Thursday, November 26, 2009
How About You?
How will HST affect me?
2009/11/26
One of the biggest questions I have centres around the new Harmonized Sales Tax that is supposed to be implemented for new home constructions that close after July 1, 2010.
HST looms on horizon
2009/11/26
Buyers Nita and Satnam asked me if waiting until their financial situation improved was futile, since — as it seems — the same home they want to buy is going to be priced $50,000 more at that time.
A Bridge To Island Airport???
City, port ready to bury hatchet?
26 November 2009 05:29
After years of acrimony and legal battles, the City of Toronto and the Toronto Port Authority may finally be ready to make peace.
The key appears to be the Toronto Transit Commission’s need to get its hands on 18 acres of port authority-owned land near Ashbridges Bay to build a new facility to house streetcars.
City staff are seeking council’s OK to settle longstanding disputes with the authority while securing the land the TTC needs.
The staff report notes the city has withheld $11.7 million in payments it owes the port authority, arguing that the port authority owes the city $37 million in tax arrears.
And the city has refused to pay $3 million in “harbour user fees” — charged at the rate of $10 every time a city ferry makes a crossing between the island and mainland.
It’s good news that the TTC may be able to acquire a storage and maintenance site for new streetcars, said Councillor Joe Mihevc, a TTC commissioner.
“We need that in our possession ASAP, in order for us to be able to take the new vehicles when they come off the assembly line,” Mihevc said of the new carhouse, expected to cost $350 million.
The new cars will be about twice as long as the existing models and couldn’t be housed in the TTC’s old facilities on Queen St. and Roncesvalles Ave.
The Port Authority land is the TTC’s preferred choice among six potential locations, including 629 Eastern Ave., a mothballed film studio that was also the site of a controversial big box retail development, nixed by the Ontario Municipal Board.
Our Wishy Washy Position On Deserters Is An Indication
- John Ivison: Canada's blind spot on terrorism
- What would happen if Osama bin Laden washed up on the coast of Vancouver Island in a rusting old hulk and claimed asylum? If it was left to our immigration system, he'd share the same fate as the one that probably awaits the 76 Sri Lankan Tamils who arrived in Canada last month aboard the Princess Easwary -- that is, he'd walk free, be set up in a hotel, told he was entitled to work and handed a welfare cheque.
As with the Tamils, bin Laden would initially be detained by the Canada Border Services Agency and then obliged to appear before an Immigration and Refugee Board review hearing to establish his identity.
As with the Tamils, the Minister of Public Safety would likely ask the IRB to detain him while it investigated whether there was "reasonable suspicion" of inadmissability on security grounds.
Con tributing To The Perceived Problem
Do you think Prime Minister Stephen Harper should attend the Copenhagen climate-change conference? 68% 1606 votes
Yes
32% 758 votes
No
Catching Up......
Politics: The morning buzz
A torturous poll for Tories
Jane Taber on a 'precipitous decline' for Stephen Harper's government, what pundits have to say about the generals and more on Michael Ignatieff's unplugged tourHuge Deficits At All Levels.......
....and Ottawa, Queens Park and Silly Hall will try to generate extra revenue but THEIR IS ONLY ONE TAXPAYER.
Smart solutions to city's budget crisis
November 26, 2009
Colin Busby
Getting TTC passengers to pay for the distance travelled and pricing water for each unit of consumption would help Toronto meet its budget.
STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR
The City of Toronto's operating budget is in a scary state. City councillors will soon discuss ways to right their wayward bottom line. The trouble is that among the many options up for debate only a few smart ones exist.
To dig out of Toronto's half-billion dollar hole, Shelley Carroll, the city budget chief, is calling for Queen's Park to extend one percentage point of provincial sales tax revenue to cities. But Ontario, with unprecedented deficits of its own, has quickly rejected this proposal. The message: the City of Toronto can no longer pass the buck onto higher-order governments to bail out its bad habits.
Another new tax to be debated at city council is on billboards. Torontonians can expect a pitched battle over it. But the revenues from such a tax – the city expects to net less than $10 million per year – are a drop in the $500 million deficit bucket. If the city does not focus on limiting expenses this year and next, it will need to significantly expand its search for new revenues.
Although the main budget problem is with expenditures, new revenue options that the city actually has the power to levy can help reduce wasteful spending by charging for the services that people are willing to pay for.
For the short term, the city could consider smarter water pricing. And in the longer run, the best options are road tolls and TTC fares-by-distance. Together, these revenue tools could help Toronto make virtue out of fiscal vice.
Smarter revenue options for the city would aim to raise revenues to cover costs so that service benefits match with public expenses. In other words, those who overuse the services would pay more, while those who use a lower level of services would pay less. A user-pay system creates the right incentives and discourages undesirable waste.
The city is moving in the right direction by pricing water to better match delivery costs. Thanks to the universal implementation of water meters, households can be charged in relation to their level of water use and the costs of delivery. The schedule of annual hikes of 9 per cent to water prices should reduce excess water use and increase innovation. A further reform would apply higher prices for each unit of consumption and higher charges to houses that must have water pumped further to reach them. This means prices would align more closely to a full-cost approach.
Another smart option is tolls for the Don Valley Parkway and the Gardiner Expressway. The recently imposed vehicle registration fee does not link usage to costs. However, road tolls tax those who truly wear down the roads that need repair. According to the OECD, the excessive number of cars on Toronto's roads causes more than $3 billion in congestion costs. Tolls on the DVP or the Gardiner would directly charge those who contribute to the traffic congestion and pollution in the downtown core. This would lead to fewer cars and therefore open up space for a better flow of public transportation, bikes, taxis and commercial traffic.
The days of the TTC relying on higher levels of government to cover shortfalls appear to be over. And if citizens don't want to consider changes to services, the task is to find practical ways to raise revenues.
The solution is to charge those who travel long distances on the TTC more than those who travel short distances. This cannot happen with antiquated paper transfers. Introducing zone-based fares or fares-by-distance would need some time to properly develop. And Metrolinx and the TTC would need to share the hefty upfront price for smartpass infrastructure to make this transition happen.
Instead of smarter pricing, all individual-fare TTC riders will face a 25 cent hike in January and Metropass users will face an extra levy of $12 per month.
While popular, last week's decision to give Metropass discounts to post-secondary students further delinks the cost of transit with what people pay.
Broad-based fare hikes carry the risk of losing ridership, whereas a distance-based fare plan need not mean fewer riders – it may make sense to cut fares for people living in the downtown core who cost less to transport. The case for riding the TTC would be made even stronger with tolls on the DVP or Gardiner.
Charging someone who lives in the suburbs the same amount as someone who lives downtown encourages wasteful sprawl, which is partly why GO Transit charges by distance, as do many other big-city transit systems.
Although the city's budget is in crisis mainly because of spending problems, smarter new revenue options can encourage environmentally friendly behaviour and reduce wasteful expenditures. They can help Toronto cope with its short-term and long-term budget problems. If the City of Toronto considers smarter revenue sources, something good might come out of the latest in the long line of budget crises at city hall.
This Won't Stop Implementation......
Experts find holes in plan for full-day kindergarten
Thu Nov 26 2009
Full-day kindergarten is off to a "rough start" because the province is ignoring research on what makes it work best, says a new report from early childhood experts who studied a similar successful program in Toronto.
I Agree.....
Thank The NDP For Legalizing Squatting
Retirement housing? How about the thousands of low income people who have their names on the lottery list for subsidized housing?
Hundreds play lottery for chance at Islands real estate
At least 500 people on a waiting list share the same dream as Rod Walker of owning a home on the Toronto Islands. He hopes the fourth time is a charm.
Thank Gawd For Politicians Like Mihevic And Pantaloner....
....they provide an abundance material for the gristmill of blogging. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
City Hall's rulers getting nervous
With their leader, David Miller, on the sidelines for 2010, signs of skittishness emerge on the left
During a feisty debate earlier this week about banning union and corporate donations in the next election, deputy mayor Joe Pantalone took a bizarre swipe at the media.
While he said he supported the ban, Panta-looney -- who grows dottier by the day -- felt corporate entities like the one that owns this paper should also come under some sort of scrutiny for the "undue influence" it exerts on its City Hall reporters.
"Their articles are often rewritten by editors," he said. "These corporate interests often assign reporters to follow a certain party line."
He also claimed the media at City Hall have a "split personality" -- providing information to citizens but doing so in a way that sells papers.
For the record, I don't remember a single time in my 11 years at City Hall that one of my hard-hitting columns was rewritten by my editors, or I was told what to write.
But it struck me that Panta-looney and his crew of NDP colleagues are feeling mighty nervous right now about what the 2010 election will mean for them.
It has been said Mayor David Miller and his socialist minions are repeatedly frustrated at their inability to get their message out about all the wonderful things they've done for the greater good of this city -- that their bevy of creative taxes, user fees, rules, bylaws and ridiculous policies are best for us because they contribute to city-building.
This nervousness was reinforced during Coun. Joe Mihevc's "Setting the Agenda 2010" brainstorming event at his home away from home -- Artscape Wychwood Barns -- on Tuesday evening.
'SPARK DIALOGUE'
The event was positioned in the material sent beforehand as an attempt "to spark dialogue among Torontonians about the challenges, opportunities and visions for Toronto in 2010 and beyond." Mihevc told the crowd his aim is to "facilitate conversation around the future of this city."
Now I'm all for breaking the apathy that plagues municipal elections. Mihevc should be commended for his attempts to rouse public interest.
But within the first 30 minutes, it became clear to me that most of the 170 Torontonians who were there to "dialogue" were all the usual suspects who count on Mihevc and his cohorts at Socialist Silly Hall to fund, support, give an ear, and rally to their pet projects and causes.
In fact, the councillor had already "set the agenda" before anyone turned up Tuesday night -- the NDP agenda, that is. People were asked to join dialogue tables to discuss burning issues like cycling, public spaces, arts and culture and urban architecture (huh?).
I sat at the lone table dedicated to fiscal matters.
The message I got loud and clear is The Friends of Joe Mihevc will fight tooth and nail to preserve every funding scheme, every pet project, every union fiefdom, every social engineering idea that has been created since Miller came to power.
Even as the crowd acknowledged a $500-million deficit next year, a growing city debt and no reserve funds, there was a warning that the next mayor better not mess with any cuts since that would destroy the fabric of this city.
Economic advocate Hugh Mackenzie, who spoke at Mihevc's request, said the city must be careful not to resort to the "politics of fear" practised by small "c" conservative politicians who engaged in tax cuts.
"We are not going to build a city we need by getting into conversations about who can freeze taxes for longer," said the economic advocate.
Of course he never did say who will pay the price for the continued largesse. I'm guessing he'd advocate for new and higher taxes.
Sigh. It will be a long election year indeed.
Fire up the B.S. detectors. The socialists are already on a roll.
Silly Hall And Common Sense Is The Ultimate Oxymoron
It is unlikely I will patronize a business if I have to park a block or so away and it makes me wonder whether cyclists are required to do the same....of couse not they just park on the sidewalk which impedes pedestrians. Talk about "fairness!"
Why bike lanes aren't working
If bike lanes are impractical for police officers to respect then the answer is to rethink bike lanes, not have one law for the police and one for everyone else.
Stephen Could Win A Majority In Ontario.....
....if he acted in the interest of many Ontarians.
NDP to Iggy: Force an election over HST
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff can halt the harmonized sales tax if, like the federal NDP, he's prepared to force an election over the issue, Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says.
Speaking Of Cleaning Toronto Sidewalks......
....when will the city remove panhandlers and homeless people who have hijacked many areas and I doubt they have licences?
Even when they win, Leafs still lose
MLSE on thin ice over sidewalk ads
The Toronto Maple Leafs can't win on the ice, and now it seems they can't even win on the sidewalk.
They may have beaten Tampa Bay last night but lost to the City of Toronto yesterday. The city has given Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment 48 hours to clean up sidewalks that were painted with Leafs logos all over the downtown core as part of a marketing campaign to mark the start of the NHL season.
"You cannot use public sidewalks for third party advertising," said Angie Antoniou with Toronto's traffic services, said of the blue and white ads. "That's basically the bylaw infraction.
"We fully support all of our sporting teams, but our sidewalks are for public use."
The blue emblems, accompanied by the phrase, "Leafs Nation, Spirit is Everything," began cropping up in early October outside subway stations and along major city streets like King, Bathurst, Jarvis and Queen. At the corner of Church and Front alone, there are five ads.
According to Antoniou, City Hall isn't even sure how many logos have been painted on Toronto's sidewalks, but they all have to be removed.
"Usually we would give 48 hours to have it removed. If not, then the city would do the cleanup and charge the costs to the source," Antoniou said.
But MLSE, which is worth nearly $2 billion, said the marks are not its fault because it was told by the advertising firm hired for the campaign that it was allowed.
Grassroots Advertising, which was hired by MLSE's media buying agency, could not be reached for comment yesterday.
"We wouldn't just do this randomly. We would go by the book and make sure that the rights are there," said Rajani Kamath, MLSE's director of corporate communications.
"We understood that Grassroots had the rights secured for this," Kamath said. "It would be Grassroots Advertising that's responsible for cleaning this up. If they say they have the right to do that, and they didn't, then it is their responsibility."
According to Grassroots' website, the firm specializes in "street smart impressions" and is a "one-stop guerrilla shop." While the website doesn't specifically mention painting ads on sidewalks, Grassroots' other marketing campaigns have included using chalk and stencils, and even power-washing a logo or brand onto a dirty sidewalk.
For the most part, pedestrians at Front and Church yesterday didn't mind the painted logo on the sidewalk. Andrew Kristensen even thought the ad livened up the otherwise drab grey concrete, saying, "it looks better than gum."
But not everyone is willing to cut the Leafs, or their advertising agencies slack.
"It's an ad like anything else, and you gotta pay the piper. I think it's a little brazen," Tom Shipton said. "They've got to pay like everyone else."
Red Tape Is Never Appetizing.......
.....but Comrade Miller and his band of clowns, especially Filon, will add it as a condimen to the Zappi Factory menu.
Street meat beat
Parking-lot kitchen upsets the A La Cart
A Toronto entrepreneur is serving up some tasty street food, providing an alternative to the Toronto A La Cart program.
Radek Maj, 28, has launched his own street-level food business that, if it survives, may show up the red tape-laden city program and prove that private business knows best when it comes to street eats.
"I'm an advocate of good food," Maj said yesterday outside The Zappi Factory, his recently opened portable kitchen in a private parking lot, steps from the Dundas West subway station.
"Torontonians are foodies, they're used to ethnic food; you just need to give them choices."
Along with perogies, sweet potato fries and soup, his main course offering is a twist on the Polish open-faced baguette sandwich known as a zapiekanka.
Still one of Poland's most popular dishes, the zapiekanka is a leftover from the country's communist era, traditionally served as half a toasted baguette with mushrooms, chives and butter on top.
Maj's version, served on artisan bread, adds various combinations of mushrooms, cheese, roasted peppers, eggplant, tuna and salmon.
"We have something unique, we looked to the past for inspiration," Maj said.
Serving up ethnic food that borders on the gourmet alongside hot dogs and sausages was supposed to be the logic behind the city's troubled A La Cart program.
Maj can't believe what a disaster setting up a handful of vendors across the city to serve up two approved menu items has become.
Last week, after the first year of the program saw some of the eight vendors almost bankrupted, the board of health approved reducing some location fees and adding 10 new locations.
Maj's kitchen, which he designed as an independent study project while an architecture student at Ryerson University, would impress A La Cart vendors who are stuck with the city-approved, open- air carts.
The Zappi Factory is a covered trailer that houses a convection oven, a fridge and hot running water.
"You have to have housing; you have to have a roof; you have to have something that protects your back," Maj said.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
I Agree But Putting It On Obama's Personal Doorstep Is Too Much
Obama is Prosecuting Navy Seals for giving a Most Wanted Terrorist a Bloody Lip
Unbelievable:
Navy SEALs have secretly captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq — the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004. And three of the SEALs who captured him are now facing criminal charges, sources told FoxNews.com.
The three, all members of the Navy's elite commando unit, have refused non-judicial punishment — called an admiral's mast — and have requested a trial by court-martial.
Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named "Objective Amber," told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it.
Now, instead of being lauded for bringing to justice a high-value target, three of the SEAL commandos, all enlisted, face assault charges and have retained lawyers.
Matthew McCabe, a Special Operations Petty Officer Second Class (SO-2), is facing three charges: dereliction of performance of duty for willfully failing to safeguard a detainee, making a false official statement, and assault.
Petty Officer Jonathan Keefe, SO-2, is facing charges of dereliction of performance of duty and making a false official statement.
Petty Officer Julio Huertas, SO-1, faces those same charges and an additional charge of impediment of an investigation.
The three SEALs will be arraigned separately on Dec. 7. Another three SEALs — two officers and an enlisted sailor — have been identified by investigators as witnesses but have not been charged.
FoxNews.com obtained the official handwritten statement from one of the three witnesses given on Sept. 3, hours after Abed was captured and still being held at the SEAL base at Camp Baharia. He was later taken to a cell in the U.S.-operated Green Zone in Baghdad.
The SEAL told investigators he had showered after the mission, gone to the kitchen and then decided to look in on the detainee.
"I gave the detainee a glance over and then left," the SEAL wrote. "I did not notice anything wrong with the detainee and he appeared in good health."
Lt. Col. Holly Silkman, spokeswoman for the special operations component of U.S. Central Command, confirmed Tuesday to FoxNews.com that three SEALs have been charged in connection with the capture of a detainee. She said their court martial is scheduled for January.
United States Central Command declined to discuss the detainee, but a legal source told FoxNews.com that the detainee was turned over to Iraqi authorities, to whom he made the abuse complaints. He was then returned to American custody. The SEAL leader reported the charge up the chain of command, and an investigation ensued.
Carbon Credit Con Game
Who benefits? We know Gore does...how about David.
Global Warming Exposed!
The MSM is in lockdown, they are waiting for instructions from Al Gore and Suzuki. So all is quiet on the Canadian front, except for bloggers, who are blasting the news that we have been lied to by the econuts. Most Conservative bloggers already knew that, why didn't the lefties? Talk about deniers, we have taxpayer funded CBC that has yet to even mention the hacking. The left are the deniers,...
Climbing Out Of The Dark |
Global Warming Exposed!
The MSM is in lockdown, they are waiting for instructions from Al Gore and Suzuki. So all is quiet on the Canadian front, except for bloggers, who are blasting the news that we have been lied to by the econuts. Most Conservative bloggers already knew that, why didn't the lefties? Talk about deniers, we have taxpayer funded CBC that has yet to even mention the hacking. The left are the deniers,...
Climbing Out Of The Dark |
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About Me
- Unhypentated Canadian
- I lean to the right but I still have a heart and if I have a mission it is to respond to attacks on people not available to protect themselves and to point out the hypocrisy of the left at every opportunity.MY MAJOR GOAL IS HIGHLIGHT THE HYPOCRISY AND STUPIDITY OF THE LEFTISTS ON TORONTO CITY COUNCIL. Last word: In the final analysis this blog is a relief valve for my rants/raves.