press the case for the proposed new GO Rail Station at Mulock Drive.

What will come out of it?

Very little.

As I have long suspected, the new GO rail station at Mulock Drive is illusory. There are no detailed background or other policy papers lying behind the circles on the map. I am told the proposal originated at the Region and it looks as if it was simply picked up by Newmarket staff and pasted into the Town’s planning and transit policies without a second thought. In this way serious policy is made.

So far as I can tell, there is no mention of the proposed GO Rail Station at Mulock Drive in the text of the Regional Official Plan. But there is a circle on the transit map at Mulock along with other proposed stations on the Barrie Line.

Mulock Drive gets a circle on a map in York Region’s Transportation Master Plan 2009 which is now being updated. But there is nothing in the text that takes the proposal forward.

Regional councillors were told in a report by region staff on 10 September 2015 that:

“Existing and potential future GO stations are identified in the current York Region Official Plan (ROP 2010) and 2009 Transportation Master Plan, setting the context for more intensive uses. GO train stations are identified as key locations for intensification in the Regional intensification matrix second only to Regional Centres and Corridors…

and importantly

“Staff are currently reviewing the priority order for new stations within the limits of the Regional Express Rail service on the Barrie and Stouffville rail corridors. On the Barrie rail corridor these locations are Concord (Highway 7), Kirby Road/Keele Street and 15th Sideroad/Bathurst Street.

The Mulock proposal, supposedly advanced by the Region, doesn’t even rate a mention in the latest “priority order for new stations” that went before councillors last month.

The report tells us that existing stations at Vaughan, King, Aurora, Newmarket (at the Tannery) and East Gwillimbury “provide for intensification opportunities”. The Newmarket GO rail station is designed to have very limited parking so I wait to see how the promised mobility hub study squares that particular circle.

Our next door neighbour, East Gwillimbury, is going to see explosive growth along the Green Lane corridor in the near to medium term. A year ago, Newmarket councillors were told that 21,000 people are expected to be living in the Green Lane Secondary Plan area by 2031 and a whopping 38,000 by build-out. This will have a huge impact on us here in Newmarket. Making sure the GO rail station can handle this population boom is an obvious priority.

The Metrolinx presentation to Newmarket councillors on 9 November is an opportunity for our councillors to stir themselves, engage with the issues and ask detailed questions about the momentous impact RER will have on our town.

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I see that the litigious and delusional former Newmarket councillor, Maddie Di Muccio, is back in Court tomorrow trying to get a pound of flesh from the Era. The newspaper had the temerity to publish a report on her predilection for spending public money to settle private scores. 

Her rotund husband, John Blommesteyn, condones her indefensible actions saying the accusations are all “lies”.   This is entirely in character for a man who shakes his fist at the Moon.

The Settlement Conference is being held in room 2002 at 1.30pm at the Small Claims Court on Eagle Street West. It is not open to the public.

Di Muccio v Taylor

The case of Di Muccio v Taylor is still undecided. The earlier hearing on 4 September 2015 was abruptly cut short by the irascible trial judge, Vincent Stabile, for reasons unknown to me.

It was thought the re-scheduled trial would come on tomorrow but 15 October is, apparently, simply the deadline for re-filing the paperwork. Taylor re-filed his defence with the Court on Monday of this week and now waits for a Court date.

I am astonished that Di Muccio’s action is still alive – so far as I know. I fully expected the President of the York Region Taxpayers Coalition to drop her libel suit against Taylor rather than lose and face a very public humiliation. There is simply no chance of Di Muccio getting the $5,000 damages she is claiming from Taylor who, she says, made her an object of ridicule and contempt.

She doesn't need Taylor's help to achieve that status.

The whole thing is a complete waste of court time.

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The niqab has dominated this Federal Election like no other issue yet, curiously, the word does not rate a single mention in the 159 page Conservative Platform released today. But it has not been overlooked. We are told on page 152 that aspiring citizens will have to show their faces while taking the Oath of Citizenship.

In his bid for re-election, Stephen Harper hired the Australian, Lynton Crosby, to advise him on how to craft a winning campaign out of – let’s be honest – fairly unpromising material.

It looks as if the niqab is the dead cat of the 2015 Federal Election.

Crosby’s dead cat strategy was described in these terms by London Mayor, Boris Johnson, in 2013:

“If you’re losing an argument, if you’re in a weak position, throw a dead cat on the table…

“Everyone will shout ‘Jeez, mate, there’s a dead cat on the table!’; in other words they will be talking about the dead cat, the thing you want them to talk about, and they will not be talking about the issue that has been causing you so much grief.”

I learn from the Toronto Star today that only two women in the entire country have sought to take their citizenship vows whilst veiled. Whatever your views on the niqab – for, against or indifferent - it is perfectly clear a mountain has been built out of a molehill.

The Prime Minister insists on new rules for those wishing "to join the Canadian family". But what about enforcing the rules for those who have freely chosen to leave it?

Conrad Black renounced his Canadian citizenship to become a member of the British House of Lords. And when he was released from a US prison after serving three years for fraud he was given a temporary one year resident permit to enter Canada expiring in May 2013.

He is still here.

I wonder why.

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The Provincial Government is currently reviewing the operation of the Municipal Act and is inviting comments from all who are interested. York Region has produced a response which is truly feeble.

Tomorrow (8 October 2015) our regional councillors and Mayors will rubber stamp a steady-as-she-goes staff report which urges them not to rock the boat.

The Province’s consultation paper has a section on "local representation" in which it specifically raises the issue of council chairs such as York Region's Wayne Emmerson who are not directly elected by the people in an election at large. 

The consultation paper says: 

"For regional municipalities, some of the changes they may make include: changing the method for how the head of council (eg regional chair) is elected; changing the way in which members of the upper tier council are selected (for example, directly elected to the upper tier)”

This fundamental issue is left unaddressed in the Region’s recommended response. In defending the status quo the staff could have said a region wide election for chair would, for example,  cost candidates too much money (John Taylor has previously voiced concerns about this) or that indirect election has its merits having thrown up stars such as Wayne Emmerson and Bill Fisch before him.

Mayors such as Tony Van Bynen go on the regional council automatically by virtue of their position, trousering around $50,000 in the process. Over the past year I could count on the fingers of one hand the times Van Trappist has made a contribution to the debate. Maybe he is influential behind the scenes. But should this practice of placing mayors on the regional council by virtue of their office continue or should there be open elections for all regional council seats? Again, this is left unaddressed.

The provincial consultation paper has three broad themes: Theme 1 is accountability and transparency. York region has no code of conduct for members saying this would merely duplicate what is already in place in the lower tier municipalities.

Suspended without pay

So, take the case of regional councillor Michael Di Biase who, earlier this year, was suspended without pay for 90 days from Vaughan Council for improperly interfering in the council's tendering processes. Throughout this period of suspension in Vaughan, Di Biase presumably continued to get his pay from York Region. Is that OK?

On the broader issue of transparency, York region must have one of the worst records in Canada. Its committee of the whole meetings - where important business is transacted - are not broadcast. And council meetings are broadcast in sound only - straight out of the 1950s. Making meetings accessible is an issue everywhere.

Theme 2 is all about municipal fiscal sustainability. The staff recommend a lot of detailed financial stuff which seems fair enough to me. They want powers to invest in US dollar securities and such like. It is though unfortunate that more isn’t done to discourage people from keeping property empty for long periods of time. Taxation should encourage the efficient use of property.

New taxes

York Region staff also want powers to impose new taxes. I am not necessarily against this. Councils have got to get their cash from somewhere.

"Two direct taxes that could, in meeting growth plan targets, be of interest to the region would be the vehicle ownership tax and parking tax. A vehicle ownership tax could not only provide the Region with additional revenue, but it should also help to encourage use of the rapid transit system. As Regional Express Rail comes online and services such as park-and-ride become more prevalent, a parking tax could become a revenue source to help fund transit investments."

Theme 3 looks at responsive and flexible municipal government. I see the Regional staff want to clarify powers regulating transit providers. In 2001 the Region took over responsibility for transit from the local municipalities.

"One issue that proved challenging is that there was no clear guidance on the status of contracts entered into by the local municipalities in connection with their local transit services. There were over one hundred associated contracts including bus service providers, maintenance contracts and advertising contracts. Many of these contracts did not contemplate that the authority for transit services would be assumed by a different entity."

All in all, the response is disappointingly thin. We shall see tomorrow if our regional councillors and mayors amend the submission in any important way or if they are content to let regional staff do their thinking for them.

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