Corruption rampant in City of Toronto

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RE: Mayor Ford gravy train wreck begins, Mar. 4

Whoever wrote this editorial obviously isnโ€™t a Torontonian nor do they keep up to date on daily municipal affairs in Toronto.

This was just announced on Monday with Board responses yesterday. But news of it was already known since last Thursday and Friday. Maybe more research should have been done into the โ€œgravy train wreckโ€ as you so call it before you start hating.

The rampant spending culture at Toronto Community Housing Corporation (THCH) has been a long time issue and only represents just a small facet of what illegitimate spending is happening.

The Auditor General reported that poor enforcement of THCH expense policy has led to inappropriate expenses being approved โ€” as much as $200,000 worth. These include a $40,000 Christmas staff dinner, $1,000 in Holt Renfrew chocolates and the services of four massage practitioners who offered โ€œshort relaxation massages for staffโ€ at a summer picnic at a cost of $800.

Additionally, a deal worth nearly $5 million was awarded to a Chinese bathroom fixture supplier. The agreement appears to have been sole-sourced and โ€œcompletely informal.โ€ In another $500,000 sole-source contract with a Chinese supplier, the overseas agent who facilitated the deal was a โ€œlong-time friendโ€ of TCHC staff. The conflict was not declared in writing.

Finally, a $25 million refurbishment deal was given to a vendor who put forward an unsolicited proposal. โ€œOther contracts may have been able to provide similar or in fact additional benefits,โ€ Griffiths wrote. โ€œIt is not possible to determine this without a competitive process.โ€ The fact is that newly released information very much points out evidence of wasteful spending that the Cord editorial all but ignores and actually refutes in order to reach its conclusion.

โ€”Tony Ho


Serving the Waterloo campus, The Cord seeks to provide students with relevant, up to date stories. Weโ€™re always interested in having more volunteer writers, photographers and graphic designers.