Bet you didn’t know this: Municipalities continue to work with all orders of government as equal partners to solve some of our country’s biggest challenges. That includes jobs, economic growth and better quality of life.
Also: With greater cooperation with the federal government, Canada will prosper from modern infrastructure, ensure our communities remain affordable and family-friendly, attract talent and investment, improve public safety and ensure environmental sustainability for all Canadians.
It will also make all our dreams come true.
Oh, how I joke.
That snarky, one-liner aside, what you just read was courtesy of the keyboard belonging to Vision Vancouver Coun. Raymond Louie. And in case you haven’t heard, Louie is now the president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
It’s the same organization that launched a campaign calling on four federal party leaders — that would be Stephen, Justin, Thomas and Elizabeth — to participate in a national debate on municipal issues before the fall election.
Could make for a good rumble, if it happens (and Stephen agrees to hang a target around his neck).
So what better way to show support for such a debate than for Louie to get his own council on side. He drafted a motion and ran it by councillors last week. But politicians being politicians, they couldn’t simply agree to it without twisting this and that, amending that and this and taking more time to get to a vote than, well, a bunch of politicians.
Sheesh.
So, here’s a little taste of what you missed…
It began on a courteous note, with Green Party Coun. Adriane Carr talking about the importance of democracy and thanking Louie for bringing forward the motion. But then NPA Coun. George Affleck proposed that Vancouver host the debate. It would be great for “publicity” and “tourism,” he said to laughs from the Vision crew.
That idea set off one of my all-time favourite council procedures (and language-killer of a phrase, to boot) — an amendment to the amendment. It also led Louie to ask this question: Who would pay for Vancouver to host the debate? Affleck said the FCM should pay for it or, in jest, that Louie plunk down the cash.
Hardy, har, har.
Then, in no particular order, NPA Coun. Melissa De Genova, who supported Affleck’s amendment, tried to add a “friendly amendment” to the amendment, Vision Coun. Tim Stevenson inexplicably abstained from one of the votes on an amendment and Vision Coun. Geoff Meggs spilled coffee all over his desk.
Vision Coun. Kerry Jang, who did a lot of laughing during the debate, rose to speak.
“If we’re going to be serious about offering up Vancouver, then we should be putting forward a plan and a budget worked out with our staff in order to do that,” he said. “To simply create an amendment like this on the fly, I think, again is an example of why politicians shouldn’t speak.”
Then Jang, a politician, continued to speak. He offered up his “rumpus room” for the debate. But then he took that back, saying, “It’s clearly not appropriate. My wife wouldn’t allow any politician in the house, that’s why I sleep outside.”
Reimer, who seemed to be the voice of reason during the debate, chimed in saying, “This is not a tourism strategy, it is not a commentary on Western alienation. It is a request for a federal leaders’ debate on issues of critical importance to municipalities.”
Added Reimer: “We just need a debate, although I’m beginning to really understand why the federal government can completely ignore us in the request for it.”
On and on it went until council finally agreed to unanimously support Louie’s motion that Stephen, Justin, Thomas and Elizabeth get together and fight about municipal issues… somewhere in Canada.
“Well, that was easy,” Louie said after the vote.
This is what I said after the vote: My brain is really sore right now.
@Howellings
