Worth Reading - January 25, 2018

Today has been a big 24 hours in Ontario politics. Patrick Brown, leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party has resigned amidst sexual misconduct accusations. 

Still on Ontario politics, Kathleen Wynne's unpopularity is resulting in some ugly town halls. 

Chuck Marohn offers a twelve-step program for cities in financial crisis. 

This is a bit of a strange one, but there are concerns about the volume of road salt we use in the province of Ontario. 

Bad streets lead to pedestrian deaths, unsafe environments and poorer cities. Strong Towns talks about how to identify when a street is broken. 

In an effort to keep in communications with the public governments have hired social media people. The cost of whom is quite high. 

John Michael McGrath argues that Northern Ontario needs regional governance. 

Setting the Stage for the Next Debates

In Ottawa there is some discussion about what should be the terms for the next federal election debates. Canada has no regulation, as far as I am aware, regarding our national debates leading into a federal election. A gentleman's agreement of sorts was what governed how debates operated in this country. A media consortium worked together with the political parties to set the terms of the debates. 

For many years this system seemed adequate. I don't think Canadians were particularly engaged by the debates, but nor were they poorly served by them. In the 2000s, in the minority years, the public got to see politicians perform on equal footing and were well moderated by skilled journalists such as Steve Paikin. However, in the last federal election the Conservatives blew up the traditional consensus and offered to do debates with any number of media organization and in different formats.

In the 2015 federal election the Conservatives threatened to upend this system and the status quo. Prime Minister Stephen Harper's decision to withdraw from convention meant that we were poised to confront a reality wherein Canadians would have no debate as a platform to judge the candidates. Luckily some did manage to occur, but far fewer Canadians saw them than in previous years.

The Liberal government is exploring the idea of creating a commission for debates and enshrining it in law. Very few details are fixed as of yet, but there are some interesting ideas on the table. Financial penalties could be imposed to compel/encourage participation. The leader of the Green Party, Elizabeth May (GPC - Saanich-Gulf Islands, BC), has been leading in suggesting how parties/leaders should qualify to debate. She has suggested that participating parties have to have two of the three following criteria: a) received 4% or more of the national vote in the previous election, b) have an elected member of the House of Commons under that party's banner, c) be running candidates in most (or nearly all) of the country's 338 ridings.

All things considered it is a pretty reasonable benchmark to start with. Such a standard would allow the Green Part and the Bloc Quebecois to join the NDP, Liberals and Conservatives in the next federal leaders' debate. Unsurprisingly, the system isn't perfect. This would have excluded other parties from entering the debate that have in the past, such as the Reform Party.

With democracies under strain I think there is a good argument to look at formalizing institutions like this and strengthening them. The practice of a leaders' debate is an important part of the Canadian election cycle. We should never have to worry again if we can see our leaders answer questions and explain their policies as a group. While hardly perfect on its own I think that is something work protecting and building upon, if nothing else.

Worth Reading - January 19, 2018

A long day and battling sickness made me miss the deadline yesterday, but better late than never. 

Chantal Hebert writes that the Parti Quebecois is facing another term on the opposition with the resignation of prominent MNAs. 

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh proposed to Gurkiran Sidhu, a fashion designer and entrepreneur. 

Jennifer Keesmat says that Canada's urban future is in our mid-sized cities, if they can seize their potential.

  

Brampton City Council is debating the site of the future university. 

John Michael McGrath writes about the Liberal fortunes in Ontario for the upcoming 2018 election. 

The Loathing of Kathleen Wynne

Recently the Toronto Star published a piece questioning whether or not critics were motivated by Kathleen Wynne's gender, or that it was tied to her unpopularity. The initial premise is, of course, ridiculous to my mind. Ontarians have plenty of reasons to oppose, or not support the Ontario Liberals and Premier Kathleen Wynne (OLP - Don Valley West).

The primary cause, from my perspective, is time. In democracies parties in power tend to only last eight to twelve years in office. Ontario's Liberals have been elected since 2003. They were nearly removed from office in 2011, but the execution was staid when Wynne gave a fresh face for a tired party.

All these years have allowed bad policies, scandals and entitlement to pile on to the government. With over fourteen years in office no one's hands are clean anymore. Long memories for tax increases, a lukewarm economy, and wasted money have eroded support. Anxieties about the high provincial debt and deficit are justified.

I have lived in Ontario for nearly all of my life, and came to political awareness mostly during the Dalton McGuinty years, Premier Wynne's predecessor. McGuinty was never truly popular from my recollections, but no alternative enticed Ontarians enough to make a change. McGuinty was premier when social media was present, and while he had critiques it hardly felt as toxic as the conversation around Wynne. Memes and images take aim at the Premier herself. My barbershop, as an example, posted pictures comparing her to Orville Redenbacher to explain why prices were going up. Critics seem to revel in mocking the Premier's appearance on top of her policies.

I have never voted for the Ontario Liberal Party. I am not a supporter, even if I agree with some of their policies. That said, Premier Wynne seems subject to a particularly harsh brand of criticism. This may simply be a product of politics of the 2010s. Things tend to have a more jagged, raw edge. Politics can be personal and mean. Like the case with Rachel Notley in Alberta, I cannot help but think the tenor of their detractors is nor partially drive by their gender.

Our first female, gay premier is positively hated by some in this province. That's not unusual, especially given the age of her government and the popularity of some of its policies. As we draw closer to the election this is only likely to intensify. I would hope that critics of the Wynne Liberals will stick to the substance and that the appearance, gender and sexuality of the Premier is not a factor in the debate and coming vote. 

Worth Reading - January 11, 2018

How are Ontario restaurants dealing with the increase in minimum wage? If you want to read more on the minimum wage check out my post on Tuesday and the links inside. 

The Bank of Canada says that minimum wage increases could lead to fewer jobs. 

The Toronto Star asks, is density a dirty word in Toronto? 

That story above follows on a report that says Toronto is well poised to take on more density. 

The Prime Minister is touring the country and holding town halls with Canadians. He is receiving some tough questions along the way. 

What's the secret behind Brampton Transit's success? 

Trump, defending his mental capabilities, referred to himself as a 'very stable genius.' 

Ontario and the New Minimum Wage

Ontario recently raised the minimum wage from $11.60 per hour to $14 on January 1st. Immediately following the announcement there was a story that caught national attention. Some Tim Horton's announced scaling back of the limited benefits their employees received in order to compensate for the increased wages they had to pay.

While Tim Horton's purports to be Canada's friendly, neighbourhood coffee shop it is in fact a massively successful corporation that makes immense profits. Each location is a franchise and it wouldn't be surprising that individual owners need to make decisions that would benefit their interests though. The Toronto Star broke down the numbers for the cost of the minimum wage increases for a single Tim Horton's and the results are here. 

Retail and service businesses are actually well placed to deal with the minimum wage increase. This is an increase that will hit across the entire provincial market. No competitor will be at a strategic advantage as a result. Tim Horton's doesn't need to fear that Starbucks is operating at a different wage structure. The costs will, of course, be borne by the consumers. A simple, modest increase in the price of a cup of coffee would easily cover the added expenses.

While I don't join the chorus of those who state that raising the minimum wage has no economic impact, or only a positive one, I think it's clear that small-scale businesses like these do not quite meet the threshold for this to be a dire outcome. Companies more adversely affected would be those who have to compete against companies outside the province with lower wage structures. You could point to the hospitality and tourism industries as suffering as a result perhaps, but most export/service industries that would be competing in that way don't primarily rely upon minimum wage workers as far as I can tell.

Living on minimum wage is tough. As two business-owners recently said in the Toronto Star paying a higher minimum wage can ultimately be to the benefit of the employer. Employee retention isn't something that should be quickly dismissed. On the other side of things too, I must admit that taking a minimum wage job has just become much more attractive for a person in my shoes who is underemployed.

Ultimately, I don't like the minimum wage. I don't think it's very good public policy, but I understand why it's necessary. I hope the minimum wage helps many people across the province and helps us move towards a system that better addresses the inequalities of our economic lives.

Worth Reading - January 4, 2018

Happy New Year, everyone. I hope that 2018 has gotten off to a promising start. It's a bit of a shorter list as I'm running low on time and I lost some of the links I put aside sadly. I hope you enjoy the six I put aside.

As I discussed in the Tuesday post there is some debate in Toronto over addressing homelessness in dangerous temperatures. 

Desmond Cole shared his thoughts on the recent homelessness shelter issue. 

The map for the Toronto election this fall has been set. 

Speaking of next year's election, Brampton Mayor Linda Jeffrey says her rivals have failed residents. 

The Toronto theatre industry has been rocked by a sexual harassment scandal. Albert Schultz has stepped down in the midst of accusations. 

I really enjoyed this episode of Canadaland with Adam Gopnik. I think his perspective on New York is really quite interesting, and likely reflects the case of many major cities. 

Housing First in the Deep Cold

On December 30th I visited some friends. It was a cold night, a very cold night. We were in relative comfort and spent an evening playing board games and enjoying each other's company. I even managed a second place finish in Lords of Waterdeep, which is a rare feat. I tell this story for what happened at the conclusion of the evening.

When we were all done I climbed into my vehicle, started the engine for a moment and began to drive. My friends live ten minutes away from me, so waiting for the car to heat up for such a short drive seemed silly on the face of it. So I got in and drove. I made it a few hundred meters when despite a nice coat, hat and gloves I started shivering in the car. It was -24 degrees centigrade.

During the recent cold weather an error was made at a Toronto emergency shelter and people were turned away while there was still space available. During my brief ride from my friends to my house I was deeply uncomfortable, though not in any serious danger. I can scarcely imagine sitting out in the cold all night. The consequences could be, and often are, lethal.

Canadians rightfully complain about living in one of the coldest countries on the planet. Our major cities, I'm sure, are some of the coldest in the world for their size. As a result, our urban leaders have to confront a simple truth: if we do not provide adequate housing in the winter, people will die.

It's conversations like this where we need to separate questions about general housing affordability from the crisis that is homelessness. A person with an addiction, or mental illness isn't a family making $42000 who can't afford to rent in Toronto. Increasing supply or rent control will not ultimately get us to address this particular problem.

Cities in Canada need to adopt a housing first strategy. It is unconscionable to rely on temporary and emergency housing and turn these people out into the streets. Housing first means that people in bad situations are given a stable place to live. It makes the provision of care and social services much simpler. Experts argue that it costs less in the long run, but it is by no means cheap. Worst still any housing first program would disproportionately benefit those that society currently pushes as far to the margins and away from our mental landscapes as we can. Moral choices are not always cheap or easy ones, but acting in immorality for the sake of some savings at the cost of human suffering is difficult to stomach.