Downtown may become cultural hub; One idea in new study on how to revitalize Brantford`s core
Could the downtown really go from being the worst in Canada to the cultural centre of Brantford?
Josh Bean thinks so, and the chairman of the downtown BIA says he`s not alone.
"If you look at other studies that have been done over the years and if you look at successful downtowns just about anywhere else in southwestern Ontario, culture has been a huge part of the revitalization," Bean said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "I really think this is the way to go.
The legacy lives; Wally Elmer arena, once slated to close, to get a makeover
Doug Senior grew up in Rideau Heights. He still lives there. The 39-year-old has seen the neighbourhood change, but has seen one piece that hasn`t.
This year, when Senior turns 40, so, too, will the Wally Elmer Youth Centre.
The arena plays a central role in the community, Senior said, because it`s a place for children to safely play.
It was slated to close under the business plan for the $33.6-million multiplex in the west end. Residents pushed the city to change the plan and spare the Wally Elmer from the chopping block.
The mayor of Aurora and a lawyer for residents opposed to a controversial condo-golf complex on the Oak Ridges Moraine are slamming a decision by the Ontario Municipal Board not to hold a special joint hearing with the province`s environmental review panel.
"To say that I was disappointed in the ruling would be an understatement," Mayor Phyllis Morris said yesterday, adding council is now considering its options. The council voted against the project last month but the developer appealed its decision to the OMB, which can overrule municipal rulings.
Canada, the United States and Australia provide the lowest-cost locations for business among established industrialized countries, according to a survey by KPMG, which also shows the strong loonie has eroded Canada`s long-time advantage against the U.S.
"Business costs in these three countries are virtually equivalent, with less than 1 per cent separating these countries," says the international consultancy`s study, released yesterday.
Nortel Networks` chief technology officer said yesterday that the company is shaking up its $1.7-billion global research operation to prepare for rapid market changes and to revive some ideas from the past.
John Roese said the changes, which he said will be unveiled soon, will involve the creation of new centres of excellence specializing in a few key technologies to create a multiskilled workforce that will reduce layoffs and operational disruptions.
ESSEX COUNTY - The tap has been turned on for the release of tens of millions of dollars in provincial grants for local municipal road, bridge, water and sewer projects.
Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan and Sandra Pupatello, Minister of Economic Development and Trade are making a joint announcement in Windsor today, followed by one by Duncan in Tecumseh.
OTTAWA - Auto assembly capacity in the world`s major emerging economies will surpass North America`s for the first time in 2008, a trend that shows no sign of slowing and is "particularly troubling" for the Canadian auto-parts sector, Scotiabank said Thursday in its Global Auto Report.
Scotiabank estimates that combined vehicle assembly capacity in the so-called BRIC nations -- Brazil, Russia, India and China -- will reach 20 million units this year, exceeding the 17.4 million units of capacity now in place in North America.
City rep slams growth figures; Numbers unrealistic, councillor says
Simcoe County continues to carve up the population pie, but Barrie city councillor Barry Ward says the numbers are "unrealistic," and would make this city the densest municipality outside Toronto.
In an effort to stop urban sprawl, the province`s Places to Grow document identified Barrie as one of few municipalities that could expand beyond what`s already planned.
A county subcommittee met yesterday to present aspects of a draft document about how the legislation will be implemented, through the Simcoe Area Growth Plan.
Toronto rail link derailed?; Commuter train plan on back burner as province expands GO transit buses to Peterborough
Peterborough residents will get GO Transit bus service to Oshawa, but the proposed Peterborough-Toronto commuter rail link will have to wait, the provincial and federal governments announced yesterday.
The province put the revival of a Peterborough-Toronto commuter rail link on a back burner, diverting federal funding towards projects such as GO Transit rail service to Bowmanville and bus service to Peterborough.
Instead of upgrading the rail bed to handle commuter trains, the provincial and federal governments will pay for a study on the proposed rail link.
Province to toughen rules protecting lake; Regulations would target phosphorous levels in Lake Simcoe
The sky`s not the limit for phosphorous loading levels in Lake Simcoe.
Ontario`s Environment Ministry has moved toward interim regulations to protect the lake.
A proposal would cap phosphorus loadings from existing municipal and industrial sewage treatment facilities, stop new ones that would discharge phosphorus, and require new stormwater facilities to meet the highest design standards to increase phosphorus removal.
Many homeowners in Fort Erie will have to find $118.56 more in 2008 to pay the town portion of their property taxes and to cover the increases on their water and sewer bills.
Council approved its 2008 operating budget Wednesday, passing along an 11.7 per cent increase in the amount of property tax the town needs to collect. The impact on the total tax bill, which includes the region and school board, will be 3.8 per cent. Regional Niagara`s tax increase for 2008 is 0.04 per cent, while the provincial education rate won`t increase at all.
Countries such as Canada and the United States may impose a "carbon tariff" on goods from China and other developing countries in the next few years, a move that could bring manufacturing jobs back to North America, CIBC World Markets predicts.
The investment bank`s report says the economies of China, India and other developing countries have expanded so much that they now surpass the established industrialized world in belching out carbon dioxide pollution blamed for climate change.
Launching the Vaughan Tomorrow growth management program, Mayor Linda Jackson said the city will become a major urban centre in Canada over the next 25 years.
"The program will produce a blueprint of the city`s growth," she said. "The program will be sustainable and, most importantly, it will be a made-in-Vaughan solution."
The focus of the urban vision will be the Vaughan Corporate Centre, a downtown development of business and residential space with shopping and entertainment areas that will be built in the Highway 7 and Jane Street area.
Ford Motor Co. will reopen a shuttered engine plant in Windsor, Ont., with financial help from the Ontario government, industry sources say.
Ford officials and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty are scheduled to announce in Windsor on Monday that the Essex Engine Plant will assemble a new generation of fuel-efficient V8 engines, which will restore about 300 jobs, the sources said.
A Superior Court decision released last fall emphasizes once again how dangerous it is for Ontario vendors to sign Seller Property Information Statements, and how the use of the forms serves to promote needless litigation. John and Suzanne Kaufmann are both retired medical doctors in their 80s, living in London, Ont. In early 2004, they discovered signs of water penetration and damage in two large bay windows in their living room, in the floor of the master bedroom, and in the closet of an adjacent bedroom. More damage was evident in a crawl space and small basement room below the master bedroom.
Belleville is an "island" when it comes to Ontario`s economic woes, according to Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory.
While the waves of an economic recession appear to be lapping at the rest of the province, Belleville has been fortunate to weather the financial storm, though Tory said the ripples of the economic downturn will eventually reach the city.
More cash for city coffers; Province hands out another $3.7 million for needed road work
Another day, another 3.7 million provincial dollars for Barrie.
For the second time this week, the city has received Ontario government funding for needed road projects.
On Tuesday, it was almost $2.1 million to repair roads and bridges. Yesterday, it was nearly $3.7 million for the Simcoe Street/Lakeshore Drive road reconstruction.
City Council to consider proposal by Shoppers Drug Mart to open stores across from Wal-Mart
A new Shoppers Drug Mart is planned for the north end of the city on Chemong Road, opposite the Wal-Mart driveway, according to a report that goes to planning committee on Monday.
City council will consider changing the official plan and zoning bylaws to allow the drug store to be built. The planning department endorses the proposed changes.
In a report to council, land use planner Caroline Kimble describes the process used to review the application and issues that were dealt with such as a flood plain and consideration of the use of land along the future Parkway corridor.
The final infrastructure numbers are in, and Mayor John Rowswell says they`re higher than even he had hoped for.
"When you add it all up, it really does exceed my expectations," Rowswell said Friday, after learning the provincial government will provide $5.56 million toward roads, bridges and other infrastructure such as pipes, sewers and community centres.
Friday`s announcement was for $2.95 million from the $450 million Municipal Infrastructure Initiative, or MI3, to reconstruct Shannon Road and about $1.3 million in "connecting link" money:
