Motor Vehicle Tax: Essential Service

Rob Ford Dept: December 2010: Scrapped the motor vehicle tax. Ford scored an early victory when council, in its first full meeting after the election, voted voted 39-6 to scrap the $60 per year tax as of Jan. 1, 2011. He had campaigned hard against the levy introduced by the David Miller administration. He invited photographers to record him popping the first refund cheques into the mailbox at city hall, according to The Star. December 2010: Declared transit an essential service. Some councillors, upset by the threat of transit strikes, lobbied for Queen s Park to designate the TTC an essential service, taking away transit workers right to strike. The province complied. Critics say it s likely to mean higher arbitrated settlements and mayor Rob Ford s two years in office have certainly not been uneventful. Here s a brief recap: December 2010: Cut councillors expense accounts. Ford made it his mission to rail against a system that let councillors bill taxpayers for many things. Over his decade as a councillor, he paid office expenses from his own pocket. Councillors agreed to limit their annual expenses to $30,000 from $50,445. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.