Charie Araullo is on maternity leave from her sales job and tending to her 4-month-old at home. She`d like to see a Wal-Mart in Leslieville.
"Wal-Mart prices are affordable and it`s one-stop shopping," the 27-year-old said, explaining she now has to drive to one on Eglinton Ave. in Scarborough for baby supplies. "For people on a tight budget and families, Wal-Mart is great."
At only $169,900, the west-end Toronto house is one of the cheapest detached homes available in the city.
The catch? It has no kitchen and needs drywall and flooring. In fact, the inside is mostly gutted. And a 16-storey highrise towers two doors away.
"I guess you could say there`s a few disadvantages," says Gino Mancini, a listing broker with Sutton Group Central Realty Inc. "It needs renovations and there`s a huge monster building overshadowing the house.
The City of Gatineau voted last night to give four homeowners permanently displaced by the threat of a landslide as much as $70,000 each in compensation.
The money, if accepted, would come with certain conditions, including the loss of the homeowners` right to hold the city legally responsible.
Ford of Canada will hire up to 500 people outside of its current laid-off Windsor ranks to staff a third shift in Oakville after only 150 of those out of work in this region agreed to move.
With a rare open hire call that hasn`t been heard in years from a Big Three employer, Ford has invited any member of the public to apply for the jobs now that members of CAW Local 200 have been given first crack at the positions. The deadline for applications is May 1.
Since amalgamation, the suburbs -- particularly Flamborough, Ancaster and Glanbrook -- have seen dramatic tax hikes. Each year, the city decides how to spread out its budget by the value of the different communities. The suburbs have seen the largest jumps in property assessments -- which is controlled by the province -- so they`ve gradually picked up more of the city`s tax burden.
The Ontario government wants to bring controversial protesters doing advance work for the Haudenosaunee Development Institute into the land claim negotiations.
Aboriginal Affairs Minister Michael Bryant told Haldimand council yesterday the negotiations with Six Nations need to be reformed to include a side table to handle "related items" such as the sporadic protests by Floyd and Ruby Montour that have shut down work on developments in Brantford, Cayuga and the new Ancaster fairgrounds.
Talk of a two-year moratorium on development in the Haldimand Tract is "speculation only," said Aboriginal Affairs Minister Michael Bryant.
Senior provincial negotiator Murray Coolican presented the idea of freezing development while land claim negotiations continue to the Six Nations traditional confederacy government earlier this month. But Bryant said yesterday the suggestion is just that and should be viewed in the context of the talks.
A tight supply of "entry level" properties in Hamilton and Burlington is putting the squeeze on first-time homebuyers.
As spring house-hunting season begins, homes priced between $175,000 and $200,000 -- the average price range paid by market newcomers -- will be tougher to come by, according to a new report.
The former Canadian Blue Bird bus plant on Airport Road has a new owner who, for now, will use the property for warehouse space.
But plans call for some sort of manufacturing operation to be established at the Brant County plant.
"I`m not at liberty to say what the company is but it will definitely be a good thing for the county," Eric Rowen, manager of economic development and tourism for Brant County, said Tuesday.
"We`re thrilled with the new assessment and development, as industrial development is a priority for the county."
Rowen said the county has been working with the new owners who are "anxious to get the property revitalized."
City can critique growth plan; Committee to respond to county report
Barrie will get in its two cents worth of comment on the County of Simcoe`s new draft growth plan.
City councillors are striking an ad hoc committee to prepare a response to the plan, which is to serve as a blueprint for how development occurs until 2031.
"We are being asked to comment, and we should comment," Coun. Barry Ward said. "If we don`t say anything, it will be seen as agreement." Time is tight, however, because the county wants a response by early May.
Ward will be joined by couns. John Brassard and Jeff Lehman and city staff, chosen by CAO Jon Babulic.
Ward said the city should respond to anything in the 153-page report (including appendices) which refers to Barrie, pro or con.
UXBRIDGE -- A new retail complex is destined for Uxbridge`s downtown. Uxbridge Heights will be constructed across from Banff Road on Toronto Street South, and will contain a restaurant, gas station, bank, convenience store, and a `TSC` store, those at an April 21 general purpose committee meeting heard. TSC is a rural-geared general store/home supply chain.
Arrests in two large-scale mortgage scams this week highlight the necessity for diligence when it comes to protecting your personal information, says a Durham fraud investigator.
"A determined criminal will get your information," Detective John Van Seters said.
Det. Van Seters conducted two investigations that resulted in numerous charges. In one case, a Whitby woman is accused of stealing another person`s identity to obtain a mortgage, while three Toronto residents are accused of impersonating an Oshawa resident and obtaining a second mortgage on her home.
PICKERING -- Pickering resident David Steele doesn`t support the 2008 capital budget.
Mr. Steele attended Monday`s Pickering council meeting where the capital ($18.7 million) and operating ($66.4 million) budgets were passed. Property taxes will increase by 5.9 per cent in 2008, meaning an additional $59.29 on a $280,000 home. Mr. Steele, also critical of the operating budget, said the capital budget process was not sustainable, noting the cost of deferred capital projects from the 2008 budget carried into 2009 is $28.4 million. He noted debt financing in 2008 is $8.2 million, and is projected at $6.6 million next year.
Waterloo Region companies did $47B in sales in 2006
WATERLOO REGION
Companies in Waterloo Region reported $47 billion in sales in 2006, according to a study released yesterday by Canada`s Technology Triangle.
The study shows automotive and transportation equipment makers with $6.7 billion, or 14 per cent, of total revenues reported by 28,688 companies in 2006.
That was followed by building materials and supplies, with $2.8 billion, and education, with $2.4 billion. Other sectors, generating $1.2 to $1.8 billion in sales, included insurance, equipment supplies, food manufacturing, fabricated metals, specialty trade contractors, machinery manufacturing, technical services, electronic products and real estate.
Strike forces GM to cut shift at Oshawa sedan plant
As the strike at American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. lingers into its eighth week, workers on the picket line and even the president of the United Auto Workers say the longer they`re out, the better the settlement they will expect.
Mayor Hazel McCallion says Mississauga`s new 1% levy will produce merely a "drop in the bucket" of the money needed to fix ageing city infrastructure — and councillors warned residents other tough measures are coming.
"We`re going to have to start looking at service cuts [in the next budget]," said Councillor Carolyn Parrish. She said the 1% approved by council yesterday was "too little" to deal with a projected infrastructure deficit, but she supported it as a bare minimum.
After seven years of quiet toil and noisy skepticism, the agency created to revitalize the city`s waterfront has something to show for its efforts. Yesterday Waterfront Toronto unveiled the team selected to build the first housing project. Urban Capital Property Group of Toronto and Redquartz Development of Dublin were chosen from 18 submissions received from here and around the world.
A group of Manotick residents is overjoyed after city council approved hooking up the community`s neighbourhoods to the municipal sewage system.
After a heated debate, council approved a $27-million plan to serve an area where septic systems are failing, over the objections of residents with functioning septic systems and councillors who feel the project will encourage urban sprawl.
Council voted yesterday not to participate in preliminary studies for a proposed freeway between Orléans and Rockland. During the last provincial election, the Ontario Liberals announced $40 million for the project and said it would go ahead if the federal government would contribute $40 million (which it did), the city $15 million and Prescott-Russell County $9 million.
