VoteToronto Issues in Depth
The following are discussions and analysis about various issues facing Toronto, including homelessness, taxation, and the planning process.Toronto's Planning Process, by Bill Freeman
Toronto is in the process of recreating itself. Massive redevelopment schemes are underway in the downtown. Condo development in the area east of Yonge Street south of Queen has destroyed most of the old neighbourhoods. The Waterfront is being transformed from industrial to residential uses. The Railway Lands, the Etobicoke Waterfront, Eglinton and Yonge, Fort York: the schemes are colossal in size and enormous in their impact on the city and its future. Read more.Homelessness is a national disaster, by Cathy Crowe
Disasters are not limited to earthquakes, ice storms or floods. When significant numbers are affected (1.7 million Canadians suffering an affordability crisis alone and an estimated 250,000 using emergency shelters in a year), when people remain in shelters for more than a few months - when the expectation becomes years, when old diseases like tuberculosis come back to haunt, when bedbug infestations become a public health hazard and when you are four times more likely to die if you are homeless, then it's time to call things for what they are. Read more.Crime and the Police, by Bill Freeman
One of the five priorities of the new Harper Conservative government is getting tough on crime. Their solution is more police on the streets and mandatory sentences for violent crime with guns. This policy, written in the midst of an election campaign, was designed to attract middle-class voters who have an exaggerated fear of crime. The news headlines played into those fears. Read more.The Budget Debate, by Bill Freeman
Again in 2006 Toronto politicians warned that the city faced a serious budget crisis. The budget committee initially said that there was a shortfall of $532 million on the $7.7 billion operating budget. This was later reduced to $415 million, then it was reduced to a little better than $200 million and finally it was announced that the politicians had met the target of a 3% increase, the amount of inflation. Read more.Taxation and the Fiscal Imbalance, by Bill Freeman
A fundamental issue facing the City of Toronto is the inequity of the property tax system. Like all municipalities in Ontario, Toronto receives most of its revenue from taxes on property. There are three major problems with this type of tax that make it unfair and unequal. Read more.The Island Airport, by Bill Freeman
For the last six years the expansion of the Toronto City Centre Airport (TCCA) has been the most intense political controversy in the city, and recent decisions by the federal government promise to keep it in the forefront of city politics for a long time to come. Read more.Toronto's Political Fault Lines, by Bill Freeman
Every society has fault lines that shape its political life. Often they are religious, racial or ethnic divisions. In Canada a fundamental fault line is around the French/English cultural and linguistic divide, and regionalism is a deep fault line that makes this country a very complicated place to govern. Read more.Transit and Traffic, by Bill Freeman
To appreciate the lunacy of transit policies one need look no further than the impact of cars on the city. Toronto Public Health estimates that 1,000 Toronto residents die prematurely and another 5,500 are admitted to hospitals each year due to air pollution. In the city, cars are the major cause of air pollution. Read more.Hot News
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