ON Economic Fundamentals 2008-10

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1008TNTO
Property taxes could rise by 4%

Facing the added uncertainty of global economic turmoil on the eve of the annual budget-making process, Toronto Mayor David Miller yesterday said the city may be forced to hike property taxes by up to 4% next year in order to balance the books.

The Mayor outlined his priorities for 2009 in a letter to the executive committee, promising to hold operating costs steady at this year`s levels and avoid service cost increases. But he also vowed to press ahead enacting his priorities through belt-tightening and fat-trimming.

http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/s....html?id=865612

 

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1008BTFD
Grand River waterfront master plan gets green light

Grand River advocates are applauding council`s decision to push ahead with what they consider a long-overdue waterfront master plan.

City councillors decided 8-2 Monday to hire a consultant to draw up a plan to study the use and protection of lands along the Grand, even though they don`t yet know how much the job will cost or where they`ll find the money.

The decision was made after a presentation by wildlife protector Tim Sywyk, who argued a master plan is needed to identify, map and protect wildlife habitats and ecologically significant areas.

"This should have been done before I was born," he said.

http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDi....aspx?e=1235293

 

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1008WIND
Council votes to sell off marina

AMHERSTBURG - Boaters who use the town-owned marina were shocked Monday when town council extended their lease on the marina by one year, and abruptly declared the property surplus and voted to sell it.

"The marina has $950,000 in debt," Coun. John Sutton said. "We can`t have same old, same old. It can succeed in private hands, so the town should not be in the business of operating a marina."

http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/sto...29-a283745bfec5

 

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1008OTWA
Accusations of homophobia fuel Arnprior land dispute

ARNPRIOR - The town`s committee of the whole met privately last night to discuss what seems to be a minor dispute over a fire hydrant.

But the dispute has homophobic overtones and may soon wind up in court. At its centre is a gay couple and the historic house they own in this town of about 8,000.

Hostilities have been growing since Alexander Winter and his partner bought the property, known as the Gillies House, in 2005.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/c...97-e11545c2e63a

 

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1008HAMN
Metrolinx boss pitches plan as rail support grows

Mayor Fred Eisenberger expects light rail transit to boost Hamilton`s economy as well as its public transit ridership.

"There`s a significant economic uptake you don`t get with bus rapid transit," he told council`s public works committee yesterday.


http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/446405

 

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1008HAMN
Hamilton has lost 16,100 factory jobs since 2005

Hamilton has lost close to one-quarter of its manufacturing jobs since 2005 and Stephen Harper should pay for it, demanded the president of the Ontario Federation of Labour.
Wayne Samuelson was in Hamilton yesterday to urge the city`s voters to reject the Harper government a week from now. He accused Harper of ignoring the plight of Ontarians who have lost their jobs and of being out of touch with the state of the economy.
"He`s an embarrassment to working people," Samuelson said during a sparsely attended news conference at the United Steelworkers Hall.

http://www.thespec.com/Business%20News/article/446507

 

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1008KWCG
Residents pack council over lake plans

WATERLOO

Residents from the Beechwood area packed Waterloo council chambers last night, some spilling into a nearby boardroom to watch a presentation on Clair Lake.

They came in droves because they love the lake in their neighbourhood and want to keep it.

But before all those who registered to speak to council got their chance, the matter was deferred for two weeks.

http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/425529

 

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1008KWCG
Region`s building starts nosedive

WATERLOO REGION

Building activity across Waterloo Region plummeted during the month of August, Statistics Canada said yesterday.

The dollar value of building permits issued in the Kitchener census metropolitan area, which includes most of Waterloo Region, dropped by over 50 per cent, from $178 million in July to about $88 million in August.

The value of the permits was still up about 18 per cent from the $74 million worth of building permits in the same month of last year. But this region did have one of the biggest one-month drops in Ontario, along with Thunder Bay and Ottawa-Gatineau.

http://news.therecord.com/Life/article/425575

 

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1008DAJX
Petro-Canada station approved

AJAX -- A Petro-Canada gas station has been approved for the southwest corner of Taunton and Westney roads.

Council is expected on Thursday to give final approval to a recommendation made by the Community and Planning Committee last week. In addition to the gas station, there will also be a car wash and a Neighbours outlet. It`s the same as the Petro-Canada outlet at Salem and Achilles roads.

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/ajax/article/109887

 

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1008TNTO
It`s street revenge on developer

A street by any other name wouldn`t be such sweet revenge.

North York councillors peeved at being overruled by the Ontario Municipal Board – on a condo complex they didn`t want – exacted poetic justice yesterday by giving the project an address the developer won`t soon forget: OMB Folly.

That`s the name the North York community council, on a 7-2 vote, chose for the new street leading into the 36-unit complex.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/513835

 

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1008TNTO
Massive tower moving ahead at Yonge-Bloor

The architect behind an 81-storey building at Yonge and Bloor vows the current economic slowdown won`t jeopardize the project.

Architect Roy Varacalli said construction is expected to start in November and the project will take about 40 months to complete.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/513770

 

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1008LNDN
Major core developers eye long-term parking


Three of downtown London`s largest developers want to partner with the city to create more core parking.

Farhi Holdings Corp., the Tricar Group and Sifton Properties Ltd. have each expressed an interest in working with the city to develop long-term parking, Deputy Mayor Tom Gosnell said yesterday. Whether there`s enough downtown parking, and what city hall should do, isn`t a new or politically clear-cut issue.

http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/200...013791-sun.html

 

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1008TNTO
Underpass to improve access to waterfront

A new underpass connecting condo and office towers to downtown will open up next month in the shadow of the CN Tower.

It will extend Simcoe Street from Front Street under the railway tracks to Bremner Boulevard, easing access to the Rogers Centre and Toronto`s waterfront.

"The intent was to open up [the area] for the development of condos and give access to the city," said the city`s manager of structures and expressways, John Bryson.

http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/s....html?id=866634

 

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1008CATH
Stalled construction project ready to go again after new firm hired

May 2009.

That`s when a massive construction project in Thorold, stalled when the the company assigned to carry it out went bankrupt, will finally be finished.

This after council awarded the contract Tuesday night to Rankin Construction to complete the job of installing sewage overflow tanks on Delaware Avenue, Sydenham Street and Lawrence Drive.

Rankin will pick up where Hard Rock, a Port Colborne construction company, left off after filing for bankruptcy protection last April and leaving the project in limbo.

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/Article....aspx?e=1237994

 

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1008BAOR
City looks at road extension

In a growth area like Orillia, the roads less travelled might not be for long.

With that in mind, council committee asked Monday night for a more urban road for the extension of West Ridge Boulevard to Old Barrie Road.

In a report, staff recommended a rural three-lane cross section for the extension.

With Lakehead University set to build its permanent Orillia campus right around the corner, on the Horne farm, the three-lane rural plan isn`t good enough, councillors said.

http://www.orilliapacket.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1237666

 

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1008BAOR
Space crunch fuels expansion

Growth was the word of the day at Georgian College`s Barrie campus yesterday.

College officials had a list a mile long of all the growth spurts Georgian has seen, and what`s still to come.

College president Brian Tamblyn couldn`t contain his excitement announcing one major area of growth during a campus town hall meeting, yesterday.

"The common thread of all our announcements is growth and how that growth benefits our college," Tamblyn said. "Now, we estimate that we will run out of space (at the college) by 2010 and we`ll need to expand again. So, the college is pursuing approval to build a $65 million health and wellness building on our campus that would increase our enrolment by 3,000 students."

http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDi....aspx?e=1237210

 

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1008OTWA
City, neighbours at odds over apartments

OTTAWA - Community opposition to a zoning change that would allow a nine-storey building in a transforming industrial area is typical of the challenges the city faces when trying to implement its drive to densify, a city planner and the councillor for the area say.

A building at Industrial Avenue and Neighbourhood Way is being proposed by Claridge Homes, and there has been a flurry of opposition to it from people living close by, despite existing zoning that would allow a large commercial operation on the site.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/c...bf-3c1bede92d79

 

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1008OTWA
Squeezed developer presents exit options to Kanata West buyers

Some disgruntled homebuyers whose closing dates have been delayed by a development freeze in Kanata West have been given a few exit options by developer Mattamy Homes.

Homebuyers in Mattamy`s troubled Fairwinds Phase 5 community had their closing dates delayed by eight to 12 months when the Ministry of the Environment froze all development in Kanata West until a third-party review of a previous environmental assessment is completed.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/c...e2-1271702c220e

 

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1008HAMN
Metrolinx cash won`t cover 25-year plan

Metrolinx chairman Rob MacIsaac said yesterday the transportation agency can only fund seven years of its 25-year plan — but will still forge ahead.

It underscores the urgent push by city hall to get local rapid transit in the first Metrolinx budget for 2009-13, as the economy is rife with uncertainty.

http://www.thespec.com/News/BreakingNews/article/447122

 

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1008HAMN
Carmen`s planning east--Mountain hotel

Carmen`s Banquet Centre plans to open what it calls Hamilton`s first boutique hotel in the spring of 2010.
The 53-to-55-room, eight-storey building would rise at the rear of the 1,000-seat banquet centre in the East Mountain Industrial Park on Stone Church Road East at Anchor Road.
The 25-year-old centre, a popular wedding venue, has hosted fundraising events featuring former U.S. president Bill Clinton, former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, movie star Sophia Loren and former Israeli president and prime minister Shimon Peres.

http://www.thespec.com/News/Business/article/447133