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[added_time]

I'm curious to see how taxes are broken down in regards to federal, municipal and provincial, and what they pay for.

Me too, actually. I know for a fact that the TTC has terrible funding from the Provincial and Federal level compared to other major cities worldwide. For the roads within the city, I'm really not sure but I am curious if it is more of a provincial project or municipal one.

 

[Azih]

Ah I guess so. The Go bus completely bypasses that area doesn't it?

It's really bad, we live right near the massive Finch Go Bus station on Yonge and there is NO good way to get to the north side of Mississauga via transit. East West Travel Does not exist outside of the lakeshore and Dundas.

Edit: In any case everybody pays for congestion and it's in the interest of everybody in the region to cut down on said congestion. No need to get into turf wars as we all suffer through the same packed roads and packed transit.

The problem with municipalities and taxes in Canada is that they don't get funds from sources such as the income tax and gas tax and sales tax which go to the province and the feds. The nice thing about these is that they grow with the economy. Cities are stuck with one time developer fees and property tax which grow EXTREMELY slowly (since you don't want to kick people out of their homes etc etc.). David Miller tried to get people to push the province and the feds to allocate one cent of the gas tax to cities for infrastructure projects. But no one gave a shit. The Car registration Tax and the Land Transfer tax were two incredibly easy ways for Toronto to piggyback off existing provincial taxes to get some much needed revenue but Ford already killed one of them.


Edit: It seems like roads within a city are the city's problem.

http://www.toronto.ca/improvements/index.htm

The province probably takes care of the highways and stuff. I remember Steeles was a pothole filled disaster for a long time because neither Toronto or the surrounding cities wanted to take responsibility for it. Finally Toronto used the emergency federal stimulus funds to fix the street up.

 

[AlphaTwo00]

This is the best way to approach it. People that cause traffic and tear up the roads in the city (but choose not to live here) should be penalized for it. That way, we could use the money raised to pay for new transit infrastructure.
If the people out of town don't like it then they have a few choices:

A) not come to Toronto (which eases traffic)
or
B) take Go Train etc
or
C) move to Toronto (which helps our tax revenues)

"Tolling" for the city would be practically impossible. Would you put a gate at every intersection of roads coming in and out of the city? Or just the high traffic ones? If you do that, you'd just divert people to the less used roads.

 

[cbox]

Me too, actually. I know for a fact that the TTC has terrible funding from the Provincial and Federal level compared to other major cities worldwide. For the roads within the city, I'm really not sure but I am curious if it is more of a provincial project or municipal one.

I know the TTC used to be partially funded by the Province but mike harris fucked that all up.

The TTC wasn’t always like this.During the 1990s fares were as low as $1.20. Torontonians were proud of the service. This was before the election of Ontario Premier Mike Harris, when the TTC had better funding. Back then, the TTC was funded with higher government support for both their capital budget (such as buying vehicles) and their operating budget (what it takes to deliver the service).

After Harris’ provincial government withdrew funding from the TTC and allocated it to the municipality budget, Harris gave the TTC no other choice. The TTC had to depend on the mayor of Toronto and the city council.

http://www.excal.on.ca/features/the-ttcs-downward-spiral/

 

[Divvy]

It's really bid, we live right near the massive Finch Go Bus station on Yonge and there is NO good way to get to the north side of Mississauga via transit. East West Travel Does not exist outside of the lakeshore and Dundas.

Yeah I live right by the Yonge Finch intersection too. My parents home is by Erin Mills town centre and I usually take the go bus to there. It's weird that it skips everything in mississauga before square one. Maybe the proposed LRT on hurontario will help things.

 

[added_time]

"Tolling" for the city would be practically impossible. Would you put a gate at every intersection of roads coming in and out of the city? Or just the high traffic ones? If you do that, you'd just divert people to the less used roads.

I heard London, England does it by having cameras that take photos of license plates at every road that leads into the city. If the license plate belongs to a car that is from out of London, then they are charged £5 for that day.
That seems like an ok way to do it.

 

[added_time]

I know the TTC used to be partially funded by the Province but mike harris fucked that all up.

Man. Mike Harris fucked up so many things. It's almost hard to believe. No wonder people are so scared of the conservatives coming to power in Ontario again.

 

[Zombie James]

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1130246--ford-s-approval-drops-after-transit-defeat

Mayor Rob Ford’s dramatic defeat in a city council vote last week brought transit above ground and shot his approval ratings way down, according to a new poll.

Research and communications firm Stratcom polled 1,300 Torontonians on Thursday and Friday and found that 35 per cent of city residents “strongly disapprove” of Ford’s performance on the job.

The figure represents an 11 per cent jump in the past six months, and double the number from last March, when only 17 per cent of Torontonians voiced their strong disapproval of the mayor.

The poll was taken in 48 hours following the handy defeat of Ford’s vision to build all new transit underground.

 

[cbox]

Man. Mike Harris fucked up so many things. It's almost hard to believe. No wonder people are so scared of the conservatives coming to power in Ontario again.

I was part of the OAC elimination year , meaning my entire highschool education was in limbo and being rewritten. Because of him, it was 100% harder to get in University because OAC kids and Grade 12 kids were graduating at the same time. So for that, I will never in my life vote conservative. Fuck Mike harris indeed.

 

[Divvy]

I was part of the OAC elimination year , meaning my entire highschool education was in limbo and being rewritten. Because of him, it was 100% harder to get in University because OAC kids and Grade 12 kids were graduating at the same time. So for that, I will never in my life vote conservative. Fuck Mike harris indeed.

I was on the grade 12 end of that shit deal. Trying to get into UofT for lifescience that year was not fun. Fuck Harris.

 

[Zombie James]

I was part of the OAC elimination year , meaning my entire highschool education was in limbo and being rewritten. Because of him, it was 100% harder to get in University because OAC kids and Grade 12 kids were graduating at the same time. So for that, I will never in my life vote conservative. Fuck Mike harris indeed.

Mike Harris nearly killed me, literally. My appendix burst and, of course, the closest hospital was shut down. Got to the next nearest hospital where I had to wait six hours in a hallway for x-rays because it was horribly overcrowded. After x-rays I had to wait a couple more hours to actually get the emergency surgery done. The next day the doctor basically told my parents that if I had to wait for a few hours more, I would have been dead.

I've never voted Conservative and I never will vote Conservative in any level of government for the rest of my life.

 

[Kave_Man]

I was part of the OAC elimination year , meaning my entire highschool education was in limbo and being rewritten. Because of him, it was 100% harder to get in University because OAC kids and Grade 12 kids were graduating at the same time. So for that, I will never in my life vote conservative. Fuck Mike harris indeed.

Feels good that I was in the last OAC class before the double cohort. I got pretty lucky just missed out on that and whatever that testing thing was that the kids had to do.

 

[cbox]

Feels good that I was in the last OAC class before the double cohort. I got pretty lucky just missed out on that and whatever that testing thing was that the kids had to do.

Man those tests were NOT fun.

 

[AlphaTwo00]

Feels good that I was in the last OAC class before the double cohort. I got pretty lucky just missed out on that and whatever that testing thing was that the kids had to do.

<Had OAC before the double cohort, had to deal with a slight rise in people fast tracking to avoid it. That was a god damn mess.

 

[added_time]

Ontario to sell downtown LCBO warehouse and HQ

That is a pretty large lot on some prime land. I wonder if they want to sell to a commercial or residential developer. A mix of both would probably be ideal.

 

[EvilMario]

http://www.thestar.com/news/cityhal...0462--mayor-rob-ford-stuck-at-310-pounds?bn=1

For Mayor Rob Ford, last week was unsuccessful in more ways than one.

He suffered the biggest defeat of his mayoral term. He also didn’t lose any weight.

The mayor usually offers smiles and self-deprecating quips at his weekly Monday weigh-in. This time, he weighed in at the same 310 pounds he weighed before he lost a major transit vote on Wednesday, said “I’ve plateaued,” and walked off without taking questions.

Councillor Doug Ford weighed in at 255 pounds, down between four and five from last week. He proudly noted that his belt is on its last notch.

Rob Ford began his quest in mid-January at 330 pounds. He wants to weigh 280 pounds on June 18.

Doug Ford, who started at 275 pounds, said his brother is still on track despite this week’s setback.

“Our goal was two pounds a week — 26 weeks, 52 pounds,” Ford said. “So we’re double what we’re supposed to be losing. But no, it’s a challenge, I’ll tell ya.”

“I’ve plateaued". So salty.

 

[EvilMario]

Ontario to sell downtown LCBO warehouse and HQ

That is a pretty large lot on some prime land. I wonder if they want to sell to a commercial or residential developer. A mix of both would probably be ideal.

For those wondering where they're talking about: http://maps.google.ca/?ll=43.642442...nDfB7WqhDkuPG7qmgacg7g&cbp=12,285.11,,0,-1.75

Hopefully a step in the right direction for developing the Queens Quay east of Yonge.

 

[lunarworks]

It's really bad, we live right near the massive Finch Go Bus station on Yonge and there is NO good way to get to the north side of Mississauga via transit. East West Travel Does not exist outside of the lakeshore and Dundas.

I live in Scarborough and work in the north of Mississauga.

When I don't have the car, it takes me 2+ hours on transit to get to work. (SRT, Subway, Bus, Bus.)

 

[Azih]

I live in Scarborough and work in the north of Mississauga.

When I don't have the car, it takes me 2+ hours on transit to get to work. (SRT, Subway, Bus, Bus.)

God, I feel for you.

 

[cbox]

I live in Scarborough and work in the north of Mississauga.

When I don't have the car, it takes me 2+ hours on transit to get to work. (SRT, Subway, Bus, Bus.)

Eugh I used to walk 20 minutes, two busses, then the subway. Now I drive to kipling, and subway it in. Costs more, but I'm not trying to strangle people to get a seat on the terribly overcrowded bus back up to Mississauga.

And i'm going from near the airport > downtown, not nearly as far as you. ~2 hours total.

 

[added_time]

Here is the Toronto skyline in 1970 as viewed from the lake:

and here is the Toronto skyline in August, 2011:

 

[Zombie James]

Remember, Ford and Co. care about the suburbs:

New fees to use Toronto’s playing fields could see parents paying $100 extra for a child playing baseball this season, league officials say.

Etobicoke’s Royal York Baseball League said they’ve been told it’ll cost the 900-player organization just over $97,000 in playing field permit fees this year.

In previous years, there has been no charge. The new hourly rates are $12, $8 and $6 based on the quality of the sports field.

At Royal York, the league charges each player $130 a season for uniforms, equipment and other expenses. Adding field rental could push the tab far in excess of $200.

“I don’t know what to do,” said league president Alan Waffle. “I’m at a loss because it’s such a huge change to be absorbed all in one year.”

“It’s a lot of money to play baseball,” said Robert Lowe, whose three children play for Bloordale Baseball, another league affected by the fee that has 270 players aged 5 to 15.

The total cost for Lowe’s three children is normally about $540 per season, but the fee would bring that closer to $900 this year — well beyond what the family had budgeted.

“We’ve been seriously thinking about whether we can fit this in,” Lowe said.

“There will be parents who simply can’t afford this,” said Mike Woolcock, who also has three children in the Bloordale league. “I’m paying $300 more just so we can get the kids out for exercise — I don’t think it’s really fair that the city’s dumping this on us.”

So, what do the people who voted for increased user fees have to say?

Councillor Doug Holyday (Ward 3, Etobicoke Centre) said the playing field rates deserve a second look.

“I guess it went through in the budget and no one recognized what was going on,” Holyday said. “One of the things that should have been considered with a change like this is to phase it in.”

Act first, think second, right? Fucking idiot.

http://www.thestar.com/news/cityhal...06--new-city-fees-shock-baseball-players?bn=1

 

[cbox]

Here is the Toronto skyline in 1970 as viewed from the lake:

and here is the Toronto skyline in August, 2011:

What 40 years does, can't wait for another 40! Is that atrocious looking building the manulife centre in the back? 2nd building to the right of the sail boat.

 

[Kuro Madoushi]

I'm glad the hate for Harris and the Conservatives is still strong!

 

[Zzoram]

Um why is nobody organizing a protest against that bill Harper wants to pass that will require ISPs to give internet usage data to the government without a warrant? It's a license to spy on everyone, very prone for abuse, and a massive violation of privacy.

 

[Zzoram]

Man. Mike Harris fucked up so many things. It's almost hard to believe. No wonder people are so scared of the conservatives coming to power in Ontario again.

Conservatives are fucking up the Federal government too.

They're ramming through a bill that lets them spy on anyone's internet usage without a warrant, and putting mandatory stupid long prison sentences for minor non-violent crimes at tremendous expense to taxpayers.

 

[Kabuki Quantum Lover]

Um why is nobody organizing a protest against that bill Harper wants to pass that will require ISPs to give internet usage data to the government without a warrant? It's a license to spy on everyone, very prone for abuse, and a massive violation of privacy.

OpenMedia is on it. They just have a lot of campaigns happening at the same time.

 

[BladeWorker]

So, what do the people who voted for increased user fees have to say?

I'm sympathetic to huge increases - lord knows I'll be feeling them myself with my rec league this year, too - but my experience suggests that those fees are comparable to those fees in surrounding suburbs including Markham, Richmond Hill, and Vaughan.

So were they wrong to introduce them in one fell swoop? Oh, certainly. And the lack of communications surrounding the increased fees is just abominable. But recovering something closer to the true cost of maintaining those fields is ultimately a good idea.

 

[added_time]

Is that atrocious looking building the manulife centre in the back? 2nd building to the right of the sail boat.

No the Manulife Centre is much further north than that and wouldn't have been built yet at the time of that photo.

The building you are talking about is Simpson Tower which is right across the street from the Eaton Centre.

 

[EvilMario]

I always love the old photos, where you can actually see old City Hall from the water. Reminds me of the Ferry Building in San Francisco I guess, but much further from the water.

 

[cbox]

No the Manulife Centre is much further north than that and wouldn't have been built yet at the time of that photo.

The building you are talking about is Simpson Tower which is right across the street from the Eaton Centre.

Ahhh ok I figured it wouldn't be that old, thanks!

 

[Stet]

Apparently Karen Stintz is on Undercover Bosses Canada on Thursday. Yes, the Karen Stintz that recently did a complete 180 on her opinion of Toronto's transit. Yes, the Karen Stintz that was integral in bringing back a sensible transit plan after having been appointed by Rob Ford to tow the party line.

So here's my question: did Undercover Bosses Canada give us back our transit strategy?!

 

[EGG]

I really should have come to this thread before I went to UFC. Ah well, I still had a blast and found my way everywhere perfectly fine.

 

[Divvy]

Man, marketplace is such a great show. It's one of the best reasons for why the cbc should be protected.

 

[Fuzzy]

Apparently Karen Stintz is on Undercover Bosses Canada on Thursday. Yes, the Karen Stintz that recently did a complete 180 on her opinion of Toronto's transit. Yes, the Karen Stintz that was integral in bringing back a sensible transit plan after having been appointed by Rob Ford to tow the party line.

So here's my question: did Undercover Bosses Canada give us back our transit strategy?!

I had no idea she was going to be on the show but I'll be sure to watch it this week. Thanks.

Man, marketplace is such a great show. It's one of the best reasons for why the cbc should be protected.

Agreed. I'd also like to add that Stroumbo is the best entertainment interviewer in the country. I even love watching him interview people I don't care/know about.

 

[BigJonsson]

Years ago I went with some friends to see the Green Day I and I at Much, hosted by Strombo

A friend of a friend knew him somehow and after the show was over he met up with us at the Starbucks in Chapters and talked to us about Green Day and punk music. It was pretty awesome.

Whatever he has done in his career has for the most part just been grade A awesome

 

[Quick]

Strombo is awesome. He seems like a chill dude.

I liked him on Much, liked him even better afterwards.

 

[cbox]

Strombo is awesome. He seems like a chill dude.

I liked him on Much, liked him even better afterwards.

He went to my highschool, pretty cool.

 

[Kabuki Quantum Lover]

Save Our Subways Or: Support Our Stupidity

 

[Fuzzy]

Save Our Subways Or: Support Our Stupidity

I loved this:

&#8220;It is time to stop thinking the only part of the city that deserves good rapid transit is the downtown,&#8221; said Councillor David Shiner (Ward 24 Willowdale).

Yep, damn those downtown transit plans on Eglinton and Finch W stopping the Sheppard subway. :lol

 

[cbox]

I loved this:
Yep, damn those downtown transit plans on Eglinton and Finch W stopping the Sheppard subway. :lol

Who hires these idiots? Seriously.

 

[EvilMario]

I come from a future where Rob Ford has his transit wishes granted.

Spoiler

Actually, this is just reality

via BlogTO

 

[Kabuki Quantum Lover]

I'm compelled to email Joe Mihevc to get a plan together to school these idiots. I'm just peeved at the misrepresentation of what LRTs are.

 

[cbox]

I come from a future where Rob Ford has his transit wishes granted.

Spoiler

Actually, this is just reality

That's a recent pic too... disgusting.

 

[Entropia]

I come from a future where Rob Ford has his transit wishes granted.

Spoiler

Actually, this is just reality

via BlogTO

You'd think the kids getting paid to clean up the buses(?) would do a better job than that. :|

 

[Kuro Madoushi]

You'd think the kids getting paid to clean up the buses(?) would do a better job than that. :|

Unions...

Though I also blame stupid kids too. I remember one girl on the streetcar just nonchalantly carving something into the sides.

 

[Rinoa]

I'd rather we have extremely strict fines for littering.

Singapore style.

Throw trash, spend hours doing service picking it up while wearing an embarassing getup.
http://www.discoverabroad.com/singapore/livingabroad/Law.htm

 

[mcrae]

I'd rather we have extremely strict fines for littering.

Singapore style.

Throw trash, spend hours doing service picking it up while wearing an embarassing getup.
http://www.discoverabroad.com/singapore/livingabroad/Law.htm

Drugs

The death penalty is mandatory for those convicted of trafficking, manufacturing, importing or exporting drugs and possessing drugs is deemed as prima facie evidence of trafficking.

holy shit, they do not fool around

 

[Divvy]

Man, that Cold FX episode of Marketplace. Don Cherry is such a shit stain.

 

[Rinoa]

holy shit, they do not fool around

Yup, it's a very amazing and green place on the surface but the workaholic culture scares me to death.