ArchiveMarch 2017

Bay Street in 2010. Last week, we learned that eighty rich people from the state of New York recently did something surprising: they asked the government to tax them more. According to the Associated Press, a letter with 80 signatures – carrying names like Soros and Rockefeller, a real monocle-and-tuxedo crowd – was delivered to the governor. It asks for a new, higher income tax bracket to fund...

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's latest budget is set to hit TTC riders for an extra $240 a year. Justin Trudeau is about to make your TTC trip more expensive. Surprised? Yeah, me too. Making transit cost more is usually our municipal government’s thing, not Ottawa’s. But in a new twist, the federal budget for 2017, tabled today by Finance Minister Bill Morneau, is set to increase your costs...

A for rent sign outside a Toronto apartment in March 2017. Does anyone really give a damn about Toronto’s renters? Normally, I’d give you a simple answer: nah. Most of the political conversation about affordable housing in this city is focused on the plight of would-be homeowners. We hear lots about things like foreign buyer taxes or mortgage rules, but those who desire only reasonable rent in...

Brian Kelcey, left, with Toronto mayoral candidate David Soknacki. Kelcey says urban planning needs to factor in the value of speed. As I get older, I’ve started to think about the municipal projects under debate in terms of how old I’ll be when they’re finally completed. I’ll probably be past 35 by the time Toronto finally approves a comprehensive plan for laneway housing, for example. I’ll be...

A cyclist bikes through streetcar track construction at Queen east of Greenwood in May 2012. Pity the streetcar rider. For much of 2017, their downtown transit trips will take on an element of mystery. Will a streetcar or a bus show up at the curb? Telling you would ruin the surprise! What route will they take? The only thing certain is there will be twists and turns! Will riders even get to...