The street bin around the corner from my condo has become symbolic of the city I am living in: one hot stinking mess.
    Stuffed to overcapacity with recyclables and refuse, with tiny bags of dog shit and garbage spilling onto the street, this particular bin is like many I pass by throughout Toronto’s downtown. Some are even in worse shape — damaged and beyond repair — broken; like this city.
    We are now in the midst of a by-election for city mayor. Democracy will serve up a new leader in less than one week.
    During his tenure, our previous mayor managed to sweep so much under the carpet, hide away secrets and sins, until an apparent $454-million budget shortfall came to light as he was leaving office.
    Our new mayor must immediately deal with the budgetary crunch and do what the previous mayor and existing council were obviously not doing.
    Garbage collection and traffic gridlock (too far gone now to even call it congestion) are as superficial as a beleaguered public transit system and the homeless and helpless camped out in city parks.
    Too much has been ignored for too long in Canada’s largest city.
    The new mayor will have the  difficult task of increasing the revenue base, eliminating useless (or senseless) spending, and addressing potential cuts to public services.
    None of these requirements can be taken lightly.
    The street bin in my neighbourhood is an example. You can see how people made an earnest attempt to divide their waste into designated categories until it became impossible to do so.
    This should serve as a reminder to the new mayor (and existing city council) that residents will use city services for the intended purposes, but those services must be maintained.
    There must be a will to do so or this city will continue to look as bad as it is.

06/20/2023                                                                                     j.g.l.