A Daughter’s 13th Birthday

Toronto’s Mayor David Miller is back in town after a family vacation in Vancouver. He was away when the propane tank explosion in the Downsview area occurred. He returned from vacation briefly, but resumed his vacation, leaving the city to fend for itself while he rounded out his time off.

Now, most of the residents have been allowed back into their homes, and Mayor Miller is back to face the music.

He says that he was celebrating his daughter’s thirteenth birthday with his family in Vancouver. The response from Torontonians is mixed, but people seem to be upset that he would put his family before the city.

What are we thinking? Canada’s culture is distinct from those of far east Asian ones in that there’s a line between professional and private lives. We complain that Mayor Miller chose his family before the city, but wouldn’t we complain that he’s not enough of a family man if he were to have taken the reigns during the aftermath of the explosion?

It’s not like he carries the entire weight of the city on his shoulder. He has delegates for a reason.

He may not be mayor forever, but he will be a father indefinitely. Wouldn’t you want to spend your son or daughter’s 13th birthday with all the bells and whistles? I say, give the man a break.