May 24th, 2022 · Comments Off on FOCUS: Where do our candidates stand? (Provincial Election 2022)
Gleaner asks University-Rosedale hopefuls six key questions
When there is an election at the provincial or federal level, the Gleaner asks candidates questions about their policy positions on issues of the day. As the June election is almost upon us, their answers may help you decide how to cast your vote on June 2. (Note: the answers are in alphabetical order by candidate’s surname).Read more
May 24th, 2022 · Comments Off on NEWS: Candidates clash over climate platforms (Provincial Election 2022)
PC candidate a no show, parties unite in opposition to Ford
By Carly Penrose
Only three of the University-Rosedale candidates running in the Ontario election this spring were present for the University-Rosedale All Candidates Provinical Election Debate held Tuesday, May 10. Read more
April 11th, 2022 · Comments Off on FORUM: Celebrating our local leaders (Spring 2022)
MPP Jessica Bell pays homage to community contributors
By Jessica Bell
Our Community Recognition Awards recognize the people who help make University-Rosedale a wonderful place to live. Here’s some of our recent award recipients.
March 14th, 2022 · Comments Off on FORUM: Ford’s antics fill Pink Palace (Winter 2022)
MPPs return to Queen’s Park in final controversial legislative session
By Jessica Bell
Canadian-content rules lowered for Ontario Line
Premier Ford is allowing companies who would like to build vehicles for the Ontario Line to cut their Canadian-manufactured content from 25 per cent to 10 per cent. Read more
February 4th, 2022 · Comments Off on FORUM: Omicron demands leadership, not indecision (Jan. 2022)
Ontario suffers while Ford dithers
By Jessica Bell
As the Omicron wave overwhelms Ontario, University-Rosedale residents are facing big challenges. Parents are wracked with the decision over whether to send their children to school. Hospitals are near capacity. You can’t get a PCR test. Surgeries are being canceled. Demand at food banks is at record levels, driven by rising poverty, job loss and inflation. The science is rapidly evolving, people are exhausted, and there is no public consensus on how to proceed. Read more
December 17th, 2021 · Comments Off on FORUM: Premier Ford gets an “F” (Dec. 2021)
Auditor general’s report shows Ford is failing the environment
By Jessica Bell
On November 24, the auditor general released her annual report on the environment. It reads as a dry and horrifying account of Premier Doug Ford’s assault on our natural environment, health and future. Here are the lowlights. Read more
November 11th, 2021 · Comments Off on FORUM: A wasted election, now Mr. Trudeau please deliver (Fall 2021)
Many promises are now on the books that must be fulfilled
By Jessica Bell
Canada’s 44th election is over. The election cost $660 million, and delivered the same results as before, give or take a few seats. The Liberals got the minority they deserved. Read more
November 11th, 2021 · Comments Off on FOCUS: Gleaner sits down with Jessica Bell (Fall 2021)
With less than a year before the provincial election our MPP reflects
MPP Jessica Bell has had an eventful first term serving her riding of University-Rosedale with the pandemic likely affecting at least half of her four years. Over a year into COVID-19 and less than one year left before the next election, Bell reflects on her term thus far and what’s to come. MADELINE SMART/GLEANER NEWS
July 15th, 2021 · Comments Off on FORUM: Ford is no friend of affordable housing (June 2021)
Bill 108 cements opposition to inclusionary zoning
By Jessica Bell
Housing affordability crisis requires action
Housing prices are now so high that the National Bank of Canada calculates that only the top five percent of income earning households can afford to buy an average Canadian home. Housing affordability is one of the defining issues of our era, and it threatens the very soul of Toronto. Read more
June 15th, 2021 · Comments Off on FORUM: Premier Ford’s land use planning agenda is a big worry (May 2021)
The good, the bad, and the ugly of a government run amok on planning policy
By Jessica Bell
Since becoming premier, the Doug Ford government has rewritten many of the laws and regulations that decide how we build and what we build. These developer-friendly changes help Doug Ford’s donor base reap record profits, but their impact on people, the environment, democracy and our affordable housing goals is mixed. And I’m being nice here. Read more
May 12th, 2021 · Comments Off on NEWS: Tenants at risk of eviction (Apr. 2021)
Critics see government’s “protections” as toothless
By Nicole Stoffman
Seven percent of Ontario tenants, or 98,000 families, can’t pay their full rent because of pandemic-related job loss. They are accumulating rent arrears that many will never be able to repay, according to the Federation of Rental Providers of Ontario (FRPO). In the Annex alone, 16 eviction applications have been made since November. Read more