The CityCaucus.com Archive: Search Results

Rob Ford landslide win for new Toronto mayor

25 Oct 2010

The fight for Toronto City Hall ends tonight with Rob Ford elected Mayor It was supposed to be a close contest between a well-known former Deputy Premier and a populist tax-cutting city councillor. In the end it was Rob...

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CityCaucus.com endorses George Smitherman for Toronto mayor

24 Oct 2010

Ford or Smitherman? Follow @CityCaucus on Monday night for our 'e-analysis' of the Toronto contestTorontonians go to the polls on Monday and beginning at 5pm PST CityCaucus.com will be live blogging and posting tweets @CityCaucus on the battle for mayor...

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Unions and public opinion: the Toronto strike

10 Jul 2009

On strike in Toronto, CanWest photo Earlier this week, I was attending a meeting across from Toronto City Hall. I stopped briefly to chat with a few CUPE members who were picketing the municipal parking garage (the cavern beneath Nathan...

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Manufacturing fear and restricting the public's access to elected officials

5 May 2009

On a few occasions, CityCaucus has pondered the ill-effects of Big Brother security measures. For example, following a study of closed circuit TVs (CCTVs) in the UK, out of 13 areas, “only two showed a statistically significant reduction relative to...

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Liquor stores, expensive yachts and council secrets make headlines in Canadian cities this week

19 Apr 2009

Mayor Gerard Tremblay's right-hand man went on a private vacation aboard a yacht named Touch with one of Quebec's biggest construction barons It's been another busy week in Canada's big cities. In Toronto, one councillor is in the hot...

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Could more user fees be coming to your city?

1 Apr 2009

Are user fees becoming a hidden cash cow for Canadian cities?Last night, Toronto City Council passed its $8.7 billion operating budget. Not a lot of analysis in today’s papers: there was opposition to the budget expressed by centre-right councillors (the...

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For a Toronto Councillor, the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain

24 Mar 2009

Councillor Karen Stintz and I inhabit opposite sides of the political spectrum. But I will defend her $4,500 public speaking lessons paid for with public funds. Stintz claims that people find her “shrill” when she speaks. I think she’s...

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City of Toronto is hiring

16 Mar 2009

With ongoing expansion of services, the City of Toronto is hiring 1,300 more staff. Many of the new positions make perfect sense, like 222 for the TTC, 156 welfare caseworkers, 271 for capital project design and oversight. But a...

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Toronto takes on Tim's

12 Mar 2009

Flickr photo by Derek Purdy I think Tim Hortons makes terrible coffee, it is not Fair Trade (choosing instead to “work with their growers”; which sounds much nicer than “exploit our growers”. There is nothing here indicating fair wages) and...

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Toronto and amalgamation. Flashback 1998.

10 Mar 2009

I realize that I’m about 11 years too late, but recent comments by past Toronto mayors got me thinking about the amalgamation of Toronto and the ill effects we’re still feeling. On January 1, 1998, under the guise of...

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Beating back Big Box Stores

5 Mar 2009

Usually, the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) acts in developers’ interests. It routinely ignores city council decisions and rewards developers with projects that can befoul a city’s essence or wreak havoc on the environment (in a report summarizing the outcomes...

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What the Toronto Marlies and Elton John have in common...

26 Feb 2009

I find it amusing yet unnerving when municipal councillors obtain special perks (either through preferential access or given to them) then act puzzled when the public lambastes them. A fine example is when Elton John oddly chose Sudbury and...

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Toronto Board of Trade: do as I say, not as I do

19 Feb 2009

Funny how as the corporate welfare dollars flow freely the lobby group for Toronto businesses wants deeper cuts to municipal government; which would mean deeper cuts to public services. (I also find it paradoxical that for years Big Business has...

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Toronto city budget looking lovely on Valentines Day

14 Feb 2009

With Vancouver facing an unprecedented 10.29% tax increase, we sent our crack CityCaucus.com research team on a five hour economy flight to Toronto City Hall to investigate how their budget process was coming along. The cover of the 236...

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Toronto announces 2009 operating budget

10 Feb 2009

Today, Toronto released its 2009 operating budget containing a residential property tax increase some media are calling "hefty". At 4%, Torontonians are still getting a pretty good deal; particularly when you compare the proposed tax increases in BC cities...

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Toronto pay hikes put on ice

29 Jan 2009

After a raucous debate in Toronto City Hall yesterday, city politicians decided to postpone a decision to provide themselves with a pay increase beyond the cost of living. The final decision has been punted to the upcoming executive committee meeting...

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Toronto City Hall back in session

27 Jan 2009

Last week I wrote about the dispute over freezing Toronto City Councillor pay. It seems it's nothing more than a symbolic move, saving the city about $90,000 (a bit less than the annual salary of a councillor). The Toronto Star...

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Toronto councillors to freeze pay. Is this a good thing?

23 Jan 2009

City of Toronto Councillors are proposing to freeze their own salaries this year. The salary for a Councillor is $96,805. That is very decent pay and much more than what a majority of Canadians earn. Indeed, opting for a...

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Busted rims or broken axles? Call the city to pay up

8 Jan 2009

If your car is damaged due to poor road conditions you may be in luckThere is a little secret that some city officials don't want you to know about when your car is damaged due to their negligence: there's a...

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Toronto ignores separation of church and state

5 Jan 2009

As the holiday season draws to a close and Valentine’s detritus will soon litter store shelves, I thought I would get something off my chest. A few weeks ago, I walked past Toronto’s Old City Hall. Designed by the...

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