Worth Reading – May 2, 2013

Samara has continued its Democracy Talks series. One of the most recent ones featuring a young Canadian talking about the value of political parties has touched off a bit of a response, which led to Samara highlighting the role parties currently play in Canada. Mr. Geeraert and his peers question the need and value of political parties. I think he may be expressing a correct point of view, but is offering the absolute worst solution – abolishing political parties.

This article from the Toronto Star was featured in my Tuesday piece; condo renters are very vulnerable to abuses. The protections and regulations that underlie other areas of renting to not extend to the new towers going up across the GTHA.

Jon Lorinc at Spacing looks at how the revenue tools for the Metrolinx projects could be turned into jobs for low-income neighbourhoods. Other cities have implemented policies to spread employment and help train more tradespeople.

Chantal Hébert in the Toronto Star points out despite the slew of comments that the NDP are finished now that Justin Trudeau (LPC – Papineau, QC) is the Liberal leader are unwise to say the least. Thomas Mulcair (NDP - Outremont, QC) and the NDP remain a strong presence in Quebec.

A piece by the leaders from CivicAction in the Globe and Mail making a strong case for movement on the transportation/congestion/transit issue. 

Here is an interesting piece in the Brampton Guardian about downtown revitalization. Mayor Fennell is pushing for a downtown hotel and convention centre, but there may not be the support on city council to do so. The article touches on some other issues, like the fact that Brampton’s downtown is undersized compared to the city and peers. A convention centre seems like a potentially huge public expense without clear benefits.  

This piece from The Atlantic Cities discusses sixteen reforms that Smart Growth needs. Smart Growth as a concept is ten years old now, and observers, academics and practitioners have some amendments.