Thursday 30 July 2015

Snap'd Creeps Us Out Again.

To be honest, I have always had a raised eyebrow concerning Snap'd Newmarket.  A few years ago, a child I was watching got a little more attention from one of their photographers than I felt comfortable with asking a lot of semi inappropriate questions that you really shouldn't be asking a child.

Today, when a Snap'd photographer asks to take a photo of me when I am at some community event, I politely decline.

Snap'd has been getting free space at various community centres and other public buildings and as a business owner, that freebie just rubs me the wrong way.  As a business owner, I've often thought that I should take some of my own products and put them on the display for my own commercial benefit.  My products don't cause the amount of litter that Snap'd papers cause either.  Snap'd gets its way with free displays whereas other businesses don't.  It isn't fair.

Snap'd gets this "special deal" because in the world of Mayor Tony Van Bynen, people who strategically donate to certain election campaigns get ahead.  Corruption may be too harsh.  Let's call it the more genteel word, cronyism.

Tony's Cronies sums it up.

Recently Snap'd via their twitter account got just a little too creepy with their very personal line of questions:  It may sound friendly but this was their response when somebody asked if the new dog park could have a soft opening before August 8th.  From all appearances, its classic passive aggression.





To my eyes, an inappropriate line of questioning from the folks a Snap'd in response to a very reasonable request.  Once again, Snap'd crosses the line by failing to respect someone's personal space and privacy.  

Just creepy.

Friday 24 July 2015

Newmarket must consider aesthetics in new construction projects

Under the Places to Grow Act, the province has designated Newmarket to grow exponentially from now until 2031.  For many long term residents, it is hard to imagine the town we grew up in changing so quickly.  What will Newmarket look like in fifteen years?

We know that the trend will be towards concrete and steel high rise towers reaching as high as 15-storeys or more.  Our town has run out of develop-able land upon which single families homes can be built.

Looking at recent construction projects undertaken by the Town of Newmarket, I wonder if these new towers will be aesthetically pleasing.  After all, nobody is going to look at the Magna Centre or Belinda's Place and think those are nice looking looking buildings.  With each passing day as it nears the completion of construction, Belinda's Place is turning out to be a real architectural eyesore.

Even the Courthouse on Yonge and Davis, while not actually constructed by the Town but would have had building plans approved by the Town, is as ugly as any building can be with a glorified port-a-pak type expansion.  Every time I drive past I ask myself, "They cut down 100 year old trees for this?"

And lastly, the Old Town Hall, which was a nice looking building before its most recent renovations, will look to become a gaudy hybrid with an uninspired glass atrium that has only served to jack up the cost of construction substantially.

With such an unimpressive track record, I believe that Newmarket should be looking into bringing in a planner who understands what it means to build an aesthetically pleasing community.  If we don't take appearances into consideration soon, we'll under up with a Town that will be reminiscent of some Soviet era eastern bloc nation.

Wednesday 22 July 2015

Is Van Bynen keeping us in the dark about our library?

Two years ago, I wrote about the need for the public library to amalgamate within York Region in order to save money and provide better services to the community. You can read that editorial by clicking here

So it comes as no surprise that the Towns of Whitchurch Stouffville, Aurora and Newmarket are considering just that. Stouffville Council members learned that talks were already underway for the three communities to work together on providing library service at their council meeting last night.

The biggest surprise of the evening was a tweet from Newmarket Library CEO that he wasn't aware of any of this.





It appears that the Town of Newmarket is working behind the backs of the Newmarket Library Board and its CEO.

We'll have to see how this plays out, but the CEO and the NPL Board being shut out of these types of discussions seems to undermine the autonomy of those members.

Are we surprised about Newmarket mayor Tony Van Bynen's secrecy? Closed door meetings and back room deals is how he and his administration operates.

Tuesday 14 July 2015

Southlake Foundation Update

I was challenged by a reader that my previous story (here) on the mass resignations from the Southlake Hospital Foundation was wrong.  This reader said this story (here) was the real reason why these members resigned.

My source was actually remarkably accurate for someone who acknowledged not being in the room during this late June closed door meeting.  Every single detail was true, with exception to the identity of the person whom the hospital's administration wanted to turf.

I went back to my source and asked about the Ms. Poscente, the current (but possibly impermanent) CEO of the Southlake Foundation.

My source observed two items of note.  First, even if the hospital administration may have been gunning for Neila, the former Foundation Chair (and local donut store owner) Jim Alexander'a statement doesn't explain why she ended up as a candidate for termination by the hospital's administration.

Secondly, my source says that heavyweights like Newmarket Mayor Tony Van Bynen and Aurora Mayor Geoff Dawe have been making phone calls to Mr. Alexander and friends to try and mend fences.

My source still feels certain that Steve Hinder was the real target of hospital administrators.  It is suggested that perhaps Neila Poscente was asked to seek Mr. Hinder's departure from the Foundation and she wasn't willing or able to carry that task out.  As a power struggle ensued between the Foundation and the people who actually run the operations at the hospital, the only way to resolve the matter effectively was to seek Neila's termination.

Because every other detail of what my source said was incredibly accurate, I have no doubt about the claim of a power struggle between the Foundation and hospital administrators.  At very least, the people who run the golf tournaments and organize the Mardi Gras Ball seem to have gotten a little too big for their britches in the eyes of hospital management and seeking Neila's termination was the way to reign this renegade group in again.

It is so embarrassing that these so-called "community leaders" like Jim Alexander and friends have put a blight on our town and hospital with their child-like antics.  Their lack of character have taken a world class health care facility and lessened it because they wanted to be "in charge".  That kind of behaviour may be acceptable in the drive thru lane at the local donut store but it isn't acceptable at the leadership levels of our hospital.  

If you wish to voice your disapproval to what these most disloyal former members of the Southlake Foundation board are alleged to have done, may I humbly suggest that you donate to the hospital today?  You can donate by following this link:  Donate to Southlake




Thursday 9 July 2015

The Story Behind the En Masse Resignations at Southlake Foundation

Southlake Hospital is one of the best community health care facilities in Ontario.  It ranks near the top in many different areas of operation and that is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the people who work there.

News that the Southlake Hospital Foundation (the people responsible for fundraising for the hospital) board had 12 of 14 members suddenly resign has rocked the community.

These resignations have created confusion.  Do these resignations mean that something is being mismanaged in the hospital?  The answer is clearly, "No", because the Foundation has nothing to do with the day-to-day operations of the hospital.  The Foundation organizes golf tournaments, the Mardi Gras Ball and other fundraising events.

There was rampant speculation that charity funds may have been embezzled or have gone missing.  The chatter about this rumour had gotten to such a fever pitch that the Foundation felt pressure to put out second statement on the board resignations which was reported in the Toronto Star.  This second statement made it clear that the resignations on the Foundation board were not related to any fiduciary matter.

The public can be assured that it is still safe to donate to Southlake hospital and all donations are working to improve the quality of our local health care.  Nobody affiliated with the Southlake Foundation is alleging any criminal conduct or mishandling of Southlake hospital donations.

As reported in the Toronto Star, (which you can read here: The Star) the reason for the mass resignations is as follows:

The hospital and foundation confirmed the mass resignation and said a “personnel issue” was behind the sudden action.
“The matter in question dealt with a personnel issue, and was not fiduciary. Personnel matters will not be discussed with the media or (publicly),” the board said in an email statement Wednesday.
My source with close connections to these matters sheds some light.  The source, (and for the record, my source was not actually present during the closed door meeting that preceded the resignations), believes that "personnel matters" do not involve any employee of the Foundation.  Instead, the personnel matter involves a board member of Southlake Foundation.  
Keep in mind that the 12 Board members who quit would have control over the outcome of any controversial staffing change, (for example, whether to hire or fire an employee of the Foundation), by virtue that they number 12 of 14 votes.  
But when a Southlake Foundation board member was asked to resign, my source believes that the other 11 member stood in solidarity during that closed door meeting.   
My source believes that the controversy (such as this recent imbroglio: Hinder) that surrounds Steve Hinder got to be too much for Southlake senior administration.  At one time Mr. Hinder's involvement with the Foundation was important because of his close ties with Belinda Stronach, but with the Stronachs and Magna International now appearing to be distancing themselves from Mr. Hinder, his ability to raise money for the Foundation was diminished substantially.  The hospital's administration, valuing the hospital's relationship with the Stronachs and Magna International, determined that it was time for Mr. Hinder to leave the board.  
My source suggests that other board members were upset about the way Hinder was being shuffled out.  As my source explains it, Hinder has not yet had his day in court and these board members felt that there should be a presumption of innocence given to him especially in light of Mr. Hinder's record for volunteerism with the hospital. 
If this is correct, then it is too bad that these 11 resigning board members had more loyalty to Hinder than they did to the hospital and the communities that Southlake serves.  Their mass resignations have undoubtedly hurt the hospital's ability to raise money.  They have inappropriately implicated the hospital in controversy because of their feelings towards Hinder.  These resignations speak to their character and not in a good way.  
Donut store owner, Jim Alexander, is among the group who resigned on June 30th.  Here is what he had to say in an earlier statement:
"As a volunteer board made up of prominent community leaders, the foundation board was guided by our individual principles and values.  As we were not willing to compromise those principles and values, we felt that the best thing to do for the future of Southlake Regional Centre and its Foundation was to resign."
The question for Mr. Alexander, (and other resigning members), is which one of these principles and values allows him to undermine the worthy fundraising efforts of Southlake Hospital?
If you wish to voice your disapproval to what these most disloyal former members of the Southlake Foundation board are alleged to have done, may I humbly suggest that you donate to the hospital today?  You can donate by following this link:  Donate to Southlake