Jennifer Keesmaat's Toronto

[lenaitch]

No new province would be created. Instead the Ontario Provincial Parliament would be reconstituted along federal lines, with a new upper house comprised of representatives of the super-regions (who would vote en bloc). Jurisdiction would generally be concurrent with certain issues prevailing at one or the other level. Admittedly, this is more or less exactly the German federal system, but why not go with that?

Our Westminster bicameral system has two chambers considering the same pieces of legislation. Would this proposal have each chamber only considering legislation that affects its constituents/scope of authority, with the other chamber sitting on their hands? Would there be areas of common jurisdiction? This becomes very important for money bills and other matters of confidence. Could confidence be lost in one chamber but not the other? This sounds like a recipe for chaos and gridlock. Detractors - those opposed and possibly other provinces - might argue that this is creating a defacto province.

Practices in other federal-type systems don't always transfer.

Regardless, we are in the weeds. The topic is apparently off the table

 

[Juan_Lennon416]

Good question.
I have no idea.

Being a Scarberian isn't much of a qualifier though, so it might be hard to answer that. There are many, many, many other (usually more important) characteristics of one's life that are better qualifiers for discerning whether or not a certain policy would help or hinder.

I mean, other than the same hate for the Gardiner (no, that's a lie, I hate it more) as me and a belief in building up our high streets, I'm not sure she has much for me either.
I like her because she seems to be a very rational and sensible person. Unfortunately, that's now an accomplishment as opposed to being a matter of course.

Anyone on what she's got for us?

I wonder if she would quickly stop the Scarborough Subway plan and then push for a Scarborough LRT or refurbished SRT?

 

[SunriseChampion]

I wonder if she would quickly stop the Scarborough Subway plan and then push for a Scarborough LRT or refurbished SRT?

No idea.

What I do know is that if I still lived where I grew up in Scarborough then none of this would make any difference to me. We always took the 102 to Warden and honestly, I'd just be walking or driving (there was no way of getting there by transit that made any sort of sense) to Guildwood train station if I wanted to go downtown.

 

[torontologist]

I wonder if she would quickly stop the Scarborough Subway plan and then push for a Scarborough LRT or refurbished SRT?

My suspicion is that she will support the existing subway + LRT plan. Not worth losing votes in Scarborough. She'll call the plan a great compromise and good for placemaking in Scarborough Centre, which was her official line while she was chief planner.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

My suspicion is that she will support the existing subway + LRT plan. Not worth losing votes in Scarborough. She'll call the plan a great compromise and good for placemaking in Scarborough Centre, which was her official line while she was chief planner.

Or that she will up-end it, tell all on how Tory pulled strings and manipulated the studies to produce the 1 stop + SmartTrack outcome. Kill two birds with one stone.

AoD

 

[adma]

Dude....worse.

The seat of the government of the jurisdiction we'd be seceding from is in the place that wants to secede.

Like having Ankara in Kurdistan or Madrid in the Basque Country. Geeeeeeze, that'd be messed up.

Then again, Virginia's independent cities often serve as county seats for the jurisdictions they are independent of. (As are Ontario's cities, for that matter--even if we don't draw the "independence" so emphatically as Virginians do.)

 

[adma]

Ironically located in a city that is also its own province.

And it's no accident that the strongest nodes for the far right in Vienna are basically its versions of Etobicoke North: jurisdictions filled with poor migrants and those with a bone to pick with the poor migrants in their back yard...

 

[TrickyRicky]

In my opinion the irony of Keesmaat’s entry into the mayoral race because of Ford’s City meddling is that Ford’s City meddling makes Tory’s case for being Mayor in the face of further meddling stronger.

 

[steveintoronto]

In my opinion the irony of Keesmaat’s entry into the mayoral race because of Ford’s City meddling is that Ford’s City meddling makes Tory’s case for being Mayor in the face of further meddling stronger.

Only if Ford can find a backbone. It remains to be seen.

When the going gets tough, Tory polishes his shoes...

 

[bricksandblocks]

100,000 affordable units over 10 years. That would require 10,000 additional unit completions per year. Completions average 15,000 over long term. An additional 67% completions is nonsense. Construction industry has no capacity for this. Contracts are up 20-30% this year alone. This would spiral costs out of control if it were attempted.

Even if you play around at the margins it doesn't work. If you try to convert some of the 15,000 per year to affordables:
IZ - 10-15% of completions would be 1500 a year. Which would drive up prices and rents on the other 85-90% of units.
Incentives - Even the simplest tool the city has in the toolkit to do this is unworkable. Crediting the DC's would cost the city half a billion a year.

A best case scenario would be around 2,000-3,000 affordables completed per year. 1k-2k from IZ and 1k-2k from incentives.
Just shy of Tory's 40k number over 12 years.

 

[jje1000]

Keesmaat's announcement is from here:

https://twitter.com/jen_keesmaat/status/1026833361531154433

She needs to be able to explain this 100,000 housing unit clearly (be able to explain it as development requirements/loosening development controls/TCHC private partnerships/etc).

Anything else and Kouvalis will make short work of it in the simple question of "How will we pay for it? I bet Keesmaat's going to raise taxes"


Edit: https://www.thestar.com/news/toront...to-create-100000-affordable-rental-units.html

The “core” of the ambitious plan will be unlocking more city land to give private developers incentive to build, Keesmaat said. She didn’t say how the plan would be financed, but she promised those details were forthcoming.

Her plan includes “making affordable housing the core of the mandate of CreateTO,” the newly-created agency to manage the city’s land holdings and transactions.

A campaign spokesperson, providing additional details about the plan, said there is a “significant” amount of land that could be developed if an “appropriately broad view” is taken; for example, using the space over one-storey subway stations or converting active city-owned parking lots.

A bit more reassuring, but Keesmaat still needs to be on the eternal watchout for "how will it be paid for"


Also, when do electoral websites go up?

 

[SunriseChampion]

There'd be no one to build them. You guys are having a laugh if you think I'm switching from custom residential. We don't have enough workers in this sector either and it's a lot more relaxed and easy-going with similar pay compared to multi-unit slave work.

 

[BurlOak]

Keesmaat's announcement is from here:

https://twitter.com/jen_keesmaat/status/1026833361531154433

She needs to be able to explain this 100,000 housing unit clearly (be able to explain it as development requirements/loosening development controls/TCHC private partnerships/etc).

Anything else and Kouvalis will make short work of it in the simple question of "How will we pay for it? I bet Keesmaat's going to raise taxes"


Edit: https://www.thestar.com/news/toront...to-create-100000-affordable-rental-units.html



A bit more reassuring, but Keesmaat still needs to be on the eternal watchout for "how will it be paid for"


Also, when do electoral websites go up?

How will it be paid for?
Did she say how much it would cost - that's the first question.

I'd say Faith Goldy campaign is looking more realistic than Keesmaat's.

 

[SunriseChampion]

How will it be paid for?
Did she say how much it would cost - that's the first question.

It started already! hahahahaaaa
Mate, look at the state of politics in our province today. No one gives an actual toss about what things cost! Clearly.
Well, unless it's shitty "beer", of course.

I'd say Faith Goldy campaign is looking more realistic than Keesmaat's.

If true, this would be more a sad commentary on our society than on Keesmaat. Like, really, really sad.

 

[steveintoronto]

"How will it be paid for?" The most expensive part is donated by the City: The land. She does have a case to make, but so does Tory on $Billions. Let's start with SmartTrack stations, SSE, just for a start.

K also talking of "99 year leases"...although she didn't explicitly state the term to the best of my knowledge: "leasehold" is used very effectively in Europe, and most of Vancouver's recent housing development, at least on False Creek, is entirely leasehold. Guelph has just used the mechanism too for affordable housing on land that was otherwise unsalable.

https://www.guelphtoday.com/local-n...e-shovels-in-the-ground-in-three-years-821349

Or that she will up-end it, tell all on how Tory pulled strings and manipulated the studies to produce the 1 stop + SmartTrack outcome. Kill two birds with one stone.

Indeed. And it's more than just Tory that will go down on that, other members of Council will too...