The South Bayview Bulldog

We’re getting the full picture now on what our little two and three tree forests will look like on South Bayview. Here we see gardeners hired by the city digging out the tree holes prior to planting. It was a hot job even on a pleasant summer day like Friday. The inset picture (lower left) reveals there will be a fairly large patch of open earth at sidewalk level and anyone who doesn’t want these spaces to turn into a messy garbage collection will have to plant them. Just like the old days. 

Good morning, South Bayview. Out this week among Parliament Hill platitudes is the view that Canada’s auditor general, Michael Ferguson (left) will be trying to restore public confidence in the Senate when he launches his thoroughgoing review of how its members spend money.  Mr. Ferguson is said to be ready to dig for dirt and his decision to release information as he gets it seems to coincide suspiciously with the General Election of 2015. Could it be that Conservative strategists think a sure-fire way to propel the party back into office would be a sinkhole under the Senate? This enormously popular platform might even eclipse the sunshine of Justin Trudeau and his new Ministry of Marijuana. Okay not fair, but blowing out the unelected, redundant and costly upper house would look awfully good to most voters. Then we have the mandate of the Democracy Minister Pierre Polliviere. His job is to persuade the Supreme Court that the elected House of Commons can send Senators on a permanent vacation without the agreement of all ten provinces. Please. Countries like New Zealand and Sweden have long since abolished their upper chambers in the interest of democracy and efficient government. Sober second thought?  Let the voters assume that task. Previous Post 

What appears to be healthy Cottonwood tree comes down on the south side of Southvale Drive at Astor Ave. This is beside the garages of the Crestview Apartments and its not too clear why it had to go. There are two more of these tall trees on the same small plot of land. The Cottonwood is a species indigenous to Southern Ontario. 

There may be something about Tim Hudak that will prevent him from becoming premier of Ontario. But on the history of his predecessors, the ones who made it, he seems like a reasonable bet for that old gamble that it’s never really over in politics. He took the leadership in 2009 with nearly 40% of the votes against Frank Klees 32%. It wasn’t a romp but it was respectable. The 1961 balloting that elected the historic John Robarts went all night in six bitterly fought ballots with Robarts trailing his chief opponent Kelso Roberts on the first ballot. Robarts finally won 976 to Roberts 633. Many people forget that William Davis had to battle through four ballots to win the a victory over Allan Lawrence in 1971. Of course a triumph in a general election has been more elusive for recent PC leaders. But Mike Harris did it in 1995 and he got re-elected in 1999. When he beat Dianne Cunningham for the leadership in 1990 many party members thought Harris was a permanent also-ran. He lost the general election of that year. His performance overall  before he became Premier in 1995 looks a lot like Hudak’s. That’s some reason for the present PC leader to hope his long pilgrimage will find grace with the people at the next election.  From left Tim Hudak, Mike Harris, William Davis, John Robarts.