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Feb 11

Toronto’s mayor votes against funding for STI screening

And, of course, the other story from last week. The Mayor was once again on the losing end of a 44-1 vote:

Mr. Ford’s was the only dissenting vote against a motion reinstating $100,000 in provincial funds for syphilis and HIV screening – a budgetary addition that won’t cost the city anything.

“Everyone says it’s provincial money,” Mr. Ford said when asked why he voted against the funds. “No. It’s taxpayers’ money. So, you know what? In the big picture, they say it doesn’t cost the city a dime. Well, it costs people money. … There’s many reasons why.”

via Ford says budget has kept his promises – The Globe and Mail.

Ford was the only member of council to take the libertarianish ideology to this level, but there were echoes of this kind of attitude in several other votes this past week. The city’s rebate for low-flow toilets, for example, seemed to have been a smart investment for the city. It returned far more in savings than it cost. So why cut it? Because “government investment” is now a dirty word.