By Jessica Bell
Premier Ford loves to say he’s getting stuff done. But who is Ford getting stuff done for, and how does it affect the rest of us? Here’s the latest roundup from Queen’s Park.
Tags: General
By Jessica Bell
The auditor general’s office authors an annual report that does a deep dive into a select list of government agencies, departments and government-funded or -regulated institutions to see if they are working as they should. Here’s the lowdown on the office’s latest report.
Tags: General
By Jessica Bell
Justin is a graduate student studying pancreatic cancer at the University of Toronto. He’s one of thousands of students who live in our downtown neighbourhoods. When his building was bought by corporate landlord, Harrington Housing, he became a victim of neglect and harassment designed to drive him out of his rent-controlled home.
By Jessica Bell
Ontarians were outraged when the Conservatives reversed their election promise and approved development on 15 parcels of Greenbelt land owned by developers with ties to the government.
Tags: Annex · Columns · Opinion
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Tags: Annex · News · On the cover
By Jessica Bell
Refugees and asylum seekers who arrive in Canada have been forced to flee their homes for many reasons, including war, violence, and natural disasters made worse by the climate crises.
By Jessica Bell
As an MPP and parent of two children who attend TDSB schools, I am personally and politically concerned about the quality of education University-Rosedale’s 33 schools provide to our children.
By Jessica Bell
The Conservatives have just introduced some good, bad and ugly legislative changes that impact renters and how we plan and build for our future. Here’s the lowdown.
By Jessica Bell
The Conservative’s budget was released on March 23. Overall, the budget increases spending by one per cent, far below the 6.8 per cent rate of inflation. We will be seeing cuts. Here’s the lowdown.
Health care
Tags: Annex · Columns · Opinion
By Jessica Bell
The first official Toronto budget under the new strong mayor reign has revealed an unpleasant truth. This is a fantasy budget built on a house of cards. Even with a seven per cent planned property tax hike, the federal and provincial governments need to hand over $1.4 billion to the city for the budget to balance in 2023. And even if they say yes to Toronto’s official funding request, the city will still cut services.
Tags: Annex · Columns · Opinion
By Fox Oliver
By Jessica Bell
On Dec. 8, I stood with Reverend Maggie Helwig, Bishop Andrew Asbil of the Archdiocese of Toronto, and over 100 local residents to observe the installation of a cage around the Panhandler Jesus statue outside the Church of Saint Stephen-in-the-Fields on College St.
By Jessica Bell
The Ford government’s Bill 39 is a direct attack on representative democracy. The bill bulldozes local decision-making so Doug Ford can wield more power while making it easier for his developer friends to get rich paving over the Greenbelt.