ON Economic Fundamentals 2008-08

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What`s Behind the Curtain?
Ontario
2008-08
Daily Online Edition

 

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New trash plan on track

Toronto`s new garbage bin program is on target to raise another $30 million a year for waste diversion programs, a collection official says.

The most popular bin size ordered across the city, with the exception of Scarborough, is medium which holds about 11/2 garbage bags.

On average, about two out of three Toronto households opted for sizes that come with additional fees. Small was the most popular bin only in Scarborough where 40% of homeowners thought they could get by putting out one bag of garbage every two weeks.

http://www.torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndG...324411-sun.html

 

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Core housing filling up

Downtown London has become a magnet for newcomers to the city.

Apartments in the city`s core are filling up and many of the new tenants are from outside the city and province -- and even from outside the country, say leasing agents. "There is a real trend developing here," said Adam Carapella, vice-president operations for Tricar Group in London.
http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/200...326021-sun.html

 

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87 new affordable housing units fall well short of need

Eighty-seven new affordable housing units are in the works, but it`s not nearly enough to shelter the number of St. Catharines residents on the verge of being evicted, local officials say.

New subsidized apartments are being built in four areas of the city, including nine supportive-living units on Ontario Street for people with mental illnesses.

But Niagara`s waiting list for nonprofit housing sits at 4,275 households, or about 7,900 people, said Lora Beckwith, general manager of Niagara Regional Housing. About one-third of those are seniors.

"Many of them are probably on the verge of eviction," Beckwith said. "In these cases, you get decisions at the end of the month like, `Do I pay the rent or feed my kids?` "

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/Article....aspx?e=1139850

 

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Property should be for the birds, says activist

A city couple plans to appeal a rezoning bylaw that cleared the way for a condominium complex on the site of the former Penman textile mill.

Tim Sywyk and wife, Lisette, say putting townhouses and apartment buildings on the Grand River Avenue property will disrupt bald eagles in the area.

"They`ve just started to return in the last few years," said Sywyk, who has been monitoring the eagle population along the Grand River since last fall.

http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDi....aspx?e=1139069

 

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Ethanol hurdle may be cleared

Not a whiff of anything that could help Northern Ethanol build in Barrie goes unnoticed by its opponents.

A proposed change to the city`s industrial zoning bylaw -- removing the words `dextrin, glucose or starch` from the list of noxious products -- could push aside another obstacle at the former Molson Brewery site, opponents say.

"I point it out because of the potential consequences," said Carl Rabinowitz of CARE, Citizens Against Refining Ethanol.

He says having these words in the noxious products section of the bylaw indicates that Northern Ethanol`s proposal should not be allowed. But removing them could eliminate much of the zoning barrier to the ethanol plant.

http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDi....aspx?e=1138954

 

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Hydro bill could drop $70 per year

Starting today, Toronto Hydro will reduce the amount it charges to bring electricity to homes and businesses by 5.1 per cent.

The utility received approval yesterday from the Ontario Energy Board to lower its electricity distribution rate. It means a household consuming 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity each month will see an average drop of $5.90 on their bill, or $70.80 a year.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/470909

 

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Council OK`s contracts for County Road 22 work

ESSEX - Essex County council has approved contracts with construction company Coco Paving Inc., for two reconstruction projects to widen County Road 22 from two lanes to four.

The reconstruction for the intersections at County Road 22 and Patillo Road, and at County Road 22 and Pike Creek Bridge and East-West Pike Creek Road will cost more than $3.7 million and more than $7.8 million respectively, county engineer Tom Bateman said.

http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/sto...76-39090bbe77ee

 

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Border land deals draw fire

MP Brian Masse (NDP -- Windsor West) called on the provincial government Thursday to review the way properties along the main feeder route to the new border crossing in Windsor are purchased by the Ministry of Transportation, saying many homeowners are being treated unfairly.

Speaking to the media at the residence of a Talbot Road couple who recently sold their sprawling property to the MTO, Masse said the current process of property acquisition along the Huron Church-Talbot Road corridor is "not transparent and accountable," alleging the province is not following guidelines and refusing to clearly define compensation packages for homeowners and businesses.

http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/sto...1d-007ffa3341fb

 

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Redeemer loses top court appeal against tax police

A Supreme Court decision yesterday reaffirms that tax cops can snoop through a charity`s records to audit its donors.

In a 4-3 ruling, the court dismissed Redeemer Foundation`s appeal in its case against the Minister of National Revenue (Canada Revenue Agency).

The CRA audited and reassessed 250 donors after obtaining Redeemer`s donor list while auditing the foundation in 2001 and 2002.

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/412600

 

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10 busted, more sought in huge loan scam

DURHAM -- An investigation begun earlier this year in Pickering has led to the dismantling of a large-scale loan fraud operation that police say defrauded hundreds of victims of more than $2 million. The probe began in February and culminated with arrests on charges of fraud, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and participation in a criminal organization, as well as other offences. More than 20 people have been charged or have had warrants issued for their arrest. Investigators have uncovered numerous fraudulent businesses through which the scammers bilked victims looking for easy loans, Durham police said.

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/ajax/article/104097

 

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Regent renovations on track

OSHAWA -- Glyn Laverick looks like he`s peering over the edge of a canyon. Standing on the second floor of the Regent Theatre, he stares down at the main seating area, which is filled with towering mounds of dirt and rubble -- the result of jackhammering out the concrete floor that lie five feet deep in some spots.

"We`re making a lot of progress," the theatre owner said during a recent tour of the Regent. "You can start to picture how it`s going to look when it`s done."

This week, the sidewalk and part of the street outside the theatre will be blocked off so trucks can haul away the floor debris.

From there, crews will get to work creating sloped seating.

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/oshawa/article/104148

 

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GO still needs town`s OK to build 3-storey parking garage

It could be next spring before shovels go into the ground for a three-storey parking garage proposed at Centennial GO station in Markham.

However, a specific start date for construction of the proposed structure, first reported by the Economist & Sun last week, is not available, according to Bob Boyle, GO`s director of facility services.

http://www.yorkregion.com/News/Markham/article/78983

 

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Farmers offered $286M buyout

DELHI -- Ontario`s once-mighty tobacco crop came a step closer to passing into history as the federal government announced a $286-million buyout yesterday to get farmers out of the industry. "(It) signals the beginning of the end of a way of life for generations of tobacco farm families," said Linda Vandendriessche, chairman of the Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers` Marketing Board.

http://www.torontosun.com/News/Canada/2008...334581-sun.html

 

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When opportunity knocks

While most property investors understand the opportunities to make money through leverage and capital growth or high yields, I still hear of many who do not fully understand the idea of "opportunity cost."

So what does opportunity cost mean? Well, according to the encyclopedia: "Opportunity cost is a term used in economics to mean the cost of something in terms of an opportunity foregone (and the benefits that could be received from that opportunity) or the most valuable foregone alternative. For example, if a city decides to build a hospital on vacant land that it owns, the opportunity cost is some other thing that might have been done with the land and construction funds instead. In building the hospital, the city has forgone the opportunity to build a sporting centre on that land or a parking lot or the ability to sell the land to reduce the city`s debt, and so on."

http://www.torontosun.com/NewHomesandCondo...330836-sun.html

 

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Returns on renos

We Canadians love fixing up our homes. A home not only provides shelter, but it`s also a refuge, a source of happy memories and tremendous pride.

In recent years, we have found our inspiration from a multitude of home improvement programs on television and then headed to the nearest big-box renovation store to begin the next great project.

According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), close to $19.7 billion was spent in our country`s 10 major centres on renovations last year, an increase of more than $2 billion compared to 2006. And there`s no end in sight to our passion for refurbishment. A survey by RBC/Ipsos Reid released last fall indicates that 66% of Ontario homeowners say they are planning to renovate over the next two years, with an average budget of $10,495.

http://www.torontosun.com/ResaleHomesandCo...01/6328366.html

 

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Home building permits in city go paperless

The City of London`s building permit division is leading the nation with a new electronic system for building permits.

The system allows homebuilders to submit their applications and drawings electronically through the city`s website. Rocky Cerminara, the city`s director of building controls, said the city`s system is the first fully online one for home building permits in Ontario and probably the first in Canada.

http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/200...335951-sun.html

 

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`We don`t have a solution to your problem,` says land claims negotiator

The federal government is doing all it can to resolve Six Nations land claims, said Ron Doering, chief federal negotiator, during a speech to the Rotary Club of Brantford on Friday.

However, the federal government has no jurisdiction or responsibility when it comes to land development or law enforcement concerns, he said.

"We don`t have a solution to your problem," he said, acknowledging that his message was not what many people in the room wanted to hear.

Doering spoke extensively on the various types of land claims -- for land, cash or recompense for inadequate cash -- as well as the particular challenges involved in the Six Nations negotiations and how the government arrives at monetary settlement figures.

http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDi....aspx?e=1140998

 

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Barrie Arena mural lost

City history and art are being lost as Barrie Arena is being demolished this summer.

While the old Dunlop Street West barn is going down so a new fire hall can be put up, so is the winter mural facing Eccles Street South.

Painted by local artist, designer and businesswoman, Sue Kay, it`s a casualty of tearing down the 74-year-old arena.

"It`s going to be missed, just like the arena being there," said Sarah Beveridge, the MacLaren Art Centre`s curator of exhibitions and public property. "It`s an original in terms of what Sue Kay created on that wall. It`s very unfortunate."

City officials say nothing can be done to preserve the winter mural.

http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDi....aspx?e=1140908

 

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As tide turns, a waterfront goes public

Home once to shipbuilders, fishermen and strawberry farmers, a summer playground for Toronto`s moneyed elite and a Sunday resort for wistful middle-class crowds arriving on day-tripping steamers, the Halton waterfront has played many roles over the past century and a half.

With its sprawling estates and breathtaking vistas of Lake Ontario, it continues to attract high rollers drawn to expansive views – often with a comfortingly distant panorama of the Toronto skyline – as well as "full riparian rights," the legal term for a private stretch of shore.

http://www.thestar.com/News/Ideas/article/471508