ArchiveDecember 2016

Next time you decide to gripe about property taxes in Toronto, remember the tax rate in T.O. is far lower than the average city in the GTA. In a season defined by giving and getting, it feels opportune to take a moment to reflect on what your city will be asking from you in the new year. For property taxes in Toronto, the request works out to — are you ready for this? — an additional eight bucks...

Luke and Matt are joined by Metro’s own May Warren this week for a deep dive into everything that sucks about housing in Toronto! We discuss whether it’s really possible to continuously report on the unaffordability of housing without eventually falling into a pit of despair. May strains to find some bright spots to tell us about and we chat a bit about the virtues of renting. Later, we take a...

Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa was quick to shoot down the idea of a municipal sales tax for Toronto. Metro's Matt Elliott says he needs to reconsider. Toronto City Council was full of surprises last week. Not only did the final council meeting of 2016 see councillors vote to move forward with Mayor John Tory’s plan for highway tolls – something unthinkable just a year ago – they...

John Tory's plan to add tolls to the Gardiner and Don Valley Parkway would create revenue for a dedicated infrastructure fund. Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Patrick Brown made it clear last week: he really, really doesn’t like Mayor John Tory’s plan to put road tolls on the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway. But I’ve got no time for Brown’s opinion on this, and neither...

Mayor John Tory and Coun. Kristyn Wong-Tam on the floor of City Hall. Wong-Tam has been critical of the lack of downtown councillors on important city committees under Tory. Over the next couple of years, city hall’s public works and infrastructure committee will make recommendations about bike lanes, road safety and other infrastructure in Toronto’s rapidly growing downtown. But there’s a...