trust_opinion

As the pandemic slows down, Toronto City Hall is also slowing down

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The great number Nine The number of “potentially preventable” collisions over the past three years required to meet the City of Toronto’s criteria for installing a stop sign at an intersection. At a glance, an intersection near Toronto’s east waterfront seems like an obvious place to put up traffic lights or stop signs. An evidence. … Read more

Toronto barks the official wrong tree – we should have chosen pine, not oak

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Toronto’s official tree, after a sadly almost entirely ignored online public vote, is the… oak tree. It doesn’t surprise me or you. Ask a Torontonian to name a tree and well, how about oak, something they associate with wine barrels. If you asked them to name a wood, they’d say Ikea, which stands for MDF … Read more

Layoffs and sluggish growth: is this the cure for inflation?

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It is at this point in our difficult economic situation that predicting a little stagflation passes for optimism. Canada’s former central banker Stephen Poloz sees higher prices, volatile oil markets and weaker growth prospects. And what he sees as the best-case scenario is stagflation — that oxymoron that tripped us up in the late 1970s, … Read more

It’s time for Toronto to create a high-speed Internet network

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Just when low-income Toronto residents were counting on the city to create a state-owned and operated municipal broadband network, the city backed away from its commitment to ConnectTO. Despite the city’s acknowledgment in January of the exorbitant prices people face for internet access, the executive committee, chaired by Mayor John Tory, said building a public … Read more

It’s time for Toronto to create a high-speed Internet network

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Just when low-income Toronto residents were counting on the city to create a state-owned and operated municipal broadband network, the city backed away from its commitment to ConnectTO. Despite the city’s acknowledgment in January of the exorbitant prices people face for internet access, the executive committee, chaired by Mayor John Tory, said building a public … Read more

Why has Toronto become the city where the fun dies?

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When in doubt, differ. This seems to be Toronto’s official approach to anything half-fun. Last week city councilors came together to do what they do best: talk about their love of big, bold ideas, but not in this particular context and not at this particular time and not before further consultation is carried out and … Read more

Why I (still) wear a mask

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Its a question of confidence. Our relationship with our readers is based on transparency, honesty and integrity. As such, we have launched a trust initiative to tell you who we are, and how and why we do what we do. This article is part of this project. I fully understand people’s fatigue and frustration in … Read more

Toronto faces a budget deficit of $815 million. It’s awful

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The great number $815 million City of Toronto’s current operating budget deficit. If the provincial and federal governments don’t commit to funding this gap by the end of the month, the city plans to start cutting capital budgets for things like repairs and maintenance. After 777 very long days, Mayor John Tory ended Toronto’s official … Read more

Armchair Bank of Canada critics like Pierre Poilievre should stick to football

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The Bank of Canada (BoC) has rarely been so criticized as it is today. The Bank of Canada sets the interest rates which determine the cost of borrowing. And it pumps money into a stalled economy to get it going again, or pulls money back to keep the economy from overheating. The bank is now … Read more

This is how Canada’s inflation rate could be reduced

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Year-on-year, CPI inflation was 6.7% in March. In other words, average prices for consumer goods and services in March were 6.7% higher than in March 2021 – a rate well above the 2% target and the highest since the start of 1991. Under pressure from economists and financiers, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem seems … Read more