Mississauga Musings

From The Mississauga News Editorial: Right to ask

"Information is power, and it looks like City Hall wants to keep a little too much of it under wraps.

Ursula Keuper-Bennett, a very vocal and often pesky critic of the powers-that-be at City Hall, was stopped cold by Mayor Hazel McCallion Wednesday when she started to ask yet another of her frequent questions of City Council.

McCallion, it seems, is getting tired of hearing from Keuper-Bennett, who openly admits she frequently sends emails to City officials asking for access to information from in-camera meetings.

No doubt Keuper-Bennett's constant quest to uncover hidden truths is a source of annoyance for the powers-that-be at City Hall and, according to McCallion, an unnecessary waste of taxpayers' dollars.

Still, as a Mississauga resident and taxpayer herself, doesn't she, and other Mississauga residents, have a right to know what business the City is conducting on her, and our, behalf?

A pest she might be, but without watchdogs like Keuper-Bennett scrutinizing the actions of politicians and civil servants — at all levels of government — what would happen to public access to information?

Like a dog with a meaty bone, Keuper-Bennett is unlikely to give it up just because she's been verbally slapped by the mayor.

Nor should she.

The mayor is right: Keuper-Bennett is costing taxpayers a bit of money every time she submits an FOI (freedom of information) request.

But it's money well-spent.

At what cost, information?

Whatever the price tag, it's worth it."

THE MISSISSAUGA MUSE is grateful to THE MISSISSAUGA NEWS

And I mean MEGA-GRATEFUL!

I would like to "write back" to the MissyNews and use my Blog to hold the conversation. Here goes:

The editorial called me:

"a very vocal and often pesky critic of the powers-that-be at City Hall."

Thank you for noticing, MissyNews! I'll add "very vocal" and "pesky" to my MISSISSAUGAWATCH SUCCESSES 2008 Report! I just wish the "the powers-that-be at City Hall" wouldn't provide me with so many issues and opportunities to be "very vocal" about!

The editorial stated that I "frequently" send:

"emails to City officials asking for access to information from in-camera meetings."

Actually NONE of my frequent emails related to in-camera meetings. As I've previously stated in my Blog, in-camera meetings aren't even on my radar. Why should they be when Mississauga Council's "open" "public" Council meetings are such hush-hush "Now let's do this professionally" affairs?

Important By-laws and Policies are pro forma'd and the people watching on Rogers will only hear, "By-laws 15 through 20? Anyone move? Second? Passed."

or:

"Move to accept the Audit Committee report dated March 17, 2008? Seconded? Passed. Item 6..."

Now this is the part that kills me.

"No doubt Keuper-Bennett's constant quest to uncover hidden truths is a source of annoyance for the powers-that-be at City Hall and, according to McCallion, an unnecessary waste of taxpayers' dollars."

"unnecessary waste of taxpayers' dollars" The thing people really need to know about Mississauga is that there's about 1/10 truth (or almost truth) and 9/10 Neglected-to-Mentions that you need to drop a Freedom of Information on.

McCallion Neglected-to-Mention that I pay $5.00 for each Freedom of Information (FOI) request. I also pay 25 cents for each page of photocopy.

But the vital part that McCallion Neglected-to-Mention is that when the FOI staff review a request and feel it requires more search time than is reasonable (and the FOI staff is truly generous in what it defines as "reasonable") I get charged.

Search time costs $7.50 per 15 minutes or $30.00 an hour. I have a January 2008 (non-seminal) FOI that I was forced to abandon because of fees totalling $305.00 which included $180 for an estimated "6 hr at $7.50/15 min" search time and a "severance" charge for "30 pages at 2 min. page at $7.50/15 min. (Severance is when they BLACK OUT what they don't want you to see. What's severanced is actually the part you really need to know about)

As for McCallion's comment about Accountability being a "waste of taxpayers' money".... see today's video.

The MissyNews editiorial states:

"Like a dog with a meaty bone, Keuper-Bennett is unlikely to give it up just because she's been verbally slapped by the mayor."

It's not really a "meaty bone" that I've sunk my jaw into. A meaty bone was never my target. Suffice to say that not even our Peel Regional Police Jaws-of-Life can release my locked-in-clamped-down-teeth from the Corporate right cheek.

Here's why--and I keep comin' back to this quote from our Ontario Ombudsman, Andre Marin:

"This is a downright embarrassing situation for Ontario. All is not well in the MUSH sector, yet Ontario is dead last of all provinces in providing independent oversight of these institutions. Millions of Ontarians are at the mercy of a special kind of Big Brother – the hospitals, the long-term care facilities, the children’s aid societies and the like are cleverly guised as “private entities” and deemed off-limits to proper checks and balances.

Big Brother has his hand firmly planted in our back pocket – government revenues his lifeline; unaccountability his refuge. Ontario is, shamefully, a “have-not” province in this regard. "

Yep. Freedom of Information confirms that "Big Brother has his hand firmly planted in our back pocket – government revenues his lifeline; unaccountability his refuge."

And The Mississauga Muse has her teeth firmly (and intractably) planted in Mississauga Big Brother.

SPEAKING OF BIG BROTHER

When I spoke to MissyNews reporter Joe Chin, I told him how I regretted that I wasn't equipped enough for this Quest for Accountability. Fear of Public Speaking. Anxiety Disorder when cornered. Not swift on my feet... I told Mr. Chin the thing is that Missisauga Council benches are empty save for me. That if I don't Custodiet Ipsos Custodes there's no other "Public".

SLOOOOOOWWWW AND STEADY...

Just to show how long it sometimes takes me to Get It --like in GET-IT GET IT...

Yesterday, I attended an excellent content-rich seminar on "The Paedophile, the Predator and the Bully" presented by Peel Regional Police. It was mainly a presentation for parents on how they can protect their youngsters but believe me, that Peeler seminar held lessons for citizen-watchdogs as well.

I grinned knowingly when Constable Dave Burton of the Peel Police Technical Crimes Unit cautioned parents about their kids' demands for computer "privacy".

Constable Burton warned:

"Privacy breeds secrecy." Yep...

Burton also provided parents with practical techie oversight mechanisms to help monitor and protect their kids --Google, IP-Look-up, Reverse Look-up, Who-is, Google Maps and I thought, "WHOA! COOL! I use all that right now to keep tabs on Big Brother!"

But the WAYY-COOL-"You can search THAT on the Net?" revelations happened when Constable Burton taught me a pile of new Net-navigation investigative stuff!

But that isn't even the best part of the day. Peel Police gave us a lot of brochures and even a souvenir Peel Regional Police blue pencil. Now I told you that I'm slow-on-the-take, but get this.

A new Big Brother discovery --and it took the re-emergence a couple of days before, of the Mississauga Transit Enforcement "302" car for me to really GET IT.

OK, so --I'm intent on the Burton techie-lecture, glancing down on all those brochures with the Peel Regional Police logo and on them and then

BLIINNNNNGGGGG --THE LIGHT WENT ON.

Regular readers will remember how I crabbed about Mississauga Corporate Security using Dodge Chargers to look like our Peel Regional Police. Stupid me, so focussed on the same make of car ...the same colour White.

It took from November 16, 2007 when I first saw a Mississauga Transit Enforcement Dodge Charger until yesterday (yes, yesterday's Peel Regional Police seminar) to notice the uncanny *tsk-tsk* similarity between the Mississauga Transit Enforcement crest and our Peelers!

Security guards types do that a lot -- faux-bogus police uniforms, faux-bogus-fake police cars, faux-bogus-fake-knock-off police sunglasses...

I have yet to read a better summary of security types than the Toronto Star's Rosie DiManno:

"Ever run afoul of a private security guard? They're really bouncers in polyester, often failed police applicants and crabby about it.

Imperious authority, questionably assumed, afflicts many professions that operate under the rubric of managing and browbeating the public: Mall guards who think they're constables walking a beat, public housing wardens, arena security, concert toughs, as well as the legions of barroom bouncers and nightclub gatekeepers – 33,000 of those in the province, heretofore unlicensed and free from scrutiny in their excesses, a law unto themselves."

"free from scrutiny in their excesses, a law unto themselves." --Rosie DiManno, Toronto Star --Sep 01, 2007

echoes

"Big Brother has his hand firmly planted in our back pocket – government revenues his lifeline; unaccountability his refuge." (Andre Marin, Ontario Ombudsman --June 27, 2007)

and DiManno and Marin have inspired:

"Big Brother has POLICE ENVY." (The Mississauga Muse --April 27, 2008)

Photo: FREUDIAN "POLICE ENVY"

Embarrassing to *blush* admit that it took me five whole months to figure that Mississauga CREST-part out... Still. I figured it out, so this calls for a video!

Yesterday's "CRESTwwwwhoaaaa... ah HAH!" at the Peel Regional Police "The Paedophile, the Predator and the Bully" seminar inspired a temporal game of "Concentration"

The successful pairing of one 2008 "Budget" video clip with another from a June 20, 2007 talk by Michael Kirkland, architect of the Mississauga Civic Centre, provides hints as to why Mississauga might benefit from a citizen-watchdog motivated to FOI.

Ya might consider watchin' it several times. Like. You know. To Get It GET IT.

Video --MISSISSAUGA: SILOS inside a BIG CORPORATE ENVELOPE (3 minutes)

(Click here to go directly to the clip on YouTube or Google Video)

Signed,
The ("pesky" "pest" --THANKS, MissyNews!) Mississauga Muse

Thanks also to "Anonymous", Wayne Nagy, Roy Willis, Bright Snoop, Donald Barber and several supporters who email with real names.
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"In contrast to the local law enforcement agencies, Corporate Security provides a distinect difference in approach to providing a safe and secure environment within the community." --City of Mississauga Corporate Security 2003 Strategic Draft Plan

"We must employ every possible tactic to dissuade those who try to silence us with fear" ---The Mississauga News Editorial (2007-03-24)

Want (or worse, need) to learn more? Link to MISSISSAUGAWATCH.CA
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