Public Sector & TCHC Supporters to Make Noise at Council Vote

Monday, March 7, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Coalition, Public Sector and TCHC Supporters To Make Noise at Council Vote: Create Toronto's "Wisconsin Moment"

The Coalition To Protect Toronto Community Housing will be present at City Council on Tuesday 9:30 am, to denounce a motion that calls for the resignation of the two tenant Directors of the Toronto Community Housing Corporation board. The Coalition invites Public Sector and TCHC workers, supporters, and tenants to save Toronto's public sector - and make noise at Tuesday's vote inside City Hall.

"Forcing the two tenant Directors to resign will create a 'domino effect'. This precedent will lead to the destruction of Toronto's public sector as we know it," says Danish Ahmed. Danish is disabled, blind with albinism, and is a former TCHC tenant leading the Party for People With Special Needs. "Wiping the TCHC Board clean will allow Ford to decimate its management, losing years of valuable experience. His proposal to privatize TCHC will lead to problems across the public sector."

With the recent musings by Ford to privatize TCHC, Ahmed calls on public workers to save the public sector by coming out to support the Coalition's fight. "Let's stop Ford now and ensure the public sector is saved."

The Coalition calls for rational decision-making at TCHC. Instead of wiping the board clean, TCHC should retain the tenant Directors and implement Baltimore's proven CitiStat program and create a high level of accountability in the public sector. In fact, the tenant Directors had called for CitiStat's implementation in 2010, and their proposal was eventually ignored by Mayor Ford. "The CitiStat program as proposed by the Directors would have stopped the TCHC misspending in it's tracks. It is ironic that the Mayor, who did nothing on that matter, even when given the opportunity, is calling for their resignation," Ahmed says. "Let's save community housing, keep Toronto's public sector thriving, and send a message that rational decisions can be made with systematic improvements in accountability."

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For media information, contact Danish Ahmed at 647-439-5011, or email coalition@ppsn.on.ca

The Party for People With Special Needs
Where all people are part of our community.
ppsn.on.ca

Protest Mayor's Call for TCHC Tenant Directors to Step Down

Sunday, March 6, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Coalition to Protest Against Mayor's Call for TCHC Tenant Directors To Step Down

The Coalition to Protect Toronto Community Housing Corp. (TCHC) will hold a protest and press conference on Monday, March 7th at 1pm at 931 Yonge St. to rebuff calls from Mayor Rob Ford that TCHC's elected Tenant Directors resign.

The Coalition believes that it is imperative that these two directors remain on the board in order to ensure continuity of tenant representation at the Toronto Community Housing Corporation. If they are in fact removed from the board, the Coalition contends that tenant representation will soon become non-existent.

The two have been elected by tenants to serve a full term up to December 31, 2011. Even though the City has ultimate control over who serves on the Board, none of the tenants who voted had an expectation that their elected directors would be terminated early without cause or without fault found.

"In fact," says Danish Ahmed, leader of the Party for People with Special Needs and former TCHC tenant, "We call on the two of them to serve as interim co-chairs on the board of TCHC."

In November 8, 2010 and January 1, 2011, the two directors made a pair of requests to Doug and Rob Ford that an equivalent of Baltimore's CitiStat accountability program be established in Toronto, starting with TCHC. The program would save hundreds of millions of dollars and would ensure accountability at TCHC on a bi-weekly basis. Mayor Ford ignored this request and called on the tenant directors to resign.

The Party for People with Special Needs is a leading voice in the Coalition, and its leader points to the CitiStat proposal as an example of the tenant directors' dedication to accountability at Toronto Community Housing Corporation.
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2007/04/pdf/citistat_report.pdf

"The removal of the two elected directors would spark discontinuity at TCHC. The pair have shown that they are committed to serving their tenants and the City competently," Ahmed says. "Our proposal is that they be appointed interim co-chairs to bring the innovations they have recommended for accountable government to Toronto."

Further information on the Coalition and its protest can be found at:
http://specialneedsparty.blogspot.com/

For media requests regarding the coalition, contact Danish Ahmed
at 647-439-5011 or cell 416-500-0216 or coalition@ppsn.on.ca

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