1 week Ago
Seriously? Our city has the will, the time and the funds to remove Damian Agostini’s quirky, fleeting beach-find sculptures from Humber Bay Shores Park? Toronto really is the place where fun goes to die. The failed Alexandra Park program to entice subsidized renters to get into home ownership says it all. One, if you remove from home ownership the opportunity to build wealth, renting is the best option.
Two, if you can’t afford to rent without subsidy, you can’t afford to buy a house (or once bought, maintain it). Three, even large, well-resourced non-profit organizations like Habitat for Humanity can’t afford to absorb the escalation of the price of housing so lesser non-profits haven’t a chance. Reading much of the analysis of the recent U.
S. election outcomes made me think through why I vote as I do. My preference is to have different parties in power federally and provincially.
Because, in my mind, there is a hope that one can balance the more nonsensical aspects of the other. I prefer the Liberals at the federal level, as they have less impact on my personal life. Provincially, the PCs are more likely to line up with my sense of how far any politicians should interfere with my day-to-day living.
Lastly I look to the local municipal council to do as much as they can, within a reasonable budget, to make living where I do as pleasant as possible for the majority. I am usually most affected by the municipal decisions and least by the federal ones. Keeping a balance fits my way of thinking, and has for eight decades.
There is an old saying: “Be careful what you wish for, you may get it.” I think four years from now there will be many people asking themselves one simple question: “What were we thinking?” Canada’s commitment to “free trade” and “free trade agreements” does lower the cost of living, leaving people here better off than without free trade. In the United States, Americans are proud of their world-beating economic power, military power, self-sufficiency, innovation and technological leadership.
To American working men, Latinos, Blacks and, apparently, a majority of U.S. voters, more jobs, better jobs, jobs kept in the U.
S. is what they want. Sounds good, right? A key driver of Trump’s victory surely is his manufacturing policy; his commitment to bring manufacturing jobs back to American soil.
Economists will, or should, admit that even though tariffs drive up prices and create inflation, protectionist tariffs will bring jobs back to the U.S. This expectation is in accord with Keynesian economic theory.
What was missed on Trump’s path to victory? Evidently, it was underestimating the savvy of working class and rural voters. These voters expect tariffs will bring more manufacturing jobs with better pay to Americans. It’s a reasonable expectation, and it is what they want.
I learned the rule of law can also be summed up by the phrase, “No one is above the law.” But if president-elect Donald Trump is not bothered by the law, can we really maintain that the United States is still a state of law? Will the partial immunity granted by the conservative Supreme Court to the president-elect not dangerously weaken the “immune system” of the rule of law? Today, president of the United States. Tomorrow, monarch? I am worried about the future because of the housing crisis in Toronto, as it does not appear to be getting any better.
This housing crisis is not new, but it has never been this severe before. Toronto ranks globally as one of the most liveable cities yet housing issues might jeopardize that position. Lack of affordable housing is not just a financial issue, it is a matter of social equity and economic sustainability.
High housing costs push essential workers and young professionals to the fringes of our city, threatening the diversity and vibrancy which define Toronto. I think municipal authorities need to prioritize affordable housing alternatives such as accelerating development approvals, reforming and lowering municipal fees when buying a house, and transforming existing properties into low-cost living spaces. These procedures are critical in making Toronto accessible to all its citizens.
Toronto does not need superficial solutions to its housing crisis; it needs comprehensive, sustainable policies that address the root causes of affordability and availability. We need a strong mayor or a premier who is willing to put aside their partisan agenda for the future of our community. I was dismayed to read about the financial woes of this venerable Toronto/GTA institution.
Thankfully, the parade will go ahead this year, as planned, on Nov. 24 thanks to the hard work of the army of volunteers. However, to think this might be the last year the parade can be mounted is inconceivable.
The annual Santa Claus parade kicks off the holiday season and fuels the dreams of sugar plums that children experience at this time of year. Somehow, Santa’s parade must be saved in 2025 and beyond. Since the problem identified is the drying up of corporate donations and funding, why doesn’t Galen Weston (and his fellow grocery magnates at the top three chains) spearhead this campaign? With the obscene profits flowing into their pockets due to inflated grocery prices, they can afford to fund the parade in perpetuity.
But they needn’t do it alone! They can easily rally their corporate pals in other industries, such as communications (Edward Rogers, I am looking at you), and pharma to name a couple. Step up to the plate, people, for the sake of the children. Meanwhile, individually, we can all be charitable at this time of year, if we have the means.
Let’s commit to donating our $200 cheques, which Premier Doug Ford will send us in January, to our local food banks (or other worthy causes) and let’s donate other amounts of our own to the Toronto Star Santa Claus Fund and other charities..
