2024

Dec 30 2024: the year in charts ↗ Newsletter Dec 24 Olivia Chow made a wish on Christmas Eve 34 years ago. She's still working to make it come true ↗ Star Dec 23 Council's chaotic Christmas meeting ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Dec 19 Toronto Islands are a pricey, taxpayer-subsidized ghost town in winter. Here's how Olivia Chow can fix that ↗ Star Dec 16 City councillors get scored and shuffled ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Dec 13 SmartTrack flunks further, Ombudsman versus City Manager, and let's do the mid-term shuffle ↗ Newsletter Dec 10 TTC ridership downtown is surging. Here's why I'm worried the transit agency is going to drop the ball ↗ Star Dec 9 Don't blame bikes: an intersectional analysis of what really causes Toronto traffic ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Dec 6 Police budget on the rise, rideshare licenses may get capped (again), Hotel X2 faces uncanny delay ↗ Newsletter Dec 3 Toronto’s neighbourhoods may be about to get their first new corner stores in more than 50 years. Here's why it took so long ↗ Star Dec 2 Lobbyists bring the noise and perhaps the funk ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Nov 26 Doug Ford wants you to focus on bike lanes and beer — and pay no attention to this, his biggest failure ↗ Star Nov 25 'Tis the season for another police budget debate ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Nov 22 Police celebrate hiring plan, City trucks recommended for retrofit, a plan for safe shelters ↗ Newsletter Nov 18 Council attempts to cycle through bike lane blockage ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Nov 15 Council opposes Ford's bike lane busting bill, renoviction rules coming, Don Trail problems ↗ Newsletter Nov 12 Doug Ford wants a Toronto designed for cars. His own housing plans reveal why that’s a mistake ↗ Star Nov 11 How many people commute by bike in Toronto? More than Doug Ford thinks ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Nov 8 How Don Valley West was won, Mayor fights Ford, Council funds FIFA, police review use of force ↗ Newsletter Nov 5 How Toronto’s switch to a new blue bin program led to multimillion-dollar sticker shock ↗ Star Nov 4 Election stressing you out? Try the soothing sounds of Lobbyist Watch ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Oct 29 Anthony Furey wants to be mayor. Why that might be bad for city council ↗ Star Oct 28 The slow process to snap streetcar door speedsters ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Oct 22 The arts in Toronto are in dire need of more money. Airbnb may be able to help fix that ↗ Star Oct 21 Doug Ford says he wants data on bike lanes — the good news is we've got lots ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Oct 18 Ford blocks bike lanes, glossy plans for the economy and culture, water meters break bad ↗ Newsletter Oct 15 After some turbulence, Council lands on airport compromise ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Oct 15 To cut waste, Mayor Olivia Chow needs to unleash the city hall watchdogs ↗ Star Oct 11 Island airport gets some runway, vacant tax isn't vacated, AG finds parks staff parked ↗ Newsletter Oct 8 Billy Bishop airport's 40-year lease needs a much closer look before we clear it for takeoff ↗ Star Oct 7 Three hundred issues, more lobbyists ↗ Newsletter Oct 1 Doug Ford’s 401 tunnel fantasy is a distraction from what Ontario should be spending money on ↗ Star Sep 30 Constructive feedback on Toronto's construction ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Sep 27 Doug Ford has a tunnel vision, TTC cuts the wifi, City Hall posts surplus ↗ Newsletter Sep 24 There’s one proven cure for Toronto’s traffic woes. Here’s the surprising reason the city won’t touch it ↗ Star Sep 23 Taking a drive through a very congested City Hall calendar ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Sep 17 Job one for the TTC's interim CEO: Take Metrolinx for relationship counselling ↗ Star Sep 16 A pedestrian surge on the waterfront ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Sep 10 Doug Ford hasn't let Toronto use cameras to get traffic moving. The city should do it anyway ↗ Star Sep 9 City Hall's looming renoviction decision — and the brewing police budget battle sequel ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Sep 6 Dead animal pick-up, the beginnings of the police budget, and the value of old buildings ↗ Newsletter Sep 3 Live Nation lobbyists play the hits at City Hall ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Sep 3 With a lot of pot shops going up in smoke, city hall needs a new plan for vacant storefronts ↗ Star Aug 30 Trash bin inspectors, Rogue RVs and additional avenues ↗ Newsletter Aug 26 Toronto City Hall's Committee of Adjustment could use some adjustment ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Aug 19 A quiet revolution for safer and cheaper bike infrastructure ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Aug 16 Railing against the rail path, and City Hall's island airport debate prepares for takeoff ↗ Newsletter Aug 13 Toronto has the bylaws and it has the staff. So why doesn’t it enforce the rules? ↗ Star Aug 12 The 2024 Council Power Rankings ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Aug 6 Lobbyists fight taxes and uplift the airport ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Aug 6 Toronto council sped up construction work on the Gardiner. Why won't it do the same for the TTC? ↗ Star Jul 30 Push. Pray. Walk: After yet another death, should Toronto replace these dangerous pedestrian crossovers? ↗ Star Jul 29 Council scorecard goes for gold ↗ Newsletter Jul 26 Council speeds on the Gardiner, sails on electric ferries and weathers the storm ↗ Newsletter Jul 23 A year ago Toronto’s budget was a dumpster fire. Now the city’s running a surprise surplus. What happened? ↗ Star Jul 22 Sun's out, Council's in — and ready to debate the Gardiner, the Science Centre, and rats ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Jul 16 Better transit is coming for the 2026 World Cup. Why not also for those of us who pay for it? ↗ Star Jul 15 Executive Committee executive summary ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Jul 9 City hall spends a staggering amount of time talking about housing. Maybe it's time to cut the chatter ↗ Star Jul 8 Lobbying leads to by-election reunion ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Jul 5 A wooden building, a Quayside proposal, our solo city, and a troubling office market report ↗ Newsletter Jul 2 They blinded us with the Science Centre ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Jul 2 With Science Centre closure, Ford government sticks to absurd notion that buildings can’t live past 50 ↗ Star Jun 28 Council backs rentals, fights renovictions, and goes forward with Sankofa ↗ Newsletter Jun 25 Yonge-Dundas or Sankofa: Whatever you want to call it, a name change is the least of its problems ↗ Star Jun 24 Council's in for summer ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Jun 17 Olivia Chow's opposition rises in the west ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Jun 17 Toronto Island ferries are a disaster. It's time to finally fix the problem ↗ Star Jun 11 Olivia Chow is about to face the biggest threat to her mayoralty. Overcoming it won’t be easy ↗ Star Jun 10 EHON and beyond — what's next for Toronto housing policy ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Jun 7 TTC spares us a strike ↗ Newsletter Jun 4 Ambitious bike lane plans make sense. So why are Toronto's stuck in low gear? ↗ Star Jun 3 Lobbying is a Virtue (and a Morgan Rielly) ↗ Subscribers Newsletter May 28 Doug Ford promised to pay Toronto for any shortfall caused by his housing rules. Here’s how that's going ↗ Star May 27 Council allows density, bans e-scooters and fights Ford ↗ Subscribers Newsletter May 24 Toronto City Hall embraces its density ↗ Newsletter May 21 Paying a minimum for maximum security ↗ Newsletter May 21 Please, spare us the outrage over allowing more apartment buildings and townhouses in Toronto ↗ Star May 17 Toronto Council gets set for major debate about major streets ↗ Newsletter May 16 Bike Share is a key part of Toronto’s transit future. Slashing its expansion makes no sense ↗ Star May 13 Toronto City Hall's biggest road warriors ↗ Subscribers Newsletter May 6 Pieces of April lobbying ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Apr 30 There's an effective way to ease Toronto's traffic woes. But it's up to city council to allow it ↗ Star Apr 29 Toronto City Hall keeps on trucking, but should it? ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Apr 23 TTC’s Bloor-Danforth line is on track for slower, less reliable service. Blame Justin Trudeau ↗ Star Apr 22 Unbreak my vacant home tax ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Apr 19 Blue bins get sold, more parks get beer, and the vacant home tax gets fixed — maybe ↗ Newsletter Apr 15 A trio of charts, with some help from AI ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Apr 12 Vacant tax crowds Council's agenda ↗ Newsletter Apr 9 Toronto's vacant home tax rollout has been a mess. There is a better way ↗ Star Apr 8 Walking on the Sunshine List ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Apr 2 City Hall's lobbyists spring forward ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Apr 2 The city's plan for dangerous dog attacks is fatally flawed. Spending half a million dollars won't fix it ↗ Star Mar 26 The TTC is losing a staggering amount to fare evasion. Why a crackdown may make things worse ↗ Star Mar 25 Bye-bye parking, hello housing? ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Mar 22 Booze in parks didn't bring about the apocalypse — what's next? ↗ Newsletter Mar 19 Toronto parking fines may shortly skyrocket. This is why we should embrace the cost ↗ Star Mar 18 Toronto's next chief planner will need a plan ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Mar 15 The 411 on the 311, and what was broken in Toronto in 2023 ↗ Newsletter Mar 12 Pedestrian and cyclist injuries and deaths are up. So why is Toronto set to spend less on making streets safer? ↗ Star Mar 11 Intersecting interests all across Toronto ↗ Newsletter Mar 8 City Hall's not-so-wild spring break ↗ Newsletter Mar 5 Why Hamilton may have the solution to Toronto’s soaring renoviction problem ↗ Star Mar 4 Lobbied about the levy but the levy was dry ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Mar 1 Kicking and screaming our way to the World Cup ↗ Newsletter Feb 27 Why Doug Ford may hold the key to unsnarling Toronto’s jammed intersections ↗ Star Feb 26 Checking the score after Olivia Chow's first budget ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Feb 23 City Hall hunts for cash in vast parking lots ↗ Newsletter Feb 20 Mayor Olivia Chow budges a bit on her budget ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Feb 20 TTC signals there’s little room on transit for student field trips — and new ideas ↗ Star Feb 16 Mayor Olivia Chow's first budget is in the books — here's what's next ↗ Newsletter Feb 13 Olivia Chow's budget sets aside money to fix a broken Toronto. It's not nearly enough ↗ Star Feb 12 Police budget comes down to The Wire ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Feb 9 This week: printing costs. Next week: a $17 billion budget. ↗ Newsletter Feb 6 Olivia Chow is spending millions on Toronto renters in her budget. Here's why ↗ Star Feb 5 The hot fuzz on police budget lobbying ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Feb 2 Council toboggans toward budget time ↗ Newsletter Jan 30 City hall plans to dramatically ramp up 2026 World Cup spending. Olivia Chow now has the ball ↗ Star Jan 29 90s nostalgia, Toronto city budget edition ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Jan 26 Toronto Budget 2024 (Olivia's Version) drops next week ↗ Newsletter Jan 22 What cut? The Toronto police budget is going up — how much, we don’t even know yet ↗ Star Jan 22 What the dickens is going on with transit construction costs? ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Jan 19 City Hall revs up for annual budget deputation derby ↗ Newsletter Jan 16 There's a big property tax hike on tap. Toronto's water department shows how it can pay off ↗ Star Jan 15 The 2024 Budget Launch Spectacular ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Jan 12 Toronto's 2024 budget comes to your windrow ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Jan 9 What good are new noise bylaws if Toronto doesn't enforce the rules it already has? ↗ Star Jan 8 2023: the year in LOBBYIST WATCH ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Jan 5 A noisy start to a new year at Toronto City Hall ↗ Subscribers Newsletter Jan 2 The City Hall Watcher interview with Mayor Olivia Chow ↗ Newsletter Jan 1 Toronto Mayor Olivia 'The Impatient' must find a balance between speed and breaking things ↗ Star