ArchiveSeptember 2014

At a quick glance, Mayor Rob Ford and his mayoral candidate brother Doug would seem to have a leg to stand on when they talk about their commitment to funding the arts, as Doug did at yesterday’s ArtsVote debate. The city has, after all, made a real commitment to the arts over the last four years, increasing per-capita arts spending from $18.09 per person in 2010 to $22.25 per person in 2014. But...

Reader and all-around good guy Sean Marshall spent the time this week to generate some maps from my council scorecard data. The result is a fascinating visual overview of just how Mayor Rob Ford lost his grip on Toronto City Council and ended up on the losing side of most significant votes. It’s an important story to tell because a Toronto mayor just can’t be effective if they’re not able to...

By: Matt Elliott Metro, Metro Published on Wed Sep 24 2014 I’m no food critic, but I do enjoy a good burger. And I know a thing or two about Toronto municipal politics, which means – as per, I’m pretty sure, some kind of bylaw – I am duly qualified to review the mayoral burgers being served up at The Lakeview Restaurant as part of Metro’s Burger Poll. Here’s my take, fresh off the grill. The...

By: Metro Canada Published on Fri Sep 19 2014 It’s all over. Toronto City Council wrapped up the last meeting of the 2010-2014 term on Aug. 28, which means I can finally wrap up this term's City Council Scorecard. For four years I’ve been tracking the results of all major votes in an attempt to track councillor support for Mayor Rob Ford. You can read more about how the scorecard works by...

By: Metro Canada Published on Wed Sep 17 2014 I’ve spent some time this week trying to hunt down solid evidence for mayoral candidate John Tory’s contention that the city’s share of his $8-billion SmartTrack plan can be funded purely with tax increment financing (TIF). So far I’ve found nothing. Nada. That’s not to say TIF is junk. It’s not. It’s actually an intriguing funding mechanism that...