municipalpolitics

Guest: Kenyon Wallace and Diana Zlomislic, investigative reporters

A new Star investigation has revealed that owners of some of Toronto’s cheapest homes might be paying disproportionately more in property taxes than those living in luxurious mansions. Analyzing roughly 12,000 homes sold in 2016, Star reporters found the burden of this tax inequality is shouldered by those with the least-expensive houses, while owners of some of the city’s richest homes in fancy neighbourhoods get a break. Who tallies up the bill? It is the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC), a publicly funded agency, who carries the task of valuating properties for tax purposes. While the agency says their assessment process has already been extensively reviewed by several third-party evaluators, the Star’s data analysis revealed there are many over-assessed — and overtaxed — homeowners.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This podcast episode has been edited to clarify the deadlines involved in challenging a residential property assessment. In a non-reassessment year, the deadline to submit a request for reconsideration to the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation is March 31. In a reassessment year, that deadline is 120 days after a homeowner receives their notice. While homeowners can submit a request for reconsideration every year, if they miss the submission deadline, they cannot seek an adjustment for a previous year, only the current year.

This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz, Brian Bradley and Sean Pattendon.

Brian speaks with Kim Wright. Kim is the Principal and Founder of Wright Strategies. She began her career in public affairs in 2005 and started her own firm in 2018. She has worked in politics and campaigns at the federal, provincial and municipal levels since 1990. She knows Olivia Chow very well and speaks about the challenges she and Toronto will face. She has NIMBY Tears mugs and tells us about the story behind them.

Guests: The Toronto Star All-Star Opinionator Panel, featuring columnists Emma Teitel, Shawn Micallef, Matt Elliott and guest host Edward Keenan

Now that the election is done, our panel of columnists gathers one last time to assess what the heck happened and discuss Olivia Chow’s mandate, what her winning Scarborough means, what Ontario Premier Doug Ford (and others) lost by going against her and the hard work that lies ahead.

This episode was produced by Paolo Marques and Edward Keenan.

Guests: Toronto Star columnists and guest hosts Emma Teitel and Edward Keenan

When Olivia Chow won the mayoral election Monday night, she ended 12 years of Conservative rule at city hall, bringing a message of hope, harnessing hunger for change and riding a bicycle festooned with flowers. Ed and Emma recap how she won the election, discuss Ana Bailão’s last-minute surge, discuss the performance and prospects of some of the other candidates, and try to assess the difficulty Chow faces now that she’s taking office.

This episode was produced by Paolo Marques and Edward Keenan

Guests: Toronto Star City Hall Bureau Chief David Rider, and reporters Alyshah Hasham and Ben Spurr, join guest host Edward Keenan

One week before election day, undecided Toronto voters are wrestling with the choice of who to vote for as the city’s next mayor. To help, we’ve assembled the reporters of the Toronto Star’s city hall bureau, who have been covering the campaign. Together they go over the latest poll results that show Olivia Chow with a more commanding lead than ever and tackle questions from readers on provincial relations, public space, budget issues, who gets to keep their job while they run, who gets coverage and other issues.

This episode was produced by Ed Keenan and Paulo Marques.

Guests: The Toronto Star All-Star Opinionator Panel, featuring columnists Emma Teitel, Shawn Micallef, Matt Elliott and guest host Edward Keenan

With less than two weeks to go before the election, candidates are making their closing pitches to voters and in this campaign, a surprising number of those involve claims to be the only candidate to beat Olivia Chow. Our Toronto Star All-Star Opinionator Panel talks about some of claims and assesses their credibility, including a comical trip into Mark Saunders’ website FAQ. The panel also discusses the potential for surprises, which losing candidate might still come out ahead in the long run and a range of other ballot-box issues.

This episode was produced by Ed Keenan and Sean Pattendon.

Guests: Jennifer Keesmaat, former Chief Planner of Toronto, 2018 candidate for mayor and partner with Markee Developments speaks with guest host Edward Keenan

We all know that fundraising is a key part of running a mayoral campaign, and that the rich and well connected have a leg up. But how? Former candidate and former top city planner Jennifer Keesmaat talks about her first-hand experience of trying to fund a campaign for mayor of Toronto and how she thinks grassroots candidates should try to overcome those challenges. She also dishes about her first-hand experience with the current crop of candidates, her assessment of the race so far and why she thinks it may be turning into a wire-to-wire walk to the finish line for one candidate.

Guest: Francine Kopun, senior writer

Toronto is in the process of renaming Dundas Street, but some critics think it’s not worth the cost and trouble. Three years after City Hall acted on a petition to change the name due to the actions of its namesake, Henry Dundas, some mayoral candidates are pledging to reopen the debate. Much of it hinges on the role Dundas may have played in delaying the abolition of slavery in the British Empire.

This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar.

Audio sources: BBC, CNN

Guests: Robert Benzie, Queen’s Park bureau chief, and Noor Javed, staff reporter covering the 905

The Ontario government is breaking up Peel Region to make Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon stand-alone municipalities in 2025. The move has had mixed responses but two things are clear: there will be plenty of haggling over resources like shared infrastructure and the “divorce” will change the political landscape in the province.

This episode was produced by Brian Bradley, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar.

Audio Sources: CPAC

Guest: Noor Javed, staff reporter

Peel Region is being studied for potential governance changes and Mississauga wants out. The city is the economic powerhouse of the region and feels it pays for services in Brampton and Caledon that could be repurposed to its own causes. Brampton and Caledon worry dividing shared infrastructure and services like utilities could be costly and cumbersome. Amalgamating all three municipalities is also potentially on the table.

This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar.

Audio sources: CP24, CBC, City of Mississauga and Twitter (@BonnieCrombie)

Brian interviews Gil Penalosa. Gil is the founder and chair of 8 80 Cities, a Canadian nonprofit with a mission to improve sustainable mobility, parks, and public spaces to transform urban areas into cities that are great for both 8-year-olds and 80-year olds. Gil Penalosa ran for Mayor of Toronto a few months ago came second and received 100,000 votes. This interview was recorded last week before Mayor Tory’s resignation and shows Gil’s passion for the City and urban renewal. Given an upcoming by-election, it’s fascinating to hear what Gil has to say about tearing down the Gardiner, our housing crisis, the green belt and other city issues.

Guest: David Rider is the Star's City Hall Bureau chief.

An hour after the Star’s City Hall reporters David Rider, Ben Spurr and Alyshah Hasham reported Toronto Mayor John Tory had a consensual affair with a 31-year-old staffer, the mayor confirmed the inappropriate relationship and announced his resignation. The news came as a shock for a politician who sailed to victory months ago, and comes at a crucial time for the city as it needs to pass a budget and now call a byelection to replace him. We talk with the Star’s bureau chief about how this story came together and what happens next.

This episode was produced by Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar.

Audio sources: CTV News

Guest: Ed Keenan, city columnist

A few months ago, Toronto Mayor John Tory was asking other levels of government to help cover $2 billion in budget shortfalls and yet, the mayor has now announced more money for police, transit safety and more. What changed? Not much. While the city is raising property taxes and making some cuts, there is a huge budget hole that will need to be dealt with eventually.

This episode was produced by Brian Bradley, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar.

Audio sources: Breakfast Television, CP24

My guests are two impressive young men who both ran in the last municipal elections:

📌 Evan Sambasivam who ran in Eglinton Lawrence in Toronto

📌 Brennan Bempong who ran in Ward 10 in Mississauga.

They are both in their twenties, active in the community, with progressive views focussed on affordability and jobs, housing and youth participation. These two inspire me about our future leaders.

Brian interviews Steve Lafleur. Steve is a Senior Policy Analyst at the Fraser Institute. We discuss municipal politics, zoning, city regulations and how they are causing the housing crisis not helping. Steve holds an M.A. in Political Science from Wilfrid Laurier University and a B.A. from Laurentian University where he studied Political Science and Economics. He was previously a Senior Policy Analyst with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy in Winnipeg, and is a Contributing Editor to New Geography. His past work has focused primarily on housing, transportation, local government and inter-governmental fiscal relations. His current focus is on economic competitiveness of jurisdictions in the Prairie provinces. His writing has appeared in every major national and regional Canadian newspaper and his work has been cited by many sources including the Partnership for a New American Economy and the Reason Foundation.

Guest: David Rider, City Hall Bureau Chief

Ontario has brought in new legislation to give “strong-mayor” powers to the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa. As it turns out, there are some strings attached. “Strong-mayor” powers generally are supposed to help a mayor cut through red tape and push their agenda through, but now it is clear mayoral powers will be tied to provincial priorities and it’s unknown how those will be decided. Many experts feel that while this will make the mayor stronger in council, it will make them more beholden to the province.

This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar

Audio sources: CP24 and Global News

Guest: Noor Javed, staff reporter

Controversial politicians in Brampton, Richmond Hill and Mississauga have caused several issues for the municipal governments in those communities recently. While the reasons are very different, there has been all kind of political manoeuvring, lawsuits filed and city council meetings disrupted or cancelled. One issue this exposes is the lack of mechanism to punish or remove an elected official from office, other than voting them out in the next municipal election.

This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Paulo Marques and Raju Mudhar.

Audio sources: CityNews, CTV and CAGRichmondHill.

Guest: Ben Spurr, City Hall reporter at The Star.

There’s a bike fight brewing in High Park. After some park users complained too many cyclists are speeding through the park, police kicked off ticketing blitz. Tensions and activity escalated so much that in one incident, a police car hit a cyclist. Cycling advocates feel that riders are being unfairly targeted and this has been a waste of police resources. What it definitely shows is another fight in the city where pedestrians, cyclists and drivers are once again in conflict over how public space should be shared.

This episode was produced by Alexis Green, Matthew Hearn and Raju Mudhar.

Audio sources: CTV and CP24

Guest: Robert Benzie, Queen’s Park Bureau Chief

The Ontario government is going to give enhanced powers to the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa. Described as being similar to U.S. style “strong-mayor” systems, it’s an idea that has been discussed for years as a way to quickly push the mayor’s authority and potentially expedite things like financial matters and appointments. But critics say Premier Doug Ford is once again messing with a municipal election right after it has gotten underway, just like he did in 2018 when he slashed Toronto city council from 47 to 25 seats. The “strong-mayor” plan will change this ongoing race and city governance in the future.

This episode was produced by Brian Bradley, Sean Pattendon and Raju Mudhar.

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