politics Archive

  • Thornhill Grits name hopeful

    Thornhill Grits name hopeful

    The new federal Thornhill Liberal nominee says the ruling Conservatives talk a good game but the time for talk is over. Karen Mock, an educational psychologist and consultant with a history of dealing with issues of human rights, hate crime and diversity, replaces former MP Susan Kadis heading into the next federal election.

    Read More

  • Voting changes on hold for now

    Voting changes on hold for now

    Vaughan councillors agree a report by the city’s task force on democratic participation and renewal is both progressive and practical. But the overall response by Vaughan’s council members to the report’s 16 recommendations was lukewarm.

    Read More

  • Council agrees to new rules

    Council agrees to new rules

    The nine who make up Vaughan’s city council have a new rulebook to play by. Council voted Monday to adopt the Code of Ethical Conduct for Members of Council, a 32-page document that replaces an earlier code first adopted in 1996.

    Read More

  • Mayor ‘may hold key’ to leak info

    Mayor ‘may hold key’ to leak info

    An investigation into the source of a city hall leak has concluded that the mayor, her executive assistant and a political ally “may hold the key” to the mystery. A June 19 report by former RCMP chief superintendent Ben Soave’s investigative firm, Ben Soave Associates (BSA), was commissioned by the City of Vaughan to uncover how and why copies of cheques and other documents were delivered to media outlets in anonymous brown envelopes late last year.

    Read More

  • 27 charges for former mayor

    27 charges for former mayor

    Former mayor Michael DiBiase faces 27 charges stemming from an audit into his 2006 municipal election campaign books. The audit by Ken Froese and Glen Davison uncovered several apparent contraventions of the Municipal Elections Act in DiBiase’s campaign records, including overspending his $120,419 campaign limit by $2,712 and accepting ineligible contributions.

    Read More

  • Video: Municipal Affairs minister can’t take over Vaughan, he says

    Video: Municipal Affairs minister can’t take over Vaughan, he says

    Municipal Affairs Minister Jim Watson says he isn’t the one to fix city hall — you are. “There’s this sense that I can go in and basically take over Vaughan and act as mayor,” Watson told an editorial board of reporters from Vaughan Today and its sister publications last week. “Well, I don’t have that authority and I suspect even if I did, I wouldn’t be riding on a white horse into Vaughan to take charge.”

    Read More

  • Council expense policy to be scrutinized

    Council expense policy to be scrutinized

    The will of the people has moved city politicians to action. After months of intense public pressure and auditor scrutiny, the city’s audit and operational review committee is set to launch a comprehensive review of council’s expense policy.

    Read More

  • Who will challenge current council?

    Who will challenge current council?

    The 2010 municipal election is still a year and a half away. That much is certain. What isn’t is who will vie for the nine seats on city council, though speculation has been running high in recent months and shows no sign of cooling off.

    Read More

  • Klees-led PCs would cut red tape, shrink ‘bizarre’ HST hit, leadership contender says

    Klees-led PCs would cut red tape, shrink ‘bizarre’ HST hit, leadership contender says

    Progressive Conservative leadership hopeful Frank Klees sees too much red at Queen’s Park and says it’s time to do something about it. During a brief editorial board meeting in the Vaughan Today newsroom Monday, the Newmarket-Aurora MPP discussed provincial issues and his leadership bid.

    Read More

  • Legal advice sought–again

    Legal advice sought–again

    Vaughan’s city councillors are seeking outside legal advice on what to do with a damaging compliance audit into the 2006 campaign books of a municipal candidate. It’s become a familiar refrain at city hall: Similar campaign audits of Mayor Linda Jackson and Councillor Bernie DiVona each prompted council to seek both independent legal advice and ultimately charges. The difference this time is the target of the audit: former mayor Michael DiBiase.

    Read More