I've heard of this being a problem in EPS/RCMP as well. A culture of incompetence doesn't retain talented employees, which in turn perpetuates the culture of incompetence. So bad cops stay, which makes good cops look elsewhere.

Surely raising the breakeven profit point of home flipping could never result in higher prices when the home is re-listed. Affordability is important, and self-regulated prices on inelastic goods works every time.

From the City of Edmonton: City of Edmonton making progress on a home for everyone From January 1 to August 31, housing starts are up 48 percent and the number of dwelling units with approved building permits is up 65 percent over the same eight-month period in 2023. The number of units with...

I think that there's a connotation (particularly among young people) of trades not being "prestigious" in the way that white-collar work is, as well as a percieved lack of career advancement. Per CBC, "He said these "underappreciated" careers are not just critical to our economy — they impact...

There's a major shortage of trades workers across industries IMO. Doesn't help that the GoC promotes immigration to skilled labourers abroad, then when they arrive here they're not allowed to work in their field of expertise because of a lack of foreign credential recognition (FQR). Here's...

From Better Dwelling: Canadian Real Estate Flippers Are Still Near Record Levels Canadian real estate may have slowed for the average person, but not for flippers. The share of homes purchased and sold in less than 12 months remained largely unchanged in Q2 2024. In fact, the share of sellers...

From Better Dwelling: Canadian Temporary Resident Growth Falls 48%, Long “Overdue”: BMO Canada’s policymakers went from explaining that millions of temporary residents are needed, to cheering on the reversal of their policies over a few short months. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) data shows the...

Here's hoping they go after separate HVAC systems for secondary suites next.

I imagine controversial decisions would also be political suicide this close to the municipal election, so council might be sticking to safe calls which bolster their reputations.

This has been running since the end of August, very interested to see how good the uptake is. Given the sudden explosion in infill development I doubt the fund will last anywhere close to their 2026 cutoff date.

400 seems like a small sample size but still, that's higher voter confidence than I would have expected for a major municipality in Alberta.

What a weird thing to say. Population increases due to immigration can contribute to shortages, but people who are informed about the economy would mention the construction industry being unable to hire new staff, a shortage of skilled trades, migration out of smaller communities due to lacking...

Absolutely, economic issues are top of mind for many Canadians. It's still possible that immigration will be scapegoated as the "cause" of thinly spread housing and employment in upcoming election platforms.

From Better Dwelling: US Border Stopped 1,200 Terror Suspects From Canada, Urges Tighter Immigration Canada has long defended its generous immigration policy, but has recently reversed course. Many assume this is temporary pandering that will soon loosen, but the odds are slanted towards...

From Taproot: Echoing discussions from this forum. I'm not sure how well-founded the argument is, as typically vagrancy happens in retail areas and not in suburbs. I would certainly be concerned if I were a business owner with assets in the industrial area though.

Bizarre approach to say "They're deflecting by picking on someone else!" by deflecting and picking on someone else. Granville Street is a challenging area for the municipal and provincial governments to manage, but saying it's worse elsewhere doesn't make our local issues any less important.

From the City of Edmonton: Get down to business, faster. City of Edmonton’s new streamlined process helps new businesses open sooner September 18, 2024 Opening a business isn’t easy, but getting a business licence should be. With the City’s newly streamlined process, getting a business...

Some charts at a provincial level:

Could be latent frustrations from the expensive and unimportant snap election.

Yes, which means you would need to build another air duct system that's completely detached. Both furnaces would also still need the same fire protection as one multi-zone furnace system. Baseboard heating with forced air is absolutely cheaper to install, but it also racks up massive utility...