“Toronto – Canada’s version of a Democrat run city”

You’ll need much more than the minimum wage to make ends meet across the province — but it’s especially bad in the GTA, a new report has found.

Workers in Toronto need to make $26 an hour — nearly $9 more than current the minimum wage — to make a living, the Ontario Living Wage Network (OLWN) reported.

On most days, the slowest way to travel through downtown Toronto is by car. Cyclists whiz by and pedestrians cast spiteful glances at vehicles trapped in the city’s gridlock. For those behind the wheel, anything can trigger frustration and rage.

Last month, Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario province, shocked residents of Canada’s largest city when he pledged to rip out three of the city’s bike lanes “that are just absolutely insanity right now”.

The move, seen as a dramatic moment of government overreach, has provoked a fierce backlash from cyclists and city officials, and raised broader question about the future of cars – and bicycles – in large urban centres.

In the Guardian??

This week in my Toronto neighbourhood, a scene of utter mayhem unfolded.

It happened just after 11:00 on Monday night. Undercover cops were staking out a recording studio on Queen Street West near Dufferin Street. Suddenly, a stolen white Honda pulled up. Three guys armed with handguns jumped out. They started shooting toward the back of the studio building at 1196 Queen, where dozens of people had gathered for a birthday party. Several of the partygoers rushed out and returned fire.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T: What does it mean to Mayor Olivia Chow?

Toronto council on Thursday evening debated not just the removal of bike lanes, but also the nature of democracy in Ontario’s capital, at the behest of the mayor.

The Toronto bike lane that went too far and sparked a backlash from Doug Ford’s government

Between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., on an unseasonably warm, sunny weekday in October, 18 cyclists travel in the eastbound bike lane on Bloor Street West in Etobicoke, in front of a church, where elderly men and women struggle to climb the stairs to their morning sermon.

Local resident and former Toronto city councillor John Campbell watches ruefully. He voted for the extension of the Bloor West bike lanes from Shaw Street to Runnymede Road when he represented what was then Ward 4 (Etobicoke Centre) from 2014 to 2018.

Turning 13 is a milestone year. A teenager at last and gaining a bit of independence. Making friends, perhaps riding the subway alone, well on the way to becoming an adult. Thirteen is advanced enough an age that the phrase “a lifetime” begins to have weight behind it.

Construction of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT recently had its 13th anniversary. This saga already feels like a lifetime, but this is a real milestone: Toronto has a teenage construction project. If the Eglinton Crosstown construction were human it would be heading to high school soon, perhaps picking up some babysitting gigs to make a little cash. That would help since it’s so over budget.

Worried about money? Statistically, you probably are: New research from Meridian Credit Union asked more than 1,500 people from coast to coast about how they really feel about their finances. Experts predicted it wouldn’t be great, but no one knew it would be this bad: More than half of Canadians — and nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) of Ontarians — reported their lifestyle was becoming unaffordable due to rising costs. Forty per cent of women (compared to 18 per cent of men) worry about their long-term financial future.

The city of Toronto is clearing tents belonging to homeless people near the Rogers Centre in preparation for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. The first of Swift’s six sold-out concerts is on Thursday.

“The individuals surrounding Rogers Centre are being offered a space in the city’s shelter system to help ensure their safety,” a city spokesperson said in an email.

Toronto is an increasingly divided city, according to a new report, which finds that many people are struggling financially and mentally despite significant economic growth.

The Toronto Foundation’s Vital Signs “Roundup on Growth” report, released Wednesday, paints a picture of a city that is rapidly growing but also leaving many people behind. More Torontonians are feeling financially vulnerable, which is having an impact on their physical and mental health.

As Taylor Swift prepares for her string of concerts, we were blasted with a reminder that it’s not really always safe in Toronto, a city plagued by more than one shooting each and every day.

Toronto’s 406th shooting incident of 2024 was a gangster movie-style shootout late Monday night on Queen St. W. in which an unmarked Toronto Police car — with two officers inside — was hit by gunfire.

They pulled the vid.

As Toronto enters its Taylor Swift era, experts say crowd safety depends on planning

As Toronto readies for Taylor Swift’s arrival this week, some crowd management and planning experts say additional safety precautions should be taken when tens of thousands of fans fill the city’s downtown core on show nights.

That means being prepared for a sudden shift in crowd dynamics and severe traffic gridlock, despite planned road closures, the experts say.

I really don’t want to cheer on the Islamists but …

Toronto’s tourism industry hopes Taylor Swift can help shake off slump with Eras Tour concerts

Toronto’s sagging tourism industry is hoping for a Taylor Swift lift, as the pop superstar’s six shows at Rogers Centre starting this week attract hundreds of thousands of fans expected to spend more than $150-million on hotels, food and friendship bracelets.

But the long-term effects of Swiftonomics remain questionable.

The only thing Swift will accomplish is creating even more tourists vowing never to return to this shithole and they will spread that message far and wide.

Come for the concert …

Stay for the homeless encampments!

Stay for the traffic chaos!

Stay for the Death Cult street takeovers!