ON Economic Fundamentals 2008-08

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Discrepency over bridge reopening

Residents of Glen Abbey may be waiting longer than anticipated for traffic to ease up during their commute over the QEW.


Oakville Today has recently learned of conflicting reports about the status of the Fourth Line Bridge`s construction.


According to Bob Nichols, spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation (MTO), the Fourth Line Bridge has been pushed "slightly behind schedule."


Will Mackenzie another spokesperson for the MTO said this delay was caused by inclement weather Oakville has received during the construction period as well as utility relocation problems that could have also been caused by the weather.

http://www.oakvilletoday.ca/news/article/195038

 

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Businesses take action against proposed Highway 7/8 by-pass

The New Hamburg Board of Trade has taken up arms against a possible by-pass of Highway 7/8 around New Hamburg.

Board of Trade president Paul Knowles is urging community members to sign a petition which he said will be forwarded through the government by Kitchener-Conestogo MPP Leanna Pendergast.

"At their last open house, it started to become clear, or at least it is very possible, they have a bias towards building a bypass," Knowles said.

He questioned a recent letter from the ministry which stated the government recommendations were very well received at the meeting.

http://www.newhamburgindependent.ca/news/article/137830

 

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Oxford to expand lagoons

A Part II order request asking the Ministry of the Environment to consider a full class environmental assessment of the Plattsville waste water treatment lagoons was denied last week by the MOE.

Oxford County can now move ahead with a planned expansion of the lagoons once design and build permits are in place.

Plattsville farmers Rob and Cindy Hall, and Jim and Jane McCartney requested the order in March after learning Oxford County planned an addendum to its 1999 Class Environmental Assessment of the lagoon system in order to expand the system and increase capacity.

http://www.newhamburgindependent.ca/news/article/137831

 

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Parkade, GO Station on Horizon

Council confirmed its commitment to a big parkade on the Wilson Street Parking Lot this week in a debate that shed light on plans for local GO Train service, including a possible second GO terminal located outside of the downtown.

This second terminal, largely meant for commuters, might be built on part of the former Lafarge quarry site, which is south of Paisley Road and east of the Hanlon Expressway, council was told.

A city staff report prepared for Monday`s meeting ties the Wilson parkade to plans being discussed for future GO Train service being extended to Guelph and Kitchener from Georgetown.

http://www.guelphtribune.ca/news/article/138297

 

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City loses 17.3 per cent of water

Where has all the water gone - that`s the question Cambridge city officials are asking in their 2007 water loss report.

Last year, the city purchased 17.9 million cubic metres of water from Waterloo Region and of that total, 3.1 million cubic metres went unmetered, representing a loss of 17.3 per cent.

While various levels of government have pushed the public to conserve water, the report on the face of it indicates that the water lost through leaky pipes, broken water mains, system maintenance, etc., is the equivalent of the city`s total water use for 63 days.

http://www.cambridgetimes.ca/news/article/137920

 

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Home buyers still face bidding wars

Since the start of the year, a frustrated Cam Warnock has bid on three Toronto homes, each time losing the property to other buyers in multiple-offer competitions.

One property in Bloor West Village was listed at $199,000. It went for $260,000. Another, near the St. Lawrence Market, asking $209,000 went for $242,000.

"It`s just an incredibly demoralizing experience," Warnock says. "Whatever happened to listing properties at true market value?"

http://yourhome.ca/homes/article/471989

 

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Bridge switch completed `flawlessly`

The overnight replacement of the Queensway`s Clyde Avenue overpass went off without a hitch over the weekend, with four lanes of the highway -- two in each direction -- opening almost two hours ahead of schedule.

"It just so happened that this process was performed flawlessly and everything fell into place like it was supposed to," said Frank Vanderlaan, the area contracts engineer with the Ministry of Transportation who oversaw the project.

The highway was closed between Maitland and Carling at 6 p.m. Saturday for the rapid replacement of the two 50-year-old bridges, and reopened to traffic yesterday morning.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/c...55-dd1e22a1d041

 

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High-speed train plans chug forward

The long-awaited, much-ballyhooed high-speed rail link between downtown Toronto and Mississauga`s Pearson International Airport may finally be moving onto the fast track. The province and a private-sector partner are reworking plans for the high-speed rail link between Union Station and Pearson airport in an attempt to satisfy complainants. "We have heard concerns expressed about the original union-airport rail link proposal and the province is currently in discussions with SNC Lavalin to find ways that the airport-rail proposal can be changed to address a number of these concerns," says Nicole Lippa-Gasparro, press secretary to Environment Minister John Gerretsen. Ontario and SNC Lavalin, the company that hopes to operate the service, began talks this summer.
Premier Dalton McGuinty recently joined Mayor David Miller in endorsing the plan.

http://mississauga.com/article/17331

 

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`Eco fees` anger consumers

Ontario`s new levy on hazardous materials is not going over well with consumers, a Middlesex County retailer says.

Under a new program that came into effect July 1, manufacturers have to pay a fee to offset the disposal or recycling of materials such as paints, motor oil, pesticides, antifreeze or single-use batteries. The "eco fees" can be passed on to retailers and ultimately to consumers. Monte McNaughton operates a Home Hardware store in the community of Newbury. The store has been itemizing eco fees on its receipts, and McNaughton said customers are often confused and angry.

http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/200...351966-sun.html

 

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Downtown now has a heart

Wandering downtown on Thursday night you can get a sense that there is something different about Brantford. After years of acrimonious debates, and sometimes sheer nastiness, the downtown has a completely different feel.

Harmony Square has become a focus for civic activity that has exceeded the wildest predictions of the downtown supporters and has given the lie to the short-sighted naysayers and purveyors of doom and gloom who predicted that the square would be an expensive white elephant in a decaying core.

By my estimate, more than 700 people came downtown to watch a movie in the square. Young and old came to the square to watch jugglers and acrobats do their stuff as the giant inflatable movie screen was readied for movie night. As darkness settled on the square, the numbers only seemed to increase.

http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDi....aspx?e=1142530

 

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High-speed rail link to airport on fast track

The province and a private-sector partner are reworking plans for a high-speed rail link between Union Station and Pearson airport in an attempt to satisfy naysayers.

"We have heard concerns expressed about the original union-airport rail link proposal and the province is currently in discussions with SNC Lavalin to find ways that the airport-rail proposal can be changed to address a number of these concerns," Nicole Lippa-Gasparro, press secretary to Environment Minister John Gerretsen, told the Star.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/472255

 

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Ontario has extra energy this summer

Ontario`s electricity system during the summer is often characterized as a grid in constant crisis, barely held together by a network of aluminum thread and seemingly just one air conditioner away from certain collapse.

But with July now behind us, it has been eerily quiet on the power front. No pleas for conservation. No warnings of emergency voltage reductions. No heat waves pushing the transmission system to its physical limits.

http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/472156

 

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Nortel Networks makes first acquisition in years

OTTAWA - Nortel Networks has made its first acquisition in several years with the purchase of Novera Optics, a California company, for up to $26 million in cash.

It made the deal through LG-Nortel, a Korean communication joint venture, that has generated healthy results for Nortel in Asia for several quarters.

By buying Novera, LG-Nortel gets a piece of a new approach to delivering broadband access that has already attracted Ericsson and other competitors.

http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/bus...17-a58bfb08af00

 

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Protecting Halton`s waterfront a challenge

Home once to shipbuilders, fishermen and strawberry farmers, then a summer playground, 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 still attracts high rollers drawn to expansive views as well as "full riparian rights," the legal term for a private stretch of shore.

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/414205

 

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On the chopping block

The neighbourhood in big steel`s back yard with train tracks running through its heart and postage stamp parkette is not without its worn charms.

The nasty urban ruin that is the burnt-out brick building at 254 Beach Road is not one of them.

Those who live next door to the crumbling eyesore near Beach and Gage Avenue are both relieved and thrilled to hear city hall planning staff has called for it to finally be demolished.

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/414167

 

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35 properties considered for heritage list

WATERLOO

Peggy Helwig supports a move by the city`s municipal heritage committee to recognize her home for its historical and cultural significance.

The three-storey Georgian-style house on Forsyth Drive was built 163 years ago.

"We tried to maintain the integrity of the house,`` said Helwig, who with her husband, Steven, purchased the former Mennonite farmhouse in 1981. "We have wanted to be designated. It holds an important place in the history of Waterloo County.``

http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/394386

 

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Sales nearly break record

If the London-area economy is in a tailspin, homebuyers don`t appear to have noticed.

The London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors said yesterday it was their second best July on record, with 950 homes changing hands.

Association president Bruce Sworik said it was also the third best sales for any month. Although unemployment in the area has spiked in recent months, Sworik said, London seems to be dodging the homes sales slump affecting the United States and some Canadian cities.

http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/200...361471-sun.html

 

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Analyst expects gas to hover around $1.15-$1.20 per litre

Niagara gas prices should drop at least four cents per litre today and hover between $1.15 and $1.20 a litre for the foreseeable future, an industry analyst says.

Barring a nasty hurricane season that damages oil rigs at sea, the rest of the year should be more stable at the pumps, thanks to lower demand and a struggling U. S. economy, said Roger McKnight, senior petroleum cost adviser with Oshawa-based En-Pro.

"The gas peak is over," McKnight predicted. "Look for it to keep sliding until Labour Day."

Oil prices plunged Monday, falling below $120 US per barrel for the first time since early May. Its all-time high was $147.27 per barrel on July 11, which pushed local gas prices above $1.30 per litre.

McKnight, whose predictions help companies and industries plan for future oil demands, said the skyrocketing cost of oil earlier this year was caused by the "financial mess" in the U. S. The flailing American economy pushed the Canadian dollar higher, as well as oil prices. As oil prices fall, the Canadian dollar will, too, he said.

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/Article....aspx?e=1144920

 

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Caledon `let down` by province

Hundreds of Caledon residents cheered last night as councillors chastised provincial officials giving a presentation on growth issues.

The councillors are angry with the province for its seeming failure to help the town in its fight against a local developer.

Most of the councillors made their comments following an announcement by Caledon mayor Marolyn Morrison that Infrastructure Minister George Smitherman had refused the town`s request to hold a public inquiry into growth development across the GTA.

"After hearing the mayor tonight, we feel our parents have let us down," said Councillor Richard Paterak, clearly disappointed with Smitherman`s response. "We have been threatened with court action... This is the perfect time for the province to weigh in.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/472978

 

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Cyclists cheer progress of rail trail

Construction of the first trail to be built on an abandoned rail line in the Greater Toronto Area has finally begun, 10 years after the idea was first conceived.

Rough grading on the northern half of the highly anticipated bike trail was completed earlier this summer, and this week a crew will begin building steps to elevated sections of the path.

"I`m really thrilled that it`s finally happening. It`s been so long!" says Netami Stuart, of the group Friends of the West Toronto Railpath.

Still, she`s holding her excitement in check. That`s because the southern half of the trail is in limbo. It will remain stalled until the fate of the high-speed rail link from Union Station to Pearson airport is decided, say city officials.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/472866