Naheed Nenshi (left) and Rob Ford
There’s a scandal afoot in the city of Calgary involving some misused funds at the city-owned energy utility, Enmax. Seems as though a chief executive there may have been blowing tens of thousands of dollars on private events. This probably isn’t all that interesting to Torontonians, but what caught our eye (for once) wasn’t the scandal; it was the eerily familiar way that Naheed Nenshi—the city’s much-hyped new mayor—dealt with the whole thing. Stop us if you’ve heard this one before.
From the Calgary Herald:
Naheed Nenshi told the Herald his instructions were made very clear…And spending tens of thousands of company dollars on private events wasn’t one of them.
“I’ve gotten a few commitments from the Enmax board, and number 1 was no more parties,” Nenshi said Thursday.
Sound familiar? Here’s Rob Ford, from one of his interchangeable campaign speeches:
When I become mayor, the party’s over. The gravy train is gonna come to an end and the wasteful spending will stop immediately.
Borrowing from other public figures is a tradition as old as politics itself. Now, if we could just convince Ford to borrow some nuanced policy from his Albertan counterpart, we’ll be all set.
(Image: Nenshi 5of7, ; Ford, Shaun Merritt)
There might be a superficial similarity in language, but I think the Mayor of Calgary has some specific, serious concerns that the “misused funds” at Enmax might number a big multiple of the “tens of thousands” of dollars spent on a few ill-advised entertainment events.
Enmax is the Calgary counterpart of Toronto Hydro, a very important asset for the city and its electricity consumers.
Many people have demanded an independent, thorough, third-party audit of the expenses, costs and investments of Holden (and the Board Chairmen of Enmax Cliff Fryers and Thompson MacDonald) over the past five years.
If there is any doubt about this, just look at the comments on governance at Enmax published this week by the Calgary Herald, CBC and the Calgary Sun. There is a big problem here.
I don’t know much about Mr Ford, but I hope he doesn’t have to deal with anything like this in Toronto.
November 5, 2010 at 9:18 pm | by John QWho the hell cares what happens in Cowtown?! is this Toronto Life ? Give me more juice on my city… wake me up Toronto Life when you have some real story…zzzzzzzzz
November 6, 2010 at 12:25 am | by CRITICRight on CRITIC!
Let’s talk more about Rob Ford and his vision for our city. Soon he will be an inspiration for cities across North America.
November 6, 2010 at 4:28 pm | by GeorgeToronto hydro cash cow for CEO and
and a vampire for common citizens
usage – $100.00
delivery charges – $102.00
debt retirement charges 50.00
when is this going to end — no citizens dare to speak
no politicians want to speak ?
I am for starting a hunger strike against this by the common masses .
November 9, 2010 at 8:51 am | by naveen