ArchiveAugust 2012

By: Metro Canada Published on Fri Aug 31 2012 Aside from a weird interlude where everyone waited to see how Mayor Rob Ford would react when he met his likeness in butter—and, yeah, a depressing Krista Ford thing—the story of the week continues to be the mayor's legal mess and the mounting realization that this really could be the beginning of the end for the Ford administration at City Hall...

By: Metro Canada Published on Tue Aug 28 2012 Mayor Rob Ford should leave office after losing a fair election to a competent opponent. Someone who convinces the people of Toronto that they've got a better vision for the city. He shouldn't get tossed from his chair over a conflict-of-interest case. No matter what the law says. I say this as someone who has decidedly not been a fan of...

By: Metro Canada Published on Fri Aug 24 2012 About a year ago, word leaked that Councillor Doug Ford had a grand plan to wipe out the existing strategy for Toronto's port lands and replace it with something decidedly chintzy and overhyped. He wanted to build a mall and a monorail and maybe a ferris wheel. He told us this would be great. It wasn't. It was terrible. Councillors rose up...

By: Metro Canada Published on Thu Aug 16 2012 If Trinity-Spadina, the Toronto riding represented by NDP MP Olivia Chow, stood as its own municipality, it would be the third fastest-growing municipality in Ontario—growing faster even than the sprawl factories in Brampton and Vaughan. According to recent census figures by Statistics Canada, nearly 30,000 new residents moved into the 18.6 km² area...

By: Metro Canada Published on Tue Aug 14 2012 In my column yesterday, I took timid steps toward an argument that puts me at odds with many on the left: Toronto should consider bidding for the Summer Olympic Games again. I'm sympathetic to the counter-arguments. In a perfect world, Canadian cities would simply have the funds they need to build and improve infrastructure. They wouldn't...