Welcome!

By registering with us, you'll be able to discuss, share and private message with other members of our community.

SignUp Now!

Ontario Economic Fundamentals 2008 Q2

New vehicle sales record strongest gain since 1998

Sales of new motor vehicles closed the first quarter of 2008 with their strongest gain since 1998, despite a slight decline in March.

An exceptionally strong January powered a 9.1 per cent gain in unit sales in the first quarter compared with the fourth quarter of 2007 - the strongest growth rate since mid-1998.

Statistics Canada attributes the gains to lower prices, additional rebates and incentives, such as better financing, and a one percentage point reduction in the goods-and-services tax.

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/Article....aspx?e=1032967
 
Core issues; Plan suggests expanding downtown, incorporating river

The city`s decision to embark on another foray to bolster the downtown`s ongoing renaissance is like a case of the seven-year itch.

Council is looking in earnest at a new proposed master plan to guide the downtown`s future development beyond the building blocks that have been put in place from an action plan launched seven years ago. Entitled Toward a Stronger Future, the glossy 134-page document presents a set of planning, architectural, heritage, recreation and business ideas that are meant to guide an enlarged downtown area on a concerted course to create a "bustling, diverse and beautiful destination."

http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDi...el-Allan+Marion
 
Media production is still new and exciting here`; Movie and TV industry booming in Simcoe County

Simcoe County`s `star` has been steadily rising in the television and movie industry.

Over the last 10 years, media companies have had a growing interest in Simcoe County as a filming location. Big-budget feature films, TV series, commercials and music videos have all been shot in the county, and the trend seems to be a growing.

"Media production is still new and exciting here," said Robert Brindley, Barrie`s director of economic development. "Producers feel welcome here. There is a lot of positive energy and we work closely with them to make sure things go well. And this is a young city, so calling for extras is easy. It doesn`t take long to get 50 kids out."

http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDi...uth=James+Burns
 
`Windsor is falling apart`
" ... these jobs are going boys and they ain`t coming back ... "
– Bruce Springsteen, "My Hometown"

WINDSOR–Gerry Farnham saw the pain and despair in the worker`s face as the man sat across his desk at the local union office last spring.

The worker had come to his union, CAW Local 195, and its president, Farnham, for help. He desperately needed a job after several months of layoff from the auto industry.

http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/426770
 
Scrapping of troubled reactors worrisome

Concerns over the future supply of medical radioisotopes and questions about Canada`s nuclear competence are swirling in the wake of yesterday`s decision to scrap two costly, flawed isotope reactors built and owned by Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL).

The MAPLE reactors at Chalk River are still not operating, are eight years behind schedule, and are over budget by an undisclosed amount. It is thought they have cost taxpayers as much as $200 million.

"This will be disastrous for Canada`s reputation as a builder of nuclear reactors," said former nuclear regulator Fred Boyd, publisher of the Canadian Nuclear Society`s magazine.

http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/article/426849
 
Condos crushing traffic flow downtown

Morning traffic jams are legendary around Yonge and Sheppard, where a slew of condos and townhouses have sprung up.

"It`s crazy. It can take up to 20 minutes to get to Yonge St.," said Dayna Bleeman, as she watched her possessions being loaded onto a moving truck this week. "It`s just not worth it.

"And they`re starting to build more condos. We`re getting out while we can," said Bleeman, who, with husband Jesse, has decided to resettle closer to work.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/426792
 
Buyer soaked with vendor`s final water bill

When Donna bought her home near Warden Ave. and Ellesmere Rd. last summer, she had no idea she would get stuck with the final water bill of the former owners. When the transaction closed in July, Donna`s lawyer Rachel Loizos got a standard form undertaking from the sellers. An undertaking is a promise, among other things, to pay all final utility accounts.

As of the closing date, the City of Toronto had not issued a final water bill based on the meter reading on that day. When the bill for $137.87 arrived, Loizos wrote Bang-Gu Jiang, the solicitor for the sellers, requesting payment of the bill, which was their responsibility.

http://yourhome.ca/homes/article/425505
 
Embattled resident has right to run for board

Q: I have a dispute with my condo corporation that involves a lawyer on each side. I advised the board in writing of my intention to stand for election to the board at our upcoming annual meeting. I have been advised that my candidacy will not be permitted because of the dispute. Can I be prevented from running?

http://yourhome.ca/homes/article/425240
 
Staff want `john school` for problem landlords

City staff are developing a "landlord school" for problem building owners who can`t -- or won`t -- run their operations properly.

The community services committee ordered bylaw staff to come up with an outline for the school earlier this week, and the prototype will be back before the committee and council in the coming months for approval.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/c...84-7b501babb456
 
Student housing called overcrowded, unsafe

Absentee landlords who "herd students like cattle" into overcrowded, substandard and often unsafe housing are causing a rapid deterioration in neighbourhoods surrounding the University of Windsor, says Coun. Ron Jones.

Reacting to neighbourhood concerns about unkempt properties, trash, fire hazards and declining property values, the Ward 2 councillor said university administrators and city hall officials must sit down with the residents to find solutions.

http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/sto...fc-c0efa5592d4b
 
Grow op suspects charged with endangering boys

Two suspected marijuana growers are charged with endangering the life of children after they offered money to two young boys to try and entice them to go into a townhouse after four armed men invaded it.

It was a scenario similar to sending a canary into a mine shaft to check the air quality.

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/370819
 
Board will build to ease crowding at Waterloo school

WATERLOO

New construction is planned to relieve the pressure on Lester B. Pearson Public School -- bursting with 19 portables and some 1,000 students.

But whether it`s a new school or an addition remains to be decided. Planning manager Chris Smith presented four scenarios to parents at a public meeting this week.

http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/351928
 
Lots of homes and buyers on market

From a record-breaking high last year to a slight decrease in activity this year, the real estate market seems to be back on track for a healthy year.

"There is a lot of good supply out there and there seems to be a lot of buyers, too," said John Walley, broker with Sutton Group Town and Country Realty in Stouffville. "Things aren`t selling as fast as maybe they have in the past, but again, that`s not a bad thing either. We`re (still) busy."

http://www.yorkregion.com/News/Whitchurch-...e/article/75040
 
Incineration cheaper than landfill, says business case

DURHAM -- Although it would cost more up front, incinerating Durham`s garbage is the best available long-term option, says the Region`s business case for the project. The business case, released Friday, compares energy-from-waste (EFW) to using a landfill site outside the region, somewhere in Ontario. The EFW project comes out ahead, the financial analysis by Deloitte and Touche said, because it removes the risk and uncertainty surrounding fuel costs and the shortage of landfill capacity in the province.

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/clarington/article/99123
 
Enough already on development charges

I wrote last week of how Mike Harris allegedly "gutted" the Development Charges Act, the very legislation that many municipalities have used to double, even triple, their charges over the last seven years. To refresh your memory, development charges - the fees paid by builders (and ultimately homebuyers) - every time we take out a building permit have increased an average of 75.1% since 2001 and as high as 342% in the City of Toronto.

http://www.torontosun.com/NewHomesandCondo...590806-sun.html
 
Condo market holds its own

BILD (the Building Industry and Land Development Association) recently released RealNet Canada`s first-quarter 2008 sales figures for new-construction homes in the Greater Toronto Area. The statistics for new-construction condominiums were equal to the first quarter of last year. Considering the downturn in the real estate market in the United States, BILD remains optimistic about GTA new-home sales - and I agree. There are many reasons why we can look to the future with excitement, despite the doom and gloom that often permeates the media. Our interest rates remain low, and the Bank of Canada just cut its key interest rate by half a percentage point again. Employment continues to rise in the Toronto area, as do real estate values.

http://www.torontosun.com/NewHomesandCondo...590626-sun.html
 
After the workers go

The renovation work is almost finished; you`re getting ready to move the furniture in and hang the window coverings and feel like you have a brand new home. Your dream of more living space and improved efficiencies awaits. But there`s one last thing to do before the workers have left, and that is to schedule a walk-through of the project with your renovator.

As you go through each area, make a list of any items that require attention, even small things like pieces of trim, face plates for light switches or last-minute wiring. Catching these items while the workers are still in your home will save time. Also, discuss a reasonable time frame to correct these deficiencies.

http://www.torontosun.com/ResaleHomesandCo...16/5589671.html
 
Sudbury`s housing market still strong; Bucks provincial trend

Those ever-climbing prices that Greater Sudbury home sellers are getting for their properties are going to start to cool in 2008, forecasts the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

With homes now selling for an average of $210,000 in the Nickel Capital, prices will start levelling off because the issue of affordability is going to start to come into play, said Warren Philp, the corporation`s Northern Ontario market analyst.

http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDispl...rold+Carmichael
 
Communities want mining cash; Kirkland Lake, Timmins side with Sudbury proposal

Two other mining communities have endorsed the City of Greater Sudbury`s proposal for provincial-municipal negotiations to establish a new arrangement for sharing resource revenues.

The proposal has received the support of the City of Timmins and the Town of Kirkland Lake, Greater Sudbury Mayor John Rodriguez said.

"I am pleased that we have received strong support from these two important Ontario mining municipalities," said Rodriguez, who met last week with both municipal councils.

http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1025045
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom