Category Archives: toronto

Bike Lanes Averted

toronto, ,

TORONTO – Negotiators for the TTC union and the City of Toronto worked two hours past their self-imposed deadline yesterday to avoid a transit strike that would have seen the creation of new bike and carpool lanes.

A plan approved last month by city council called for the curb lane on Bay Street from Queen’s Quay to Yorkville to become a bike-only lane, along with curb lanes on Queen’s Quay from Lower Spadina Avenue to Yonge Street, and Dundas Street East from River Street to Broadview Avenue.

City politicians celebrated the deal, saying they can now go back to claiming that bike lanes are very expensive and take a very long time to establish. “That was really close,” one councilor said. “Just imagine. If we’d created those bike lanes, cyclists might have gotten used to them! Heck, some people might have even tried biking to work in safety for the first time and enjoyed it. It could have been habit forming.” When asked if he was trying to equate cyclists to drug users, the councilor replied, “what do you think?”

Another councilor agreed. “Drivers can rest assured that this council will not do anything to jeopardize their unquestioned supremacy on the roads,” she said.

Media Idol

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Since I haven’t blogged in almost a month, I felt it was important to make sure my first post back was a significant one. So here it goes: I need your vote. Not for Parliament, but to win Media Idol. It’s just like Canadian Idol, with a few key differences: it’s only open to people who work in the media, instead of making you line up and suffer for hours you wait in a green room with free refreshments, and the winner gets to dedicate $1000 to a charity of their choice. I’m singing for Camp Big Canoe, a boys and girls summer residential camp that I sit on the board of directors of.

Click here to vote for me. (Watching the video of me singing is optional. And try not to get distracted by my flashy competitors with their big budgets and Argos cheerleaders.)

I’ll try and get back to blogging more regularly as soon as I can, but as soon as the election dust settled I noticed a very neglected day-job (not to mention a neglected fiancée), so my days are full right now making up for lost time.

GROW Housing Toronto

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GROW Housing TorontoLast Tuesday at the St. Lawrence debate I was very excited to announce a major policy initiative called GROW Housing Toronto. The plan would see the Moss Park Armoury replaced with an inspiring development that provides not only new affordable housing (based on proven mixed-income, rent-to-own and co-operative models), but also generates power, grows food and creates jobs. Even though the proposal is in a “conceptual” stage, many experts have contributed to GROW Housing’s design and, while not all of the details have been finalized, many have. Here’s the video of the announcement.

Details and images can be found at growhousingtoronto.com, and there’s also a Facebook group. Here’s Eyeweekly’s take on the proposal, as well as the debate in general:

“It’s tempting to let cynicism sink in,” says Green candidate Chris Tindal. “Because these are just words.” Recently noting that the number of news stories regarding his hair (one) exceeded the number of news stories regarding his platform (zero), Tindal shows off something practical: GROW Housing Toronto, a design to replace Moss Park Armoury at Jarvis and Queen with affordable residences that fulfill urban environmental fantasies — including a Vertical Farm.

The conversation keeps veering away from the local, though, but Rae manages to reel it back by expressing how more people across Canada migrating to cities will be even more of a challenge than the immigration of a previous era. Tindal is pleased to hear Liberal talk of an environmental tax shift, noting there was no such discussion by Bill Graham when Tindal last did this election schtick in 2006.

But there’s a bit less Rae worship from Tindal this time around, pointing out that he’s the only candidate on the St. Lawrence Centre stage that was there for the previous federal election.

“We are hearing that people should vote Liberal to stop the scary spectre of Stephen Harper when you know this is a by-election,” snipes Tindal. “The fact is, the Conservatives have no chance of winning — the best Don Meredith can say is that he believes in miracles. You’re slipping into the politics of fear, and I think there are more options than that.

“Vote for me, and if you don’t like me, you can vote me out — in a month … or a year … or a week … or a day … or however long this current government lasts.”

Tindal also used his personal blog to refute Rae’s assertion that there aren’t Canadian military officers serving in Iraq as part of the American command, and even served up the evidence.

4 grasp for Graham’s mantle

toronto, ,

Taken from this full article in the Town Crier.

For Green Party candidate Chris Tindal, the Toronto Centre byelection comes down to choice. According to the party’s slogan, “Shift Happens”.

The 26-year-old is the youngest candidate in the riding, and he’s ready to be the first Green MP in the House of Commons.

“The need for Green voices in Parliament has only become more urgent,” he said Jan. 24 while taking in the atmosphere of a Yonge and King coffee shop. “I think what we need right now in Toronto Centre is a voice of the future, some fresh ideas, new energy and a different approach.”

Tindal, who finished fourth out of eight candidates in the 2006 election, is confident in his ability to represent his constituency in Ottawa.

This time around, the Green Party is better equipped and is garnering more support from residents willing to consider an alternative to traditional parties, he says.

“We’re better organized, have more volunteers, more funding, and we have a lot more supporters,” he said. “There is a lot of excitement around this byelection presenting a unique opportunity to send a strong message of change.”

That change is all about what people value, and right now the government is not focusing on what Canada needs, he says.

“I don’t think where our government is spending money reflects the kinds of things that people value,” Tindal said, adding family time, health, volunteerism and strong communities are top priorities. “Those are all the sorts of things that we want, and yet the actions that our governments are taking are not in aid of those things.”

Tindal emphasizes the Green Party is about more than the environment, although it remains of fundamental importance. He affirms that his party has positions on all major issues, from Afghanistan to crime prevention and health care.

Another point that Tindal says sets him apart from other candidates is his commitment to implementing a carbon tax.

He explains that a carbon tax would shift taxation from income to carbon use, thereby reducing the amount people pay in income tax and emphasizing smart energy use.

“It’s a critical tool if we want to tackle reducing greenhouse gas emissions effectively without harming the economy,” he said, “It’s the right thing for the economy and the environment, and I think both are in a crisis right now.”