Tag Archives: Mark Cosens

12.17.11
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A fundamental change blowing in the budget wind?

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Budget deliberations are a critical indicator of the direction city council will follow in the coming fiscal year and the sometimes quirky priorities of our municipal representatives.
After a warm-up session Thursday, council will get down to brass tacks on Monday as they tackle Part 1 of the 2012 capital budget.
Members are being asked to approved expenditures of just over $8 million, of which $2 million will be sourced through the 2012 property tax levy, the same as 2011.
In total, the requests for capital in 2012 total $22.4 million, requiring property tax supported funding of $9.5 million.
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11.19.11
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Ma Ferguson offered equal justice to the little people

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A last-minute addition to the City Scope lineup this week, predicated by the death Tuesday of Edra Sanders Ferguson in her 105th year of “an overflowing life.”

The Times-Journal, and this corner in particular, championed “Ma Ferguson” as she was known for many years by Toronto lawyers.

The photo on the front page of Friday’s T-J offers a tantalizing taste of the individual who served as the first woman alderman in St. Thomas; to initiate a Red Cross Clinic in Guelph; and to be appointed the first Division Court judge in Ontario (later to become the Small Claims Court).

St. Thomas native and Order of Canada recepient Edra Ferguson, left, and Tara Muzumdar, the Belmont House Nursing Home employee who nominated her.


We will forever cherish the personal note from Edra’s nephew, St. Thomas lawyer John Sanders, sent this past June after the announcement she was to receive the Order of Canada for her contributions in the fields of law and women’s rights — the oldest person ever to receive the Order of Canada.

Better yet, today’s (Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011) Bygones photo on page 2, sent along by Gina Coady at Elgin County Archives, transports us back to 1926 and a striking Edra as a member of the Alma College debating team.
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06.11.11
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No financial accountability? Then no public funding

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Members of city council will don their referee shirts Monday as the Downtown Development Board and North America Railway Hall of Fame escalate their funding feud.

The jousting dates back to last summer when the DDB, under chairman Mark Cosens, “loaned” NARHF the sum of $10,000.

Now, the DDB wants the sum repaid, however it is being stymied at every turn by NARHF.

Dan Muscat, current DDB chairman, is attempting to obtain records from NARHF to determine the status of the loan.

“This situation is a city council issue as it is the past DDB board (under the leadership of Cosens) that sanctioned the loan,” asserts Muscat, in a letter to council.
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01.29.11
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The tale of two aldermen — maturity versus entitlement

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Monday’s council meeting was most decidedly the tale of two aldermen.

The definitive issue — who should attend and how much should be spent on conferences and conventions.

Council has budgeted $6,000 for attending such functions this year and four members had sought to attend the Ontario Good Roads Conference coming up in Toronto.

Sam Yusuf


Trouble is, that would eat up about $5,500 of that figure on just one junket.

Mayor Heather Jackson-Chapman and the committee chairman, in this case Ald. Tom Johnston, should be the only attendees. Ald. Sam Yusuf read the situation correctly and graciously withdrew his request to participate. In the process exhibiting political maturity beyond his two months of council experience.

Mark Cosens


On the other hand, Ald. Mark Cosens scoffed at the budget, calling the amount diminutive, and asserted he will be in Toronto.

It doesn’t matter there is a fixed budget to deal with. It means nought council is attempting to set an example of fiscal responsibility for ratepayers who are picking up the tab in any event.

No, this is all about entitlement — and a complete disregard for the understanding the mayor and aldermen are elected to serve the people.
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01.08.11
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Anything you say will be misquoted and used against you

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As an ardent proponent of the written word, this time of year is particularly enjoyable because of the bumper crop of flashback features recalling the past 12 months in quotes.

It’s been a tradition in this corner to greet the incoming year by surveying the past 365 days to savour the wit and wisdom of our elected representatives.

Of course, when media scribes document a response or comment to the pages for posterity, they must be prepared for the inevitable charge of being taken out of context.

Or, as one anonymous wag noted, “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.”
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11.13.10
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For the sake of employees, health unit board of directors should deal in facts

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Forget the showmanship by the trio of Elgin St. Thomas Public Health board members that dominated Monday’s council meeting.

Instead, let’s cut to the chase and deal with facts.

The health unit was the subject of a visit by the Ministry of Labour on Oct. 18, 2010 to investigate a complaint regarding harassment at 99 Edward St.

The Industrial Health and Safety Program officer in charge of dealing with the situation is Beth Nethercott, based out of London.
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10.09.10
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The municipal vote — destined to be a political throw down?

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We’ve had some explosive election campaigns in the last 20 years or so — witness the Cliff Barwick versus Janet Golding battle that launched the political career of a young Steve Peters.

However, the prevailing atmosphere entering the final countdown to this month’s municipal vote is nothing short of distressing.

Does every lobby group, neighbourhood association and loose-knit organization have to put forth a slate of candidates which, if the rest of the voters don’t support, St. Thomas will go to hell in a hand-cart?

We have a city developer with his list of magnificent seven who must comprise the majority of the new council or we will languish in the quagmire, while the rest of the country passes us by.

My, what a responsibility we voters face if we fail to follow suit.
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08.21.10
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What we have here is a failure to communicate

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It was determined late Friday the boil water advisory, issued Thursday evening, was actually a false reading — the result of contamination at a lab in London — but it flushed out weaknesses in the city’s communication strategies.

Four hours may not seem like an excessive amount of time, but when you’re dealing with the potential of an E. coli outbreak, it might as well be an eternity.

City engineering staff knew about the suspect water sample at around 3:40 p.m. on Thursday, however the first notice went up on the city website at 7:40 p.m., when Elgin St. Thomas Public Health released details of the boil water advisory.
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05.29.10
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No Garden of Eden over there on Isabel Street

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What a sad commentary that the crop getting the most attention in the St. Thomas Community Garden is the abundant supply of hot potatoes.

Let’s be honest here, the joy of horticulture at 26 Isabel Street has now been supplanted by the nastiest of political posturing — in the process choking out rational thought as if under siege by the most pervasive of weeds.

And, there are no winners. In fact, the city’s reputation has been the target of thousands of insults from internet eejits who couldn’t point out St. Thomas on a map, let alone Canada.

To be fair, both sides in the garden hoe-down must share responsibility for ratcheting up the rhetoric.

Organizer Brigitte Cosens emphatically told the T-J on Wednesday she had concerns about the inflammatory comments posted on YouTube over the past week.

She assured reporter Kyle Rea she would talk to the city resident who uploaded a video that has garnered thousands of views and pages of comments ranging from inane to downright insulting.

So, what does she do? Turn around and agree to appear on a second YouTube video that already has attracted a bushel load of rants.
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