Miller fiddles while Toronto burns?

I don't understand it. From everything I'm reading in the newspapers, the current Toronto city council has just about drained the city's reserve fund dry, and has now passed a budget that will suck more money out of the reserve and require a tax hike, while refusing to give up perq's. These people must have flunked out of Management 101, where the best lesson is "Lead by example". City council cannot continue to feast on benefits while the peasants search for bread. I think they've been hit in the head with golf balls too often while making use of their free rounds on city courses.

I've also discovered that Councillor Mark Grimes of south Etobicoke is once again hellbent on destroying Col. Samuel Smith Park, a naturalized park. Thanks to the Friends of Samuel Smith Park group and the Etobicoke Guardian, the article is at http://www.insidetoronto.com/to/etobicoke/story/3950376p-4562409c.html?loc=etobicoke, it's now out in the open that Grimes is trying to push through a $1.8 million outdoor skating oval on a beautiful reclaimed meadow that houses rare species of plant and animal life. Now, a skating oval is an antiquated design that wastes space and is useful for a very few months a year. Considering Toronto's precarious financial position, is this a wise move? I think not...but then again, we had to battle very, very hard to get a skateboard park planned for the same meadow, cancelled. Are city councillors not thinking? Green space is vital for residents' well being. Residents must have peaceful places to escape the city's noise and stress, to walk quietly and enjoy nature.

Col. Sam Smith Park is one of my favourite places in the city. I've seen snowshoe rabbits, geese, swans, and even a beaver in the park. Of course, I saw the rabbits and the beaver a long time ago. Another area resident told me that Animal Control came around and spread poison, because the yuppies moving into the area were complaining. If that is true, it's tragic.

If New York City council tried to do this in Central Park, the residents would string them up. Rhetorically, we must do the same and protect our green spaces from the Philistines at Toronto city hall.