Annex area renters face a very specific risk
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.
FORUM: Ford boosts sprawl, brings in meek renter protections (April 2023)
August 8th, 2023 · Comments Off on FORUM: Ford boosts sprawl, brings in meek renter protections (April 2023)
FORUM: Ford takes aim at democracy and the Greenbelt (Dec. 2022)
December 13th, 2022 · Comments Off on FORUM: Ford takes aim at democracy and the Greenbelt (Dec. 2022)
It’s power for power’s sake not about sound policy
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.
NEWS: “Renovicted” tenants left with no recourse (Oct. 2022)
October 19th, 2022 · Comments Off on NEWS: “Renovicted” tenants left with no recourse (Oct. 2022)
Woes for those who just want back in
By Fox Oliver
FORUM: Omicron demands leadership, not indecision (Jan. 2022)
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.
Tags: Annex · Columns · Opinion
FORUM: Premier Ford gets an “F” (Dec. 2021)
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.
FOCUS: Gleaner sits down with Jessica Bell (Fall 2021)
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
By Madeline Smart
FORUM: Five provincial issues to follow this fall (Aug. 2021)
September 8th, 2021 · Comments Off on FORUM: Five provincial issues to follow this fall (Aug. 2021)
Provincial election is just months away
By Jessica Bell
With the provincial election coming fast and COVID in resurgence, this fall session at Queen’s Park will be impactful. Here are five issues to follow.
Our response to the fourth wave
FORUM: Ford is no friend of affordable housing (June 2021)
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.
FORUM: Premier Ford’s land use planning agenda is a big worry (May 2021)
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.
NEWS: Tenants at risk of eviction (Apr. 2021)
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.
FORUM: Mr. Ford cuts into the future of public services (Apr. 2021)
May 12th, 2021 · Comments Off on FORUM: Mr. Ford cuts into the future of public services (Apr. 2021)
Budget bright spots come with a grain of salt
By Jessica Bell
The Ford government released its 2021-2022 Budget on March 24. The government will spend $186 billion next year, a cut of $4.8 billion from the previous year.
FORUM: Vaccines, development, judicial reform dominate Queen’s Park (Mar. 2021)
March 26th, 2021 · Comments Off on FORUM: Vaccines, development, judicial reform dominate Queen’s Park (Mar. 2021)
Massive power grab by Ford with Omnibus Bill 245
By Jessica Bell
I was sitting near MPP Sol Mamakwa in question period, when Premier Ford accused Ontario’s only Indigenous MPP of jumping the vaccination queue after he flew into a remote community to be vaccinated.
FORUM: To curb COVID-19, Ontario must protect workers (Feb. 2021)
March 5th, 2021 · Comments Off on FORUM: To curb COVID-19, Ontario must protect workers (Feb. 2021)
Ontario lags behind other jurisdictions
By Jessica Bell
I am concerned the Ford government is opening the economy too fast, setting the stage for another round of illness, preventable death, overwhelmed hospitals and lockdowns. We must make decisions based on what’s best for our public health. When we reopen, we must reopen carefully and slowly, with safety first and foremost in mind. We must make Ontario’s workplaces more safe.