That would be a sound business decision: rents are bound to be much higher in these high profile location as well as higher traffic. It makes sense to want your customers to 'turn over' faster. In cheaper rent areas with lower volumes, you can afford to have customers lounging around for hours...

Well, we are seeing the fruits of the unbalanced 'free' trade. I knew this day was coming. We cannot become a nation that exports resources, then imports value-added finished goods while the only job creation we are seeing is in the 'service' sector. The John Deere plant closing in...

Hence the quotes around downtown...........

We'd all like to think we have job security, but unless you work for the public sector (and have been there for a helluva long time), nobody's job is truly 'safe.' The company I worked at for 10 years had been in business for 53 years. It shuttered last Fall. The workers where I am now are...

Joking aside, builders may have to face that hard reality if they want to close enough units to secure their financing. Bankers operate on a debt/equity ratio. If someone cannot raise any more funds (ie, lost them in the markets), then they may only be able to close if the builder lowers the...

Whether the reality is 11% unsold or more, isn't the greater issue now (considering the state of the market and the fact nearly every economist is now talking recession) how many of those 'sold' units will actually be able to close? I don't even want to think about how much money I have lost...

"Come on! The Ontario car industry is the US companies for the most part. A small increase in expansion from non North American companies is not going to make up for a larger decline from the three majors in Detroit." SHHHH! Do not confound the debate with reality! Toyota builds a plant...

Even the U.S. economy is only NOW in danger of tipping into recession. Jobless numbers, economic growth, consumers spending - these all remained stubbornly solid until the last few months. Canada's will do the same. We often get blinded by glowing national statistics. Alberta and...

It was a foolish thing to say, for sure. It's common knowledge that the "cultural/arts" industry are very well organized at the grass roots level. Nobody can whip up a frenzy or a few hundred placards on a doorstep like they can.

Perhaps no one sent you the memo that Ontario built more automobiles than Michigan last year, making Ontario the Car Capital. We do export a lot of raw materials, but Ontario's manufacturing base (and Quebec's) are essential to Canada's long term well being. How these are managed (or...

Still, the renaissance of 'downtown' Niagara Falls, Ontario is notable. Recently I walked around the downtown and went into the casino for the first time. It was nicer than I'd expected. Not Vegas, for sure, but not the Niagara Falls of the past. The time before that I walked around...

When a woman becomes pregnant, she (and the guy who did it!) should be rounded up and shipped off to an island somewhere above the Arctic Circle ....until the kid(s) are 18, then they can be brought back. Anyone who knowingly has children is surely not of sound mind and should, therefore...

I said this before and I will repeat it: economic conservatives and social liberals make strange bedfellows. More than just the bankers are at fault here. Everyone who has demanded lower prices through Wal-Mart or bought a foreign built car are complicit here: how else did you think...

I've always voted Liberal, but I will not do so in this election. The Liberals were in power for far too long, and Keithz is right about the feds ignoring Toronto and taking our votes for granted. As to the remark about Harper selling off Canada piece by piece: wasn't it his government that...

The bad news is everywhere, I am afraid. More and more, we are discovering that what we thought were wealthy investors has turns out to be, in fact, people who were leveraged to the teeth - and using our money to buy trinkets for themselves! Case in point, Russia's richest billionaire and...

One thing about those sodium lamps is that they are a huge relief during winter blizzards. Anyone who has driven in unlit conditions during a winter storm, then come into a municipality with those orange lights will know what I am talking about. Safety is always the mantra with the Ministry...

Okay, now I wish I'd put my money under the mattress two months ago. :(

It has been proven time and time again (most notably by NYC's efforts in the '90s) that one piece of litter on a street (or one piece of 'graffiti') can lead to a cascade. Although this thread appears to have been hijacked, 'FL's rant clearly comes from a place of frustration. The...

... and Pride turns a net profit most years, without those nasty, squabbles over who cooked the books at Caribanna - with the requisite City bail outs. Festivals need to be marketed, but at the same time they need to be wary of straying too far from their intended purpose. I have been to...

Who among us who has driven bicycles on the street actually comes to a full stop at stop sign if there is no traffic? It's too bad common sense is not allowed in our traffic laws; rather, everything is 'dumbed down' to the lowest common denominator. There are plenty of side streets where...