ON Economic Fundamentals 2008-12

[joeiannuzzi]

1208ONTR
Business owners want tax relief

Ontario business owners are looking for tax and regulatory relief to help them weather the economic downturn and fortify their businesses in preparation for better days, according to a business climate survey conducted by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce.

"Business owners in Brantford and Brant County and the rest of the province are more optimistic about the growth of their businesses in the next year than they are about the economy in general, yet they still need government to join them in their efforts to maintain profitability," said Len Offless, president of the Chamber of Commerce Brantford Brant.

http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDi....aspx?e=1353157

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208ONTR
Future still bright for auto industry

Don`t get too depressed about the future of the automotive industry, leading analysts on both sides of the border agreed this week. The companies that manage to survive the economic crisis will boom again.

After the painful correction works itself out, the automakers, parts makers, suppliers and dealers left standing will generate monster profits not seen since the industry`s go-go days in the early 1960s.

http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/bus...41-315f1c3a049a

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208OTWA
2008 property assessments met with little anger

Ottawa residents accepted the 2008 property assessments with little of the anger and outrage that characterized the process in past years, a senior city manager said yesterday, a telling reaction, given that Premier Dalton McGuinty has labeled the 2008 assessments "unrealistic."

Ken Hughes, revenue manager for the City of Ottawa, attributes the muted reaction to a greater understanding of the process.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/todays-p...3607/story.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208HAMN
Homeowners have to live with higher assessments

Beach strip resident Chase Thomson was shocked when he got his property assessment in the mail this fall.

"We thought it was inflated," he said, noting that at $230,000 it seemed roughly 30 per cent more than it should have been.

Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) assessed homes across Ontario last January before the economic downturn.

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/484383

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208KWCG
BlackBerry demand expected to fatten year-end for RIM

WATERLOO

The economic chill isn`t buffeting Research In Motion Ltd., whose executives said yesterday its new products are selling as fast as RIM can get them on the shelves.

The company said yesterday its winter will be as good or better than most analysts tracking the company expected.

http://news.therecord.com/Business/article/461039

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208DOSH
Plans underway for "student village"

OSHAWA -- As a new task force ponders the future of student housing in Oshawa, plans are underway to build a unique student village just north of the Durham College/UOIT campus.

UOIT president Ron Bordessa said the university`s board of governors recently agreed to begin formal talks with Tribute Communities and Windfields Farm, the two groups behind the proposal. "I want a solution that is a win-win-win for everyone involved," Mr. Bordessa said. "That is why we`re prepared to begin these discussions."

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/oshawa/article/115883

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208TNTO
What to do with old gas station? Fill `er up with tourists

The historic "tiny castle" filling station on Lake Shore Blvd. W. has been restored to its original grandeur, and is about to begin a second life.

We began following the restoration of the only remaining Joy Oil station in 2006 after it appeared that the city, which owns the building, would allow it to crumble, despite its designation as a historic building.

http://www.thestar.com/GTA/Fixer/article/556695

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208ONTR
Economists say property tax assessment system is fair

Call them unfair. Call them inaccurate. Even the premier thinks they`re "unrealistic."

While many GTA residents are crying foul when it comes to the latest round of the Municipal Property Assessment Corp.`s assessments, economists say the current property assessment system is fair.

http://www.yourhome.ca/homes/article/556674

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208ONTR
High-speed rail links urged for Ontario

A multi-billion-dollar high-speed rail system that links cities in the Greater Golden Horseshoe is crucial to Ontario`s long-term economic success, according to a report commissioned by economic advisers to the premier.

The report also calls on the Ontario government to consider leading the way in the switch from gasoline-powered cars to plug-in hybrid vehicles. As a possible target, it proposes that 25 per cent of all vehicles on the roads be plug-in hybrids by the year 2021 – requiring a major expansion of the province`s energy infrastructure.

http://www.thestar.com/News/Ontario/article/556697

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208ONTR
Ottawa eyes fast-tracking infrastructure spending

Ottawa is considering fast-tracking the spending of $7.74 billion for Ontario infrastructure to boost the economy, says Transportation Minister John Baird.

"We have a seven-year infrastructure fund and I certainly heard the message that it`s been too slow flowing," Baird said yesterday following a two-hour Queen`s Park meeting with provincial Infrastructure Minister George Smitherman.

http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/556696

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208ONTR
PM, McGuinty pledge $4B in auto aid

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Premier Dalton McGuinty have announced a $4 billion (Cdn.) bailout for General Motors Canada and Chrysler Canada.

Following the $17.4 billion (US) rescue package announced yesterday by President George W. Bush, the two leaders this morning announced the long-awaited deal.

http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/556865

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208TNTO
Like it or not, condos will keep going up

Mere mention of the C-word – condo – is enough to strike fear and loathing into the hearts of many Torontonians. Yet we snap them up hungrily. Though the appetite might diminish in the months and years ahead, the condo is here to stay. And despite some people`s feelings, that`s a good thing.

http://www.yourhome.ca/homes/article/555599

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208LNDN
Study suggests Stratford will work as satellite campus

STRATFORD -- It would cost $36 million to establish a University of Waterloo satellite campus here, but the local economic spinoffs would eventually hit $43 million a year, a study estimates. Based on predictions of a 6,300-square-metre campus, including classrooms, a library and other facilities, the Deloitte and Touche study says the campus would cost $20 million to build, with a 200-student residence costing another $16 million.

http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/200...811821-sun.html

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208LNDN
Boom misses home building

A record-shattering year for London-construction is masking a sharp decline in home building that`s causing unemployment to soar. With construction permits worth $768 million written for the first 11 months of the year, the year-end tally is almost certain to eclipse the $772-million record set two years ago.

http://lfpress.ca/perl-bin/publish.cgi?x=a...233&s=homes

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208BTFD
Local job losses piling up

A Brantford company with deep roots in the community is closing its doors, putting more people out of work and adding to the community`s economic woes.

Ellis Specialty Packaging on Woodyatt Drive is scheduled to close Dec. 23. Its unclear how many jobs will be lost.

The company is overseen by an Ellis Packaging facility in Guelph. A phone call to that office was not returned Friday.

However, local sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the Brantford facility is closing.

http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDi....aspx?e=1355409

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208ONTR
CAW braces for `painful times` ahead

More than 30,000 CAW members are braced for the worst as they await today`s details of the Canadian portion of the $21-billion loan package put together to rescue the Detroit-based automakers.

Contract concessions and addition plant closures are probably the minimum pain that employees of General Motors, Chrysler and Ford workers can expect to feel in Canada when Prime Minister Stephen Harper announces his government`s aid to the industry, CAW president Ken Lewenza said Friday.

http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/sto...c3-9bba2df7fe72

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208KWCG
Local condo boom defies trends

WATERLOO

The condo market in Toronto may be slowing to a halt, but in Waterloo Region the boom continues -- at least for now.

The latest plan for a luxury development, 45 Degrees on King, is a 17-floor, 93-unit building slated for King and Columbia streets in Waterloo.

http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/461570

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208KWCG
Railway overpass could become costly error

It makes no sense to spend $31 million to build a railway overpass that`s not needed.

Unfortunately, this could happen in Cambridge, in the showdown over the railway tracks that cross busy Hespeler Road.

The tracks support the Cambridge Toyota factory and local industries. Good jobs depend on them.

http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/461563

 

[joeiannuzzi]

1208YVGN
Will cringe factor hurt business in Vaughan?

History and symbolism surround David Rutherford as he speaks with disgust of the controversies swirling in Vaughan.

"I`m embarrassed," says Rutherford, a 65-year-old teacher and son of Albert Rutherford, former reeve of Vaughan from 1961 to 1966, in the bucolic, pre-sprawl era of the 1960s and `70s.

"City council is dysfunctional," he says with a look of exasperation.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/556954

 

[joeiannuzzi]

ON Small Towns Update: 2008-12-21