Assessing the GTHA's Housing Market

Four days a week I try to go for a walk in the morning. My route takes me around my neighbourhood and sometimes into nearby neighbourhoods and downtown. I am always surprised to see the number of houses for sale and the rapidity with which they are sold. Recently in Worth Reading I've shared a couple of articles about the housing market, including the banks' roles in inflating prices.

As much as it would nice to blame our hot housing market on the banks I think it is a far more complex picture with many contributing factors. Housing prices in the Greater Toronto Area, and perhaps the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area have been on a steady increase now for decades. Things are hardly uniform across this vast region. Housing prices in Thorold are not growing at the same pace of inner Toronto, but they are all related.

I first started to notice the housing prices spiking around the time of the American financial crisis in 2007-2008. With the global economy in a tailspin Canada became a safe investment spot. As a safe harbour money poured into the Canadian economy, especially in the real estate sector. Foreign investors, like Canadians, are eager to pitch their savings into real estate investments. This ranges from maintaining and fixing up a house to improve its worth, or buying the house in the first place, or speculating in the market. For a huge proportion of Canadians use their homes as their retirement funds and nest eggs. Distortions in the housing market therefore has a tremendous impact on our economy and lives.

I've spent a lot of time wondering if we are in a housing bubble. Lately I have come to the conclusion that we are not in a bubble, but a hot market under a lot of pressure. Some of this comes natural supply and demand issues. The GTHA adds, if I recall correctly, 200000 new residents every year. That's a new Brampton every three years, a new Toronto every ten. This creates a tremendous amount of demand on the market. There are thousands of people across the GTHA interested in acquiring a home and coupled with the investment opportunity real estate presents in this region the demand remains high.

On the other side is supply. Much of the cheap land has already been gobbled up by real estate development. In the next couple of years Brampton will build its last house, Mississauga is essentially fully developed at this stage. York Region is straining to keep pace with the development. Legislation such as the Green Belt and development restrictions is hindering growth in other places but the simple truth is the GTHA is likely falling well short of the demand in housing, especially where it is demanded. The city of Toronto must extensively rezone the city to encourage mixed medium development, but encounters significant resistance. It is a time consuming process. Add in the time for planning, financing and construction and it is easy to see why supply is constrained.

Supply is also constrained due to the foolish decisions made by suburban governments decades previous. Some areas of the GTHA are difficult to redevelop and increase density, even if zoning permitted it. The street grid and neighbourhood configuration would have to be completely changed to accommodate medium or high density.

Then there are more social causes for the rising prices and other issues. Homeowners reasonably expect a good return on investment for their properties. As long as they are not financially compelled to sell they can patiently wait for the higher price. The house down the street sold for $350000, perhaps I can sell mine for $400000. Ten years late the number is creeping up to $600000. Retirees or families need to get a return on their properties so they can afford a new property somewhere else.

This hot housing market will only correct under a few conditions. One, supply increases. Somehow we get more housing on the market or socially change the way we view housing, i.e. include more roommates for long-term investments. Two, demand decreases, which is highly unlikely given basic population trends. However, I will say that as the Baby Boomers retire there could be significant disruption in the housing market if there isn't a smooth transition. Three, the price overshoots the ability for the market to bear. If a house goes up for sale and no one is willing to pay the price it will inevitably begin to fall down which, on a broad enough scale will begin to deflate prices.

Everyone is tied to the housing market in some way because we all need places to live. I think it will be increasingly important for residents of the GTHA to be aware of the shifts occurring in their area and across the region and be prepared to respond to them.

Sixth Anniversary of the Orange Tory

Tomorrow marks the sixth anniversary of this blog. It has been a long, fun and at times difficult project. I cannot count the number of times I have stared a the screen and the blinking cursor and have no idea what I'm going to write about. Before I go forward I want to thank my regular readers for continuing to visit this blog. Over the last year I've heard more from your than previously. Thoughtful comments are always a tremendous boost. Sometimes blogging can feel like yelling into the void and its nice to know someone is listening, even if they disagree.

Readership of the blog peaked in July 2015. For reasons beyond my understanding readership suddenly surged that summer and then immediately declined. It has been climbing again since January but I have long learned that building a readership is not a linear process. My recent post, Small Business and the Suburbs, is now my fifth most read post, so who knows? I obviously do not write to get a bigger and bigger audience, I write about the things that interest me and hope others enjoy it as well.

I thought the book reviews were a good addition to the blog. Sadly as I look at my reading list there is not a lot that will go on to the blog with one exception. I am nearly done The Big Shift by John Ibbitson and Darrel Bricker and a review should appear later this month. If you are interested in non-political book reviews I am posting my books on Goodreads. I am trying to read 50 books in 2016. I am watching some political fiction and think a review for some of that will be forthcoming as well.

Over the next year there are a couple of stories I assume I will be writing about more often than not. First is the NDP and Conservative leadership races. The outcome of these contests will shape our national politics for at least the next three years and easily longer. As I have written both are off to slow starts but they are long affairs. I hope to do more writing about urban issues perhaps using Brampton as a case study since that is my current home and hometown. To the process and outcome of the electoral reform committee is close to my heart and I have been following closely (with much trepidation). Over the next five months the American people will be holding their elections. I don't pay as much attention to the United States as I once did but this will be an important campaign to watch for sure. Especially given all the immigration applications we might soon be receiving.

Ultimately this blog is about ideas. It's about expressing opinions and collecting thoughts in one place. When I started writing I thought of it almost as a way of getting my personal philosophy down on paper (so to speak). It has helped refine my ideas and try to stake out my own bizarre place on the political spectrum. It may have also permanently doomed any dream I might have for public office (or general employment). From feedback I have received I know people appreciate the "Orange Tory" approach on issues, progressive/liberal/socialist on some issues and libertarian/conservative on others and just as often simply moderate. Thanks again to readers, new and old. Please continue to comment or reach out on social media, I'm @SLee_OT on Twitter, and I hope this blog continues to be a project worth sharing in its sixth year.

Quick Thoughts: Are we in a housing bubble?

Off the top I will admit that I remembered last night and late tonight that it was Tuesday and hence blog day. My day disappeared into a couple of projects, errands and work and the next thing I know I have less than three hours to post something interesting.

I did not have time to have anything properly prepped (last said by me, red faced, to a high school teacher). Instead I thought I would write down something that has been on my mind for weeks/months but haven't found the time to write out properly. I may revisit this with a proper post later.

I live in the Greater Toronto Area. I live with my family and we have lived in the same house my entire life. Every year prices have crept up and up and pushed potential buyers further afield. I am of the right age that a few of my friends have bought their first or second homes. More than a few have been pushed further into the Toronto commutershed, or deeper into suburbia to find homes they can afford. It's the 'drive until you qualify' formulation writ large.

This philosophy seems like a poorly disguised trap to me. Living further away from your work and essentials drives up costs, hidden in gas bills, second/third cars, insurance, and most importantly - time. It also has this daunting ripple effect. People cannot afford to live in inner Toronto so move to the inner suburbs, the inner suburbs prices people out and they live in the core 905, and out and out they go. Now my neighbourhood of simple 1960s suburban homes prices at ~$500000 when they cost a fifth as much 20 years ago. It seems to me the people living in these houses couldn't buy them today if they were forced into the market with no equity.

Watching a film like The Big Short has me wondering if the Canadian housing market found the perfect amount of heat to keep prices and investment flowing in the industry but not clearly manifest as a bubble. Prices, as near as I can tell, have not gone down in years and years. No one putting their house on the market today expects to lose money.

There are other troubling symptoms, but the excess isn't here to suggest the kind of runaway freight train that happened in the U.S. Still, I am worried, and the pace may be deceiving us. How sustainable is this ever climbing ride? Is a plunge on the horizon? And if it is, does the longer the wait mean worse outcomes for us all?

Amalgamation, De-Amalgamation and Governing Cities

It's hard to come to consensus with a group of people who fundamentally disagree, or see the world in different ways. On the provincial and federal levels we have political parties that help smooth out the disagreements between different regions and interests. At the municipal level the small differences of geography play a much greater role and often feed into fundamentally different perspectives on how a city should be governed. Last week the Fraser Institute released a report that suggested that amalgamation did nothing to cut the costs it was intended to do.

The metaphor that you cannot put toothpaste back in the
tube is often applied to amalgamation, but is it impossible to undo?

Spacing had a piece by Sean Marshall about the recent Toronto vote on the Gardiner East's future and amalgamation. Some observers looking at how the vote broke down said that this was the perfect argument for de-amalgamation. Amalgamation in Toronto has been blamed for a number of woes, including much wasted time on transit projects and the election of Rob Ford.

Toronto is hardly unique in its concerns. In the Region of Peel there has always been squabbles between the three municipalities that make it up: Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon. For much of Peel's past the conflict has been between Mississauga, the largest of the three, and its smaller partners. Former Mayor Hazel McCallion often raised the spectre of Mississauga as a single-tier city, like Toronto or Guelph, and leaving the Region of Peel altogether. However, recently the concern has been from Caledon being forced into a decision by Brampton and Mississauga over development. At a recent Regional Council meeting the Caledon representatives walked out of the room.

A similar discussion is occurring in Niagara, which has to deal with many more municipalities and a much greater disparity between urban and rural areas. 

As Marshall points out, and is echoed by Ashley Csanady in the National Post, the real consequence of amalgamation has been a more equal share of services across larger municipalities. Marshall cites the example of libraries which have much improved across the entire city since amalgamation.

Csanady argues that proponents of de-amalgamation would be wise to look at what has happened in Montreal where partial de-amalgamation has resulted in convoluted governing structures. In addition a regional government would likely still have to be in place unless, in the example of Peel, Mississauga becomes completely independent.

I think of myself as an urban progressive. I can share the frustration of urban/downtown representatives forced to accept half a loaf, or no loaf at all, because of political compromise with their suburban or rural colleagues. At heart I think the more locally one can make political decisions the better off everyone is. For Torontonians I can imagine if Peel was amalgamated and city governments done away with I would not be happy. Toronto and Canadian cities are somewhat strange on the international stage. London, England is much larger than Toronto, but it has independent boroughs under a regional council. Seoul, Tokyo, Paris, Berlin, among many others, each have a model much more like old Metro Toronto, a regional government (sometimes province/state-like in powers) and districts with independent elected authorities. As Toronto grows ever larger I think the centralized, unitary government it has will become more and more unwieldy. It would likely be beneficial not just for governance reasons, but civic engagement to devolve power more locally, shrink the size of wards and the cost of elections and better represent the diversity of individual neighbourhoods. Rather than undoing amalgamation I would much rather see our governments talk about devolving power back to the more local level.

The truth of the matter is the local politics is often as fiery as national politics and for reasons that are harder to ascertain why. This likely isn't a matter of the "best" system but different systems with both worse and better outcomes. Toronto can overcome the differences between urban and suburban, and all localities can overcome their internal conflicts given sufficient compromise and leadership.

Steal this Platform: Seven Ideas for a Better Brampton

Brampton’s race for mayor became much more interesting today as MPP Linda Jeffrey (OLP – Brampton-Springdale) resigned from cabinet and the legislature and declared her candidacy. But Brampton’s problems will not be simply solved by replacing the mayor. Much of the Council has been in place for a decade and the mayor is only one vote. Therefore it is necessary for voices expressing a different vision to emerge.

Before I moved to the Northwest Territories I had ambitions to run for city council to offer an alternative vision of what my hometown could be. Unfortunately the opportunity for my current job came up and so I moved west (and a lot north). A recent article by Edward Keenan in The Grid where he outlined a platform for any Toronto candidate gave me the idea to share what I had intended to present to voters in Wards 3 and 4. I apologize for the brief descriptions, but many of these ideas have been discussed previously in this blog.

1.      Grow Smart, Not Fast

In the course of 30 years the city of Brampton has more than tripled in size to over 500,000 people. The rapid construction of suburban neighbourhoods has lagged behind infrastructure upgrades and local services. Growth is not being properly managed and instead it is treated like a gold rush. This construction boom will result in a harsh bust if not managed properly. Proposed zoning needs to be reconsidered for greater mixed-use, multi-purpose neighbourhoods with greater densities. Future developments should use the principles of Smart Growth/New Urbanism in their planning.

2.      Work Where You Live and Small Business Incubator

One of the reasons traffic is so bad in Brampton is that there are fewer jobs than there are workers. Citizens have to commute out of the city resulting in greater traffic congestion, a lower quality of life and less connection to their home. Through a policy known as Economic Gardening city economic development should invest resources in helping small businesses add small numbers of employees and entrepreneurs begin their businesses in the city rather than focusing on big commercial developments.

3.      More Accessible Government

The city should commit to clearer public notices. Items put in newspapers and on websites should not be cryptic and bland. Easy to understand and accessible language with sharp graphics should be used to invite the public to speak with their government. Open up city hall and make the process more transparent and less intimidating. Allow questions to city council to be submitted online.

As is clear, the mayor and council’s spending privileges needs to be examined and more stringently curtailed. The public expects politicians who are responsible. Spending should be made publicly available on the city website. Public meetings should rotate on the schedule to offer citizens a chance to see council in person.

4.      More and Diverse Housing

Brampton is great if you’re looking for a detached home, but if you cannot afford it, or looking for something else the options are limited. The city should legalize and regulate basement apartments to provide an affordable option and allow families to start private businesses that reduce the cost of their homes. A database should be set up to let renters know of legal, regulated apartments where complaints and known issues can be filed.

5.      Reform City Elections

Ask the Ontario government to allow instant run-off ballots to be used in all future city elections, as the Toronto City Council has asked. This encourages more candidates, more positive campaigns and ensures that consensus candidates with mandates from the public win.

6.      Human and Mass Transit

Brampton cannot afford to cut service to Brampton Transit or Züm. Service should continue to expand to meet the needs of the city and offer an effective alternative to the car. The popularity of Züm, along with transit experts, suggests that frequency of service is more important than speed of service. Brampton Transit is a critical part of the city and should reliably deliver high quality service. Improved transit reduces traffic and links people to employment.

Safe, well-maintained bicycle lanes should exist along all major corridors in Brampton offering a healthy form of human-scale transit in the city. In addition neighbourhoods and new developments should work to create walkable, pedestrian-friendly neighbourhoods from now on.

7.      Hurontario LRT

The Hurontario LRT should be built as Metrolinx has proposed with extensive public consultation. The Main Street-Hurontario corridor is one of the most traffic heavy highways in the province. The LRT will link residential to business, commercial, retail, entertainment and other transportation nodes. This late in the process is not the time to object. As Toronto has time and time again demonstrated indecision wastes precious time and only results in a worse backlog and lower quality of life for citizens. A tremendous business opportunity will exist for development along the LRT.

This is far from a perfect platform, but I think all told this represents a set of ideas that if implemented would make my hometown of Brampton, Ontario an even better place to live. I hope candidates in this fall's election stand up for these ideas and at least a couple of them win. 

Top 10 Stories of 2013

Over the course of twelve months a number of stories have captured my attention. If internet trends are to believed numbered lists are quite popular at the moment, so I thought I would embrace the format for my final post of 2013.

#10 - Ontario’s Five By-Elections

In August 2013 five by-elections were called in the province of Ontario. The three provincial parties fought tooth and nail to shape the narrative in the aftermath of the election. Five Liberal incumbents, all former cabinet ministers, retired, triggering the political contests. Two of the seats were won by the ONDP, two by the Liberals and one by the Progressive Conservatives. Despite the Liberals losing three strong seats the narrative in the media shifted to a PC loss and NDP victory. Here was my take. 

#9 - Lac-Megantic Train Accident

The town of Lac-Megantic is still recovering from the disastrous industrial accident that devastated the small Quebec town. The disaster has raised serious questions about industrial regulation and safety in Canada.

#8 - Idle No More

The Idle No More movement began in 2012 but its effects have continued to be felt in the country. The proposed Aboriginal education legislation is evidence that despite efforts to push the federal government into meaningful discussions has been ignored. Protest has continued across First Nations communities. Here is my take. 

#7 - Big Move Stopped

I am not sure there is any leader who believes that the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area is not in need of desperate of investment in transit. The Big Move plan has struggled to get off the ground for a lack of funding. This is one of the major policy questions facing the province and inaction on the file is chronic.

#6 - British Columbia’s Provincial Election

In April the British Columbia general election delivered a shocking upset victory for the BC Liberals. Polls and pundits expected the BC NDP to do well and Adrian Dix to become the province’s next Premier. But on election night the voters returned the Christy Clark government.

#5 - Natural Resources and the Environment

These kinds of stories appear in the local media of the Northwest Territories all the time. There are serious concerns about the development of our natural resources and the impact it has on the environment, and by extension, our health. From fracking protests in New Brunswick to water contamination in the Arctic there are clear consequences to this form of economic development.

#4 - Justin Trudeau becomes Liberal leader

As much as I may dislike Justin Trudeau, his selection as Liberal leader has had a dramatic impact on the standings of the parties. The Liberals now lead in the polls, buoyed by Conservative scandal and the appeal of Trudeau.

#3 - The Reform Act

Michael Chong’s (CPC - Wellington-Halton Hills, ON) private member’s bill to change the way leaders maintain the confidence of the House of Commons has triggered a fascinating debate about Members of Parliament, the division of power, and political leadership. It will continue to be a story in the new year, but also represents discontent within the House.

#2 - Rob Ford’s Ongoing Saga

Rob Ford. Sigh. Certainly the most outrageous story in Canada this year. We watched in rapt fascination as an elected official dragged a city deep into the mire of his own personal demons.

#1 - Senate-PMO Scandal

With an ongoing criminal investigation, and deep unhappiness within the public regarding this scandal, this could be a major weight around the Conservatives’ necks going forward. Thomas Mulcair continues to press the attack on this issue very effectively, and Conservative supporters and MPs are increasingly unhappy. Depending how it all plays out it could be the end of the Harper government and it certainly demonstrates the paranoid, controlling nature of the PMO and how it has backfired.

Ford, Wallin, Brazeau and Duffy: Satisfying the Mob

I am a pretty nerdy guy. This much is evident for regular readers of this blog. One of my favourite things to nerd-out on is history. Recently I have been reading about republicanism and the French Revolution. The French Revolution is definitely one of the more interesting chapters of human political history, in my opinion. One of the things that makes it interesting is the contrasts between it and the American Revolution which occurred short years before. One factor that existed in the French context that never materialized in the American was the importance of public opinion, commonly referred to as the mob.

Mob justice or the calls from the public for blood is as old as human society itself. I do not understand the anthropological/sociological reason why, but maliciousness and cruelty emerges from people when you put them in a group, disguise their individuality and confront them with controversy. Watching the fallout from Mayor Rob Ford’s revelations about drugs and alcohol to the world, literally, was paired against the discordant gleeful chirps, snarky comments and catcalls from the public galleries of radio, Facebook, Twitter and wherever else.

Anyone who reads what I have written about Rob Ford knows that I am no fan of the mayor of Canada’s largest city. I would never have voted for the man, nor have I supported him in office very often, but I take no pleasure in the public disgrace he now finds himself. I am embarrassed by Rob Ford as a person from the Greater Toronto Area. I think he makes my region, province and country look bad and that we deserve a substantially better caliber of mayor at city hall. I believe he should resign, but I cannot side with those that seem to take such heart in the man’s downfall, nor cheer while it happens.

When the news broke that Senators Duffy, Wallin and Brazeau were being suspended from the Senate without pay I was in first in favour of the action. However, as time passed I realized they were being pushed out to cover up the abuses that they and their party masters had participated in. The revelation by Senator Duffy definitely reinforced this perspective. However, when the Conservative government in the Senate made this motion I saw a live poll on CBC that suggested that over 60% of viewers wanted to see them turfed out.

For those who transgress against us we want to see them suffer. Bring them to the public guillotine where there bright lights and cameras hum and let’s see a little humiliation and suffering to satiate our anger. As I suggested this isn’t a recent phenomenon. Bev Oda’s, former Conservative MP for Durham, $16 orange juice pales in comparison to millions misspent by Treasury Board Secretary Tony Clement (CPC – Parry Sound-Muskoka) in his own riding that was earmarked for border improvements. But the abstract is less likely to rile up a mob than the concrete.

Everyone I mentioned I believe should have resigned and then be quietly allowed to exit public life (or sit as an MP, depending on their error). It’s the public reaction and the call for blood that I find difficult to stomach. Mike Duffy has a documented heart condition and it is understandable why he hid behind it once the storm began. It is ironic that with the massive number of professional and citizen journalists, media outlets, Twitter and bloggers that our discourse seems only able to focus on one story at a time. Why is that? I suppose an answer might be found back in that mob in the streets of Paris; despite the many peering eyes there can only be one speaker and the mob answers with the din of a single voice.

What do these public witch hunts (which has uncovered witches) communicate about public life? What member of the business, academic, intellectual elite would look at the events of the past week and embrace the chaos and thrust themselves into it? The optics are terrible. Ford and his supporters believe the man never had a chance and he was hounded by the media, destined to fail. Can anyone expect a fair trial in the court of public opinion? Once a story breaks opinions solidified and politicians forced to deal with the consequences, even if they are ultimately vindicated.

French Revolutionaries soon learned that the mob hungers for blood and that there is no true end. I wonder now if we are struck in a mob fueled by scandal and we eagerly ferret out the next controversy until someone gives. It seems an unhealthy way to run a democracy or a government regardless of the mob’s satisfaction. 

Worth Reading - September 19, 2013

Since I did not write a Worth Reading last week I have amassed a staggering amount of content to share. I probably have over fifty links to sift through to see if I have anything good. Let’s see what I can find.

The Toronto Star is reporting about Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario leader Tim Hudak’s (PCPO – Niagara West-Glanbrook) difficulties in winning the premiership of Ontario http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2013/09/05/a_survival_strategy_for_pc_leader_tim_hudak_hepburn.html . A strategist offers advice for Mr. Hudak, but I’m not sure much of it is useful or not blatantly obvious.

From The Atlantic Cities, why is voter turnout so pathetically low in local/municipal elections? I like some of the ideas here, and explanations. Definitely worth checking out.

Interesting piece in the National Post. Tom Mulcair (NDP – Outremont, QC) has been shifting his fire towards the Liberals attempting to bring down Justin Trudeau’s (LPC – Papineau, QC) numbers. Mulcair’s main attack is that Trudeau is all style and no substance.

Kelly McParland, also from the Post, has a pretty funny discussion about the types of questions Justin Trudeau is willing to answer.

While not at all surprising in a minority legislature, it looks like Premier Kathleen Wynne (OLP – Don Valley West) is readying for an election.

This Slate piece is about an experiment called “40 Days of Dating”. In it two friends agree to date. They had never had an outward expression of desire for each other, but they agreed to try and document their experience. The results are fascinating.

An editorial from the Toronto Star calls the proposed Scarborough subway plan a costly bungle. 

An intern’s death in Alberta is leading to loud calls for reform. 

In the National Post Dylan Jones argues that the obsession with Senate reform in Canada is a costly distraction from other, more effective reform that is much more attainable. 

More trouble for the Ontario Progressive Conservatives. A prominent PCPO shadow cabinet member has been booted out after discrepancies in his accounts. 

Worth Reading – July 25, 2013

Short list of reads this week. My efforts to get ready for my move is taking up A LOT of my mental and physical energy. I hope this satisfies.

The good folks at Spacing have been doing a great job at covering the debacle over the Scarborough subway/LRT. From this piece, my favourite line is, “When political scientists and other orders of government accuse municipalities of immaturity, this is precisely what they’re talking about.”  

Also from Spacing, Jon Lorinc discusses how the funding feud between the province and the city is a distraction because the federal government will not chip in at this stage. 

Streetfilms had this interesting little video about Charles Marohn and his initiative called Strong Towns. I’m working on learning more about this group.

The City of Detroit declared bankruptcy last week. The urbanist press has been abuzz about the implications. Aaron Renn offers his take. 

Steve Paikin of TVO attended a debate in Scarborough-Guildwood and the candidates left him wanting. 

From the Toronto Star, Mississauga Councillors want to know where the money for the Toronto Scarborough subway will come from, and are criticizing the neglect of 905 projects. It’s an excellent point, though I am obviously biased.

Worth Reading – July 18, 2013

Featured this week in my Tuesday piece, Andrew Coyne’s take on the cabinet shuffle. 

I’m a monarchist, and I enjoyed this defence of the Queen of Canada in the Ottawa Citizen. I particularly appreciated the part emphasizing patriotism over nationalism. 

From the Huffington Post, what it takes to start your own country. 

Martin Regg Cohn writes that the Ontario NDP may have played fast and loose with their own rules during the nomination contest in Scarborough-Guildwood. 

Toronto’s City Council has made the idea of a Scarborough subway a distraction from a more reasonable LRT proposal. Conservative members of City Council blasted the approach as irresponsible. 

From the Globe and Mail, the shuffle in the federal cabinet will only worsen relations between the government and the backbench Conservative MPs. 

Again, Martin Regg Cohn writes about how the Scarborough subway conversation is a mirror image of the gas plant issue. Parties are making irresponsible promises in the interests of winning by-elections. 

Andrew Coyne has a bit of fun with the revealed “enemies list” of the Conservative government. 

Though I’ve never been there, Singapore is one of my favourite countries in the world. From New Geography, Joel Kotkin writes about the challenges facing Singapore going into an uncertain future. 

This is an amazing piece from the Toronto Star. Some riding associations in Canada are incredibly cash-rich and Elections Canada has no way to audit these electoral riding associations. The Star reports that EDAs hold about $30 million in tax-payer subsidized funds. 

Failures of Leadership

Leadership is a very difficult quality to quantify. It is entirely subjective, I suppose, especially in politics. One man’s leader is another man’s fool. Looking around the political scene it is hard to find individuals excelling at leading their constituents. The current trifecta of scandals on Parliament Hill, Queen’s Park and Toronto’s City Hall make the disaster all the more obvious.

As Andrew Coyne points out in the National Post, the failure of the Prime Minister, former Premier Dalton McGuinty (OLP – Ottawa South) and Mayor Rob Ford to accept even basic accountability has caused relatively minor scandals to spin out of control. As was said of Watergate, it isn’t the crime, it’s the cover-up. The sense that the public is being deceived, and that there are still more uncovered lies and theft, undermines public faith and the ability of the government to carry on. All three levels of government decided to avoid accountability rather than face consequences. As these events drag out the consequences only get worse.

Premier Dalton McGuinty may have done the best thing and resigned. While the method in which he did it was questionable at best it was at least a sign of some personal accountability for his flailing government. Meanwhile at City Hall Rob Ford and his administration has failed to adequately address the situation. In fact, he has not even denied it.

An even greater leadership crisis may be occurring in Ottawa. In light of the Senate scandal and the involvement of the Prime Minister’s Office there is significant unrest among the Conservative backbenchers. Conservative MPs are getting a lot of heat from these scandals back in their constituencies. Last week in response to the obsessive control MP Brent Rathgeber (IND - Edmonton-St. Albert, AB) resigned from the Conservative Party to sit as an independent. As John Ivison reported, Rathgeber had introduced legislation to create a sunshine list for the federal government similar to what we have in Ontario. Rathgeber’s legislation was amended without his consent to water down its contents. The bill would have increased federal transparency for spending, which Rathgeber cited was one of the raison d’êtres of the Reform/Conservative Party.

What Rob Ford and Stephen Harper best represent is a failure of leadership. Together these two men have failed to build a coalition and lead it forward. In Mayor Ford’s case his adversarial and combative style, along with his personal embarrassments, have scared away allies and created staunch enemies both on City Council and elsewhere. By being unnecessarily antagonistic Ford has alienated himself and now he stands isolated.

Stephen Harper is also isolated, but his is by design. The Harper Conservatives came to power with a minority. At the time there was a certain expectation for tight discipline and a certain amount of a “bunker” mentality. It was an unstable political situation and there were many threats to his early governments. However, after they achieved their majority in 2011, by all accounts, the ruthless control only tightened. Reading Mr. Rathgeber’s post on his blog about why he left is informative enough. As a democratically elected representative, and merely as a thinking, mature adult, Rathgeber was fed up that he and his colleagues were being treated like children by the PMO staffers half their age, and given ludicrous talking points and told to behave as trained seals.

Stephen Harper, as the old cliché goes, rules through fear. His caucus is kept under strict control. However, as any historian can tell you, leaders who rule by fear are the most likely to face rebellion. Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney used to say his most important job was to keep his caucus happy. Harper doesn’t need his caucus to be happy, he needs them to stand and speak when needed.  

Through all this reflection it is hard not to appreciate the style that Kathleen Wynne (OLP – Don Valley West) has brought to Ontario. Her's is a more conciliatory and consensus style. However, she also appears to know that she ultimately makes the decision and while she receives input the burden ultimately falls on her. In addition, Wynne is actually tackling tough issues, such as congestion/transportation with boldness. There may be no greater contrast to Wynne than Harper in how to run a minority.

Ultimately the arrogance of power of McGuinty, the perpetual campaign of Rob Ford, or the bunker paranoia of Stephen Harper cannot create lasting governance. These structures are unstable and represent a failure to build coalitions. Politics is about bringing people over, by hook or by crook, and winning them over to accomplish big things. It’s a shame so many of our so-called leaders cannot do that. 

Unpopular Urbanism

Urban issues are one of my passions. Over the last few years my bookshelves have become even more cluttered with books about public transit, land-use policies and urban development. What can I say? I’m a nerd. Things like this detach me from the everyday person on the street and sometimes I worry it disconnects me from the concerns of everyday people. I know traffic and congestion are issues that people care about, but probably much less than I do.

Like many urbanists I believe that public transit is the solution to traffic congestion. From the experts I have read, investments in public transit are the only way to reduce congestion. This immediately conflicts with public consensus. Most people assume, at least based on my own anecdotal evidence, that only by increasing road capacity (more highways, wider lanes) can traffic move better. Transportation experts will tell you increasing the number of lanes does nothing to alleviate traffic, cars merely fill the space. In addition it is generally bad policy. The eight lanes built for rush hour remain mostly unused for the rest of the day. A massive investment in capital and maintenance is only used at peak hours.

The idea that I am off-side with a great deal of the public on these issues has become quite apparent recently. First, I recently attended the public consultations for the Hurontario-Main LRT project. Admittedly this is a small subset of the general population, but those in attendance expressed great concern for the changes in Main Street and Hurontario for cars. In particular the creators of the plan suggested one option for Downtown Brampton was to close Main Street from Queen to Nelson to car traffic and allow only the LRT and pedestrians in the space. I thought it was a magnificent idea, and similar plans had seen incredible transformations elsewhere in the world. Pedestrian zones often become the hotbed of public life. It would make events like the farmer’s market and the events downtown even more public space. Businesses in that stretch could open larger patios and cafés, cyclists would be safer to move and that stretch of Main Street could be rejuvenated with spin-off benefits accruing to the rest of the downtown.

While I saw these positives many of the other people in the room asked one questions, “What about cars? What about parking?” I wasn’t concerned about that. I trusted that the planners would be able to divert traffic, but many others were quite sceptical. In addition there are many large public parking lots in the area already.

The Hurontario-Main LRT will be built in the next wave of projects proposed by Metrolinx and paid for, hopefully, by new dedicated taxes. The urbanist press and advocates for transit investment all line up and are supportive of the new taxes. As I expressed when I first read them, these are not my favourite taxes, but I’m willing to accept them to beat gridlock and get the GTHA on the move. It appears that position is a pretty lonely one.

The prospect of paying more taxes does not sit well with most, unsurprisingly. The opposition parties, the Progressive Conservatives and the NDP, are already speaking out against the funding proposal. It is estimated that the average GTHA family will pay $477 a year in additional taxes. In my opinion, I would gladly write the cheque to support the project today, but I am already convinced so Metrolinx and the Ontario government need not win me over.

Voters will ultimately decide. This will take a while to implement and will require a vote in the Ontario Legislature. I have a feeling that this might be the issue that brings down the Wynne government and triggers the next election, and it will be central to the political battle to be fought.

Worth Reading – May 31, 2013

This post was delayed, which I posted about yesterday, because I got news about a job opportunity in the Northwest Territories. It is entirely possible by this time next month I’ll be living in my new home in the Arctic. This will obviously mean a lot of changes for me and my life (new frontrunner for understatement of the year). At this point I am not sure how this will affect my blog. I intend to continue to write, but the content of the blog will probably change so that I am writing more about my new community.  

Steve Paikin the very talented people at the Agenda on TVO assembled an incredible panel to discuss scandals and their effect on Canadian democracy. Three journalists discuss the issues facing the Parliament, Queen’s Park and Toronto’s City Hall. The roundtable was expanded to include some really interesting voices and perspectives. 

From The Hill Times, Prime Minister Harper’s statements about the Duffy Senate scandal do not match the timeline. 

Everywhere I went when I was in Toronto on Saturday I heard people talking about the Fords. This story was a big part of the reason why. The Globe investigates the Fords' connections to the drug trade.

Last week Elijah Harper passed away. Mr. Harper was a prominent Aboriginal leader from Manitoba and played a critical role in Canada’s history. Truly a great man. 

Toronto’s Spacing offered a two-part column on the new Metrolinx plan. The first part was examining Ontarians’ attitudes to potential funding models based on a poll they conducted. The second column discusses the actual tools Metrolinx is proposing.  

Gwen O’Mahony, a defeated BC NDP MLA, who won unexpectedly in a by-election last year, offers some keen advice to her successors about being a good public servant. I found this letter oddly touching, it’s a shame Ms. O’Mahony couldn’t continue her work.

The Star reports on the proposed Metrolinx funding program. 

The Globe and Mail puts the Metrolinx plan in a political light. Support for Metrolinx is a political problem and will test the resolve of the Wynne government, and the commitment of the opposition parties to moving Ontario forward. 

Perhaps my favourite piece from the week, a journalist at Metro News tackles Doug and Rob Ford’s claims about their “incredible” fiscal record. I wish journalists would write more pieces like these. Governments too often get by on rhetoric and not facts.

This is a funny one that may be more sad than funny. An economist breaks down the value of the Senate. Trust me, give it a read. 

Condominiums and Affordable Housing

Last week I briefly touched on some of the housing issues confronting people living in Peel as a result of growing income inequality. I wanted to drill down a little on that issue.

The housing issues facing families, especially those on below-average (or even average) incomes is particularly acute. Getting the space needed at a reasonable price is very difficult. For singles, couples or small families one of the solutions offered to the “middle class” seeking affordable housing has been condominiums.

Condos conveniently skirt the social stigma of renting, allows people to accumulate equity and provides some social prestige. In many ways condos have supplanted traditional starter-homes. Starter-homes are typically one- or two-bedroom houses that are usually smaller than others available on the market. They are ideal for single adults or couples without children, or perhaps one child for those in the middle class. I know a lot of peers are living in, or saving for, their home in the sky. In our shift to greater density it seems natural for condos to replace older, smaller residential homes.

Sadly, other factors are at work. As I mentioned last week, starter-homes are now well out of the reach of young adults just getting their lives together and most young families. My recent survey of the Brampton housing market showed that homes begin at $300,000+. Condominiums seem to be the only option below $300,000, at least in this city by my survey. The various condominium markets across Canada have been sources of rampant speculation. Low interest rates, Canada’s strong banking system and overall economic stability have made Canada a very attractive market to invest in. As a result these shoeboxes in the sky are now selling for exorbitant prices.

Given that so many condominiums are now investment properties with the owners waiting for them to accumulate value many are putting them on the market to rent. This is leading to another disturbing trend. From the Toronto Star, condominium-renters are not protected by the same laws that protect people renting a normal apartment. This giant loophole allows owners to arbitrarily and massively increase rents.

The condo boom is fraught with other challenges. There are increasing questions about maintenance fees and consumer protection issues. ONDP MPP Rosario Marchese (ONDP – Trinity-Spadina) has been fighting to improve the laws governing condos for years now. Condo-owners do not have a simple way to have their needs addressed and there is a lot of concern over the long-term structural stability and soundness of these new buildings.

What once seemed like a smart plan for me and my peers increasingly seems like a way to get fleeced. However all the new construction anywhere seems to be new houses, where even townhouses start at $300,000, or condominiums. It is apparent that more affordable options are needed, along with a greater supply of apartments and other rental choices. Not providing affordable housing of some kind will only push people further from job centres and cause the GTHA/Toronto commutershed, which already includes much of central Ontario, to sprawl even further outward, leading to greater problems of employment, traffic, infrastructure expense, and environmental degradation.  

Getting on the Big Move

Unlike at previous times, a consensus appears to be forming within the GTA/GTHA for greater investment in public transit and transportation. Political leaders from across the region have expressed the need for new projects to help mitigate crippling congestion and delays. The question now falls to how it will be paid for. This is ultimately the sticking point for most public policy; great ideas need to be paid for.

Metrolinx, the provincial agency charged with developing a regional transportation plan, will be releasing its plan to finance its program, the Big Move, soon. Before Metrolinx can present its work the Toronto Board of Trade offered its suggestions for how to pay for it: a 1 percent increase in regional sales tax, a parking space levy of about $1/day, a regional fuel tax of perhaps 10 cents per litre, and high-occupancy lane tolls. The region has to raise approximately $1-2 billion, or as Oakville’s mayor recently put it, $1000 per household.

There are the usual suspects who hear any talk of raising taxes and see red, but according to the Toronto Star two-thirds of regional residents would accept paying more in taxes for an improvement in public transit.

To make progress Queen’s Park and local civic leaders are going to have to come to some sort of consensus. Given that we have a minority government to pass such a plan would require the support of at least two political parties. It appears, at least at the moment, that the Liberals under Premier Kathleen Wynne (OLP – Don Valley West) will introduce plans similar to what Metrolinx and the Toronto Board of Trade has suggested. Hopefully politics does not get in the way of good policy on this one. Tim Hudak (PCPO – Niagara West-Glanbrook) has even been making positive noises towards transit funding. Obviously the Conservatives are hesitant to support any tax, and Hudak frames his support by saying that any investment would be predicated in first getting Ontario’s budget in order, but still, a positive development, no doubt.

My party, the Ontario New Democratic Party, has me a bit worried. John Lorinc, senior editor at Spacing, says that Andrea Horwath (ONDP –Hamilton Centre) and the NDP are missing the point on transit. This is very damaging for the party most associated with transit funding. It seems odd to me that the NDP would be getting cold feet on this issue at this late hour. Horwath made a speech at the Toronto Region Board of Trade in which she said that funding of transit should not fall on the backs of working people and that consensus must be achieved. Lorinc characterizes Horwath’s remarks as being vague and details in particular are absent. From my point of view I was most frustrated by the idea that the billions needed should come from corporate taxes and increasing income taxes on the wealthy. MPP Rosario Marchese (ONDP –Trinity-Spadina) offered a response to Lorinc in the comment section. Marchese did a lot to undue my preconceived notions on this topic. According to Marchese $2.5 billion has been cut from corporate taxes, which would be enough to fund the Metrolinx program.

Marchese raises other concerns. Support for these projects could be lost if efforts aren’t made to include all constituencies. He cites the collapse of Mayor David Miller’s Transit City strategy, and the frustration in Oakville over the delay of all-day train service and cancellation of stations. As a centrist-New Democrat I am often concerned by the party’s knee-jerk response that corporate taxes and taxes on the wealthy will cover everything. In this instance perhaps my party has a point.

When Metrolinx comes out with its report we will see how the parties respond to concrete recommendations. I hope civic and provincial leaders feel the urgency to do something. Every day of inaction only exacerbates the problem. The clogged arteries of our regional economy can only take so much before the heart gives out. 

Worth Reading – March 14, 2013

Catherine Fife, MPP for Kitchener-Waterloo, has introduced a bill to change the rules on prorogation. However, it may not be that simple. The Globe and Mail raises some problems with the plan. 

Los Angeles recently had its local city election. The turnout there was 16%. As the writer Steve Lopez says, “Stop with the excuses, non-voters. Cynicism is acceptable, surrender is not. Read the paper, for crying out loud. Educate yourself. If we pull together in the runoff, a 25%-30% turnout is possible.”

Speaking of voting, Andrew Coyne came out in support of the RaBIT campaign (Ranked Ballot Initiative of Toronto). I wrote about RaBIT for this Tuesday’s post.

Ontario Projections has compiled an amazing resource for anyone interested in politics and campaigns. They have categorized all the census divisions in Ontario and analyzed various groups correlations to the political parties. For example, if a neighbourhood in your riding has cluster “352 – This Is How We Do It Here”, which is middle-aged areas with older housing stock, and high school education favoured the NDP. Therefore the NDP can target their messaging to these neighbourhoods that appeal to those voters. On a side note I found the descriptions of my surrounding areas interesting as they both revealed familiar information and unexpected results.

En français, despite seven years in office Stephen Harper (CPC – Calgary Southwest) has failed to put together a significant legacy. Compared to other long-term Prime Ministers Harper has failed to achieve a lasting policy achievement, so far. 

The Manning Networking Conference was last week. One of the remarkable thing was the way the Harper Conservatives failed to live up to the expectations of these conservative activists. For example, Ron Paul’s criticism about government over-reach could only sound wounding to the current Canadian government. Andrew Coyne asks how long the cognitive dissonance between the conservative movement and the ConservativeParty can continue. 

This a really wonky piece, but it is worth considering. The blog Transport Politic analyzed why federal support for transit is important. Basically, the cities and populations who most need transit are least able to pay for it.

Earlier the Liberal Party of Canada proudly announced that nearly 300,000 people had signed up with the party, but there’s a problem. A series of errors may mean that the vast majority of that 300,000 will be unable to vote for the next leader...

John Lorinc at Spacing counters the casino argument. Supporters highlight the potential jobs and investment at the Canadian National Exhibition. Lorinc demonstrates the opposite case where casinos fail and become a major burden on the public. 

Better Ballots, Better Democracy

On February 15^th I attended a meeting called “I Heart Democracy” at Hart House in Toronto. The main event was a speech by Dave Meslin. Meslin is a community organizer and activist in Toronto. He first came to my attention from his TED talk about ending apathy and making city government more open to the public. After the speech Meslin struck me as a mobile idea factory. He has dozens of concepts or plans or thoughts about how to make Toronto (and all communities) better places. He builds campaigns to help realize these goals. He isn’t a politician, and he seems more interested in engagement than results.

One of the most intriguing things about Meslin is that he does not claim to be offering the answer. For example, he recently released a pamphlet through a group called The Fourth Wall which discusses 36 different options to improving civic life in any community. Some of them contradict each other, but they are all currently implemented in some jurisdiction so that they are feasible and possible to imagine.

However, 18 months before the next municipal election Meslin and a group called RaBIT are pushing for one idea: Ranked Ballots. RaBIT or Ranked Ballot Initiative of Toronto is seeking to implement instant runoff voting before the next election. For a description of what IRV is you can watch one of CGP Grey’s amazing videos here. Ranked ballots would mean that the winner of each council seat and each mayoralty got a majority of support from the public. Our current system, First-Past-the-Post, relies upon a candidate getting a plurality, not a majority. This is a very flawed system as it awards victory to the candidate with the largest number of votes even if they do not command a majority.

To see how big of a problem this is I went to the Wikipedia page for the 2010 Ontario municipal elections. Quickly at a glance the following areas elected mayors without majority support: Brant, Brantford, Chatham-Kent, Greater Sudbury, Haldimand, Hamilton, Kawartha Lakes, Ottawa, Prince Edward, Toronto, Barrie, Brockville, London, St. Thomas, Clarington, Oshawa, Whitby, Burlington, Thorold, Welland, West Lincoln, King, Whitchurch-Stouffville, Cambridge, Waterloo. In Peel all three mayors were elected with majorities, but not necessarily the city and regional councillors. From my cursory examination the worst case scenario is when three strong candidates stand for election, as, for example, happened in Hamilton in the last election. Or you could look at Brant County where Ron Eddy won re-election with 33.65% of the vote. Two-thirds of Brant residents looked at Mayor Eddy’s time in office and chose someone different, but they split their votes between four other candidates.

FPTP at the local level is part of the reason incumbency is so powerful. New challengers are discouraged because it is hard to galvanize support. Local elections in Ontario are non-partisan so candidates cannot wrap themselves in the familiar branding of a political party. Moreover there is simply less infrastructure because a candidate has to build it all themselves. It is certainly daunting and when confronted with a system that discourages competition it becomes even more problematic.

I wish RaBIT the best of luck, and I hope one day we can bring the system here to Peel and the rest of Ontario.

Pushing Boundaries – Seat Redistribution

The Ontario Federal Elections Boundary Commission has released a revised report of its proposed boundaries for the next Canadian election. Hearings will take place in the House of Commons on the new boundaries. I sincerely doubt that these MPs will have a substantial impact on the future ridings. It would look problematic if MPs intervened and succeeded in changing the boundaries arrived at after extensive public consultations. The media consensus seems to be these will be the boundaries.

The Commission’s report is available here, but I can summarize some of the major points. Ontario has been allocated 121 seats in the next Parliament, which is an increase of 15. These fifteen seats were distributed to areas that have experienced population growth and require new districts to account for the growing population. Many ridings in rural Ontario have remained essentially unchanged. The Commission took a regional approach to adding seats: Brampton received two new seats, as did Durham, Markham, and Toronto while Mississauga, Cambridge, Hamilton, Oakville, Ottawa, Simcoe and York each received one.

The ridings around the GTHA (Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area) have seen significant changes where population growth has been the greatest. The three new ridings in Peel will significantly shift the political landscape. Areas of Toronto saw a major redesign of its political boundaries. In particular the region in the downtown with the major condominium development has a new riding that has broken apart Trinity-Spadina.

Proposed Federal Boundaries for Brampton and Mississauga

This is the map of the latest proposal for Brampton and Mississauga. Other maps are available here. The major difference here compared to the original proposal from last year is the removal of Malton from the easternmost Brampton riding. Currently Bramalea-Gore-Malton includes Malton and the old Gore region of Brampton, along with parts of Bramalea. In the new map Brampton East will only include Brampton territory. Brampton-Springdale and Brampton South-Mississauga are gone and instead they have been replaced by Brampton Centre and Brampton North. In my riding, Brampton West, the riding has been split in half along Queen Street for the most part. Brampton West now consists of Brampton north of downtown and north of Queen Street and the new riding of Brampton South is the southwestern quadrant of the city.

Overall I am quite happy with the Brampton map. Compared to the initial map put forward this one is much better. In previous posts I’ve emphasized the importance of voter equality: each riding should have as equal a population as possible. The new Brampton ridings are very close to the provincial quota of 106,000. This won’t be true for long, but at least the Commission got that part right. During the public event I attended there seemed to be two big issues: the inclusion of Malton within Brampton and splitting downtown into three ridings. Excluding Malton freed the Commission to redraw the lines to put all of downtown in one riding. It was a simple and effective fix.

Sadly, this came at a cost. The ridings in Mississauga are badly overpopulated now. Each one is at least 10% over quota. The largest, Mississauga East-Cooksville is 14.67% over quota. This Commission did not make voter equality a fundamental point and therefore the result are ridings that vary in population size from Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing with 79,801 people (-24.87%) to Brant with 132,443 (+24.70%).

Given the changes in political geography people have began to scrutinize the new maps to discover the potential impact on the next federal election. The best breakdown I’ve seen so far comes from a group called Poll Maps. At that link you can take a look at the party breakdown if an election was held today in that area with the voting results from 2011 or 2008. In summary, if in 2011 the Conservatives, NDP, Liberals, Green and Bloc get the exact same number of votes in the exact same places there result would be 189 seats for the Conservatives, 108 for the NDP, 36 for the Liberals, 4 for the Bloc and 1 for the Greens. I have read panicked commentary that this means the Conservatives are guaranteed to win the next election. The CPC won in 2011 because they won swings ridings in the suburbs and the suburbs received most of the new seats. If you ran the 2004 elections numbers it would look good for the Liberals. The voting will change, it is inevitable. The system is not rigged.

Now a more painful process begins. The political parties and local activists will have to build up new organizations and memberships to get ready to fight the next campaign. For sitting MPs they will have to pick where they want to run, which may lead to tough nomination fights, or incumbents running against each other.

Finally, we have to do this process on a provincial level. The Ontario seats are badly out of alignment with each other. As I said, my riding, Brampton West, is so big that it was split in two. However, provincially there is no plan to address this imbalance. With a minority government I fear that not much will be done in the near future, but pressure should be applied to address this problem.

Worth Reading – January 24, 2013

We often hear how government needs to be run more like a business. But government is not a business and it is not operated like one. Mayor Rob Ford, a proponent of this sound-bite, has some logical inconsistencies that need highlighting. From Spacing – why city hall isn’t run like a business under Ford.

Tim Harper of the Toronto Star points out a disturbing trend in our country; at the moment not one of Canada’s legislative bodies is sitting. Worse still, several of them have no firm date of when they will return. So much for holding the government to account.

This week Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario leader Tim Hudak has been releasing policy papers on education. Earlier this week he proposed that extracurriculars should not be restricted duringunion-government negotiations and teachers incentivized for participating inthem. 

Another piece from constitutional expert Peter Russell on the “prorogation disease”. Russell advocates better oversight and regulation of the use of prorogation based on an initiative by Jack Layton.  

A whistleblower at the Ministry of Justice has raised worrying questions about whether or not laws are being obeyed to ensure the constitutionality of bills. The Ministry of Justice is suppose to check to make sure that all proposed bills are compatible with the constitution, but apparently this has not been happening for years.

Toronto’s chief planner is working on building Toronto up. Midrise buildings will soon (hopefully) bridge the gap between low-rise suburbs and businesses and the monstrous skyscrapers. 

Martin Regg Cohn of the Toronto Star asks if the next Liberal Premier will level with voters about congestion and traffic in the GTHA. I’m generally not optimistic on this topic, but it’s a problem inching towards crisis that the government appears paralyzed on.

Here are a few links related to the Ontario Liberal leadership race I think might be worth checking out.

Earl Washburn crunches the numbers on the delegate count. 

Kathleen Wynne may be the best choice for Premier. 

Steve Paikin asks if Sandra Pupatello wins, will she be able to win a seat? 

Cohn reveals Harinder Takhar’s shady dealings and the embarrassment he presents for the Liberal Party of Ontario. 

Worth Reading - December 13, 2012

Worth Reading – December 13, 2012

This week I had the pleasure to be published on Samara Canada’s blog. If I may, I would like to once again shamefully promote that piece. In it I discuss some of the barriers between Canadians and greater participation in their democracy, in particular I focus on millennials. 

Ontario’s Auditor General released a report this week highlighting some of the problems within the province’s spending. One of the programs that the AG mentioned as particularly problematic is the Presto system. This is a real problem. The government cannot afford to be incautiously spending money at a time of severe deficits.

The Gardiner Expressway through Toronto badly needs to be replaced. It would have been nice if governments had been saving up for this eventual reality, but they have not. In the Globe and Mail this author stateshow the politicization of the freeway has worsened a deteriorating situation.  

Andrew Coyne takes apart the Conservative government and their on-going spin on the F-35 file. 

Bill C-377 passed this week which will weaken unions within Canada. The bill forces unions to disclose salaries of staff and other spending. The Privacy Commissioner has stated that the legislation goes too far. 

Most pundits will tell you that there will be a spring election in Ontario. However, ONDP leader Andrea Horwath was quoted this week saying that she and the ONDP want to make the legislature work, once a new Liberal leader is chosen. 

This is a great piece from the Vancouver Sun. Writing in reaction to Samara’s report, Who’s the Boss?, the author states plainly that Canadian democracy cannot be fixed by government. Citizens need to take hard stock of our system before it is too late.