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Ontario Economic Fundamentals 2008 Q2

Compact suburbs mandatory for transit success

Those who favour a compact, transit-reliant city inside the Greenbelt weren`t offered much hope this week. City councillors spent the day on their $4-billion transit plan yesterday, but intensification only came up as a lever to get rail for the suburbs. At the same time, the city is holding a series of public forums on intensification based on a discussion paper that will do little to spark enthusiasm for the concept.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/c...6c-dfe022221a02
 
Staff told to develop `landlord school`

City council instructed staff yesterday to develop a "landlord school" for building owners who don`t run their operations properly. The idea is similar to "john school," where men caught trying to pick up prostitutes learn about the consequences of their actions in exchange for charges not being laid against them.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/c...8c-e6b146b43512
 
Cross-border shopping declines in first quarter

The tide of shoppers heading south of the border is turning as Canadians grow accustomed to a currency at par with the U.S. dollar.

As the loonie soared over the second half of last year, Canadians exercised their new-found spending power by pouring money into U.S. retail coffers.

http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/bus...4b-5398add9e7a5
 
Ford plans summer cuts

Ford Motor Co. plans to conduct involuntary layoffs of salaried employees by August as part of a restructuring in the face of slumping sales and record-high gas prices, a spokeswoman said yesterday.

Marcey Evans said the company hasn`t yet determined how many white-collar jobs will be cut. But she said that, unlike previous rounds of layoffs in recent years, employees won`t be offered voluntary buyout packages with financial or early retirement incentives. Evans said the company wants the cuts completed by Aug. 1, which is not enough time to roll out voluntary offers and wait for employees to accept them.

http://www.thespec.com/News/Business/article/376649
 
Park and ride revs up

London commuters frustrated with parking downtown will have a new option starting next week.

The city and its transit commission have joined forces to offer a $50 monthly park-and-ride pass. Beginning June 1, Londoners will be able to park their vehicles at a municipal parking lot north of Dundas Street and take a bus downtown.

http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/200...718876-sun.html
 
Chimney scam was a clean sweep; Shoddy workmanship and intimidation tactics left Finlay MacEachern with $6,700 less in his bank account. He`s one of many seniors who have recently fallen victim to renovation scams in St. Catharines

Before Finlay MacEachern could say a word, the rogue renovator was "halfway in the house."

As MacEachern recalls, the man came to his north St. Catharines home and told him a crew was in the area and working on chimneys.

MacEachern wanted his outdoor chimney removed and told the man he could take a look. The renovator went up and brought down what he said was a loose brick.

"So I told him to take all those chimney bricks down, and he did," said the 90-year-old homeowner. For that partial removal job, the senior paid him $3,200 in cash.

The next day, the renovator advised MacEachern more work had to be done and new roof shingles installed. He added $3,500 to the bill, even though the shingles were the wrong kind, MacEachern said.

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/Article...auth=Don+Fraser
 
Coal power lesser evil: McMillan; Orillia councillor speaks out against natural gas plants

Converting coal-fired power plants to natural gas will lead to higher electricity bills and decreased competition in the energy sector, warns Orillia city councillor Maurice McMillan.

The Liberal government has set a target of 2014 to phase out the province`s coal-burning plants, which are among the largest producers of greenhouse gases in Ontario.

McMillan, a retired employee of the Orillia power company, acknowledges coal plants are major polluters.

But switching to gas to drive the turbines is not the answer, he believes.

http://www.orilliapacket.com/ArticleDispla...uth=Colin+McKim
 
Silver Swan plans sidelined; City wants report on flooding concerns prior to casting vote

A developer hoping to transform an old lakeside motel located in a flood-prone neighbourhood into luxury townhouses will have to wait until September before the plan is reconsidered at city hall.

On Wednesday night, the city`s planning advisory committee decided that any talk of rezoning to allow the Terracon Developments Inc. plan should wait until a public works report regarding flooding in the area is brought before council this summer.

"I think that could help make the ultimate answer," committee member Hugh Law said after several area residents expressed concern the project could make the flooding situation even worse.

http://www.orilliapacket.com/ArticleDispla...uth=Teviah+Moro
 
North Simcoe officials ready to embrace plan; Growth plan passed by county this week

Approval of the plan that will guide growth throughout Simcoe County over the next 25 years passed earlier this week and didn`t hold any surprises for northern municipalities.

Population and employment numbers were allocated in April and at the time, Ramara Township, Severn Township and the Township of Oro-Medonte all indicated they were satisfied numbers set out in the Simcoe County Area Growth Plan would allow them room to grow over the next two decades. With the concern surrounding numbers laid to rest, approval of the plan passed without much comment locally.

"We supported it," said Ramara Mayor Bill Duffy of himself and Deputy-Mayor Basil Clarke.

The plan is the result of months of sub-committee, stakeholder and public meetings surrounding future growth in Simcoe County that complies with provincial targets set out in the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH). All municipalities in the GGH must bring their official plans in line with the province`s growth plan by June 2009.

http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDi...Courtney+Whalen
 
Gardiner Removal Back On Table

TORONTO - A plan to dismantle a section of the Gardiner Expressway to connect a swath of Toronto with the waterfront is to be unveiled today, suggesting the focus for remaking the city`s shoreline has shifted eastward to vacant lands ripe for development.

The proposal by Waterfront Toronto calls for the partial span of the city-owned highway from Jarvis Street east to the foot of the Don Valley Parkway to be taken down, improving access to the waterfront for pedestrians, public transit and neighbourhoods on the north side of the raised Gardiner.

But it is unclear how the plan would deal with the thousands of vehicles that use the Don Valley Parkway daily to connect to the Gardiner and access the downtown core.

http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/s....html?id=550813
 
Gas prices to drive up cab fares, city says

Toronto taxi fares should rise because cab drivers are facing sharply higher gasoline prices, city officials are proposing.

Next week, the licensing and standards committee will consider a report that proposes percentage increases in the double digits:

The drop rate, charged as soon as the ride begins, would rise $1 to $4.

From then on, cabbies would get 25 cents for every 155 metres travelled, up from 25 cents for every 170 metres.

If approved, the new fares will mean riders pay an extra $1.75 for a 5-kilometre trip, or 17.5 per cent, pushing the fare to $11.75 from $10.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/433919
 
Bridge`s makeover a rare chance

It isn`t surprising that a city of ravines would also be a city of bridges. In this regard, Toronto has fared well; we have some remarkable structures. Just think of the iconic Humber River Footbridge (Montgomery Sisam Architects), the Mimico Creek Bridge (Santiago Calatrava) and the grandest of the lot, the Prince Edward Viaduct, which opened in 1918.

Of course, there are other examples that aren`t quite so special. Some are downright unpleasant, eyesores even.

http://www.thestar.com/GTA/Columnist/article/433925
 
Approved transit plan impresses ministers

Ontario Transportation Minister Jim Bradley gave Ottawa`s new transit plan a positive review yesterday and two federal and provincial cabinet ministers say they are interested in the plan, too.

This is good news for city officials because to get the ambitious, light-rail-based city-wide system going, both upper tier governments are going to have to put billions on the table over the coming decades.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/c...0f-28ada87a6791
 
19,000 accept GM offers

DETROIT - General Motors Corp said Thursday about 19,000 U.S. factory workers -- just over a quarter of its American blue-collar work force -- had taken buyout offers to leave the automaker.

GM is under increasing pressure to cut costs in the face of weak U.S. sales and high gas prices, and analysts said the struggling automaker would have to quickly move beyond sweeping hourly job cuts by slashing production, eliminating white-collar jobs and trimming other costs.

http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/bus...df-1dedf8e27765
 
Backed up sewer bills have residents crying foul

The city has flushed nearly $1 million in potential revenue down the toilet.

Now it wants unwitting homeowners to pay for its blunder.

A recent audit uncovered 378 houses that have been connected to the city`s waterworks, but haven`t paid for sewer use since at least 2000.

Letters are in the mail asking homeowners to pay for the past two years -- an average tab of $500.

"I think we`re being fair," said Joe Rinaldo, head of finance. "I don`t think asking for a two-year adjustment is unreasonable."

Councillors aren`t so sure.

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/377537
 
A Real Dustup on Strathearne Avenue

Liberty Energy wants to work with its future neighbours to control dust on one of Hamilton`s dustiest roads.

The California-based company, which plans a $160-million sludge-fired power plant on Strathearne Avenue, says it was prompted to act when United States consul general John Nay was enveloped in dust clouds during a visit last month.

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/377533
 
For a $10 fee, residents can change their watering day

WATERLOO REGION

If you don`t like your designated day for once-a-week lawn watering, you can change it.

Watering restrictions start tomorrow and continue until Sept. 30.

This year, residents can pay $10 for a one-year permit to change their watering day, which is based on their address.

"There were a number of people who found it difficult to water their lawns on Fridays and Mondays and they wanted to be in a position to change their watering days," said Marty Sawdon, the region`s licensing administrator.

http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/358297
 
Cambridge market one of Canada`s 10 best

CAMBRIDGE

As it recovers from two years of construction next door, the Cambridge Farmers` Market has won national praise.

It`s one of the top 10 farmers` markets in Canada, Best Health Magazine, a Reader`s Digest publication, says in its summer issue.

"It speaks volumes about the Cambridge farmers` market," Coun. Ben Tucci said this week at council, after the Top 10 list, with one market from each province, was read out.

http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/358340
 
Triplex moratorium lifted

KITCHENER

City hall lifted a two-year moratorium on new triplexes in the central neighbourhoods this week, opting instead for tighter regulations of the oft-maligned housing.

"We are hoping we will have a higher standard of triplex," Tina Malone-Wright, the city planner who wrote a detailed study on the triplex issue, said in an interview.

When a house is turned into a triplex, the city wants to ensure it blends with the neighbourhood`s character, Malone-Wright said.

Nearly two years ago, residents of Mount Hope-Breithaupt Park asked city council to crack down on triplexes. The residents feared for the future of their neighbourhood, saying the low rents in triplexes attracted too many loud, unsavoury tenants.

http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/358342
 
Cambridge boundary change would permit new housing

CAMBRIDGE

After 24 years, a 5.3-hectare (13-acre) piece of Cambridge may be coming home.

North Dumfries and Cambridge councils have called for redrawing the municipal boundary -- again -- near St. Andrew`s Street and Township Road 2.

"It`s a little unusual situation," said Tom LeBrun, the lawyer representing Daiseyfield Development.

The developer wants the land to be within the city limits, so it may build single-family homes along Fraserwood Court, which today is hard against the boundary.

http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/358345
 
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