A note on terminology

AuthorC. Ian Kyer
Pages21-22
xxi
ANOTEONTERMINOLOGY
 Introduction a nd Epilogue, I use terms like
publicprivatepartnershipprivatesectorpartnerpublictransittransit
providerandCitycou ncillorAllof these expressions area nachronisms
Theywere not used int helateni neteenth andea rlytwentiethcentur iesI
chose to use these modern expressions to br ing home to the reader that these
eventsofacenturyagowerelessdierentthanonemightth ink
In telling the story, I generally use the more historically accu rate terms. I
write of City aldermen, as they then were known. I q uote courts that referred
totheCity asthe Corporationorusedthe full termThe Corporationof
theCity ofTorontoMostpeoplei ncludingthe presstalked ofthe street
railwayandofthefranchisethattheCityhadgrantedtotheCompany
as they referred to the Toronto Railway Company.
TheCity andits transit providerweretermed copartnersbyt heOn
tarioRailwayandMunicipalBoardbutthisandotherreferencestopartner
ship are also somewhat misleading. The City and the TRC were not partners
in a legal sense. Their relationsh ip was contractual, and the part ners held
each other at arm’s length. They may have been forced to deal with each
other, but they seldom worked together and did not share a common goal.
I should also note that although I talk of the City t aking action or city
council making a deci sion, it is wrong to think of that body as speaking with
one voice or being of a single mind — throughout this period (and for most
ofitshistoryitwasafractiousbodyDierentdivisionsviedfordominance

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