[zang]

yeah and Seattle still is a city that is unaffordable to most people.

That's a bit of a deflection, no? Toronto and Seattle also aren't that far off affordability-wise.

Regardless, progressive taxation gives Seattle the power to tax the big tech companies like Amazon—who are the driving up the cost of housing—more. Which in turn allows the city more funding to do things like say, affordable housing creation, rent subsidies, etc.

 

[W. K. Lis]

More playgrounds in Toronto is needed.

 

[Northern Light]

Bold proposal to make its way out of Tory's City Hall for resettling the majority of Toronto's homeless population into permanent housing.

Includes buying/renovating the hotels the City is now leasing; a lot more modular housing, other new housing, and rent subsidies for some in private-sector units.

Cost 1B. Only thing.........he doesn't want to spend any of the City's money and would like Queen's Park and Ottawa to fund it.

Proposal for sheltering Toronto’s homeless would leave Ottawa, Queen’s Park to foot $1-billion bill

City officials drafting a strategy to make permanent the sweeping changes forced on the shelter system by COVID-19

www.theglobeandmail.com

Have to say; I actually like this. While I think Tory should find a way to put forward some City $$ for this (subject to a bail-out for Covid impacts to date); it really is a bold, sensible gesture to stop going with 1/2-assed, not effective bandaids {shelters), and actually house the homeless.

 

[Jasmine18]

Lol housing homeless people in hotel rooms

 

[zang]

Lol housing homeless people in hotel rooms

Yeah, funny. Giving human beings shelter and housing. Such hilarity!

 

[Northern Light]

Lol housing homeless people in hotel rooms

Why is that funny? Presuming that you support finding proper, permanent housing to get homeless people off the streets and out of a miserable shelter system...........

Obviously, with the City as operator, they are no longer 'hotels'.

Its just a building with lockable rooms that have bathrooms.

That could be an interim form of housing, only slightly smaller than a bachelor unit today and lacking kitchen facilities.

Its also quite likely that the building would undergo renovations combining 2 rooms into 1 to create 1bdrm units, with the plumbing for the 'extra' bathroom used to create a small kitchen.

Its practical, faster and more than likely cheaper than most new-build projects.

 

[Northern Light]

A comparatively small, but interesting to me item on the Economic Development Ctte agenda for July 20 creates a new, rather unconventional BIA.

It isn't the first time, but not more than the 3rd that a BIA will be created to serve a primarily industrial area (though it does feature retail fronting Keele and Lawrence.

This map below is of the new Lawrence, Ingram, Keele BIA.

The area certainly would benefit from some streetscape work, which I assume is the primary purpose.

 

[Jasmine18]

Yeah, funny. Giving human beings shelter and housing. Such hilarity!

Well it costs a ridiculous amount based on how we spent on housing refugees so do not think it's a effective solution based on limited resoruces.

If we turn defunct hotels or motels into housing that makes sense and I would support.

But just renting out dozens of room at a holiday inn is just lol.

If you give people better housing for free then most get by providing for themselves seems a bit unfair to me.


Ofc the city councilors wont raise property taxes to do this and expect other govt to pay to avoid political blowback.

 

[Northern Light]

Well it costs a ridiculous amount based on how we spent on housing refugees so do not think it's a effective solution based on limited resoruces.

If we turn defunct hotels or motels into housing that makes sense and I would support.

But just renting out dozens of room at a holiday inn is just lol.

If you give people better housing for free then most get by providing for themselves seems a bit unfair to me.


Ofc the city councilors wont raise property taxes to do this and expect other govt to pay to avoid political blowback.

The leasing of the entire hotels, which were largely empty due to Covid comes at a much lower price than the typical room rate.

Keep in mind as well that typical costs of running a homeless shelter are in the $90-100 per day range, so not exactly cheap either.

The proposed plan here is to buy the hotels that the City has been leasing, so as to save money and allow for useful renovations.

****

As for the housing being better than what some get renting on their own................

Reality check, the City didn't lease the Royal York as a shelter.

We're talking about Days Inn/Bond Place etc.

B-List accommodation.

Good enough, but not many frills.

In the rare case where the facilities have some modest frills (a gym or a pool or such) you can be sure the City isn't operating them, and would remove any pool for sure in a renovation.

That what's left may be better than some rundown apartments in the City speaks to the need to upgrade those apartments and provide better incomes for many; not a need to find crappier housing.

The only real perk of this, if you want to call it that, is that most of these rooms do have air conditioning.

But in light of the recent heatwave I think that's a great thing.

Again, something that needs to be addressed with many older apartments.

 

[Jasmine18]

That is the point people work and due to how unaffordable real estate is in this city...people live in worse accommodation then a hotel and they get no thought by anyone.

Like I know people who pay 700 a month to share a room with someone lol

Then they are expected to pay taxes to house people in hotels for free.

Lol

 

[zang]

Well it costs a ridiculous amount based on how we spent on housing refugees so do not think it's a effective solution based on limited resoruces.

Okay, bring up an unrelated anti-immigrant trope, whydoncha?

If we turn defunct hotels or motels into housing that makes sense and I would support.

But just renting out dozens of room at a holiday inn is just lol.

Read the article before making any further statements on this, thanks.

If you give people better housing for free then most get by providing for themselves seems a bit unfair to me.

Well, it'll cost the city less to actually house people permanently than running shelters and the other associated costs of homelessness. Not to mention it then gives people safety, security, helps people with mental health issues gain stability and hold jobs, etc. Oh, and it's less of a burden on taxpayers.

But sure, if you want to look at it from the selfish position of "people get stuff for free and I don't."…

Ofc the city councilors wont raise property taxes to do this and expect other govt to pay to avoid political blowback.

Start voting for councillors who have the best interests of society as a whole instead of suburban NIMBYs who resist every opportunity to provide adequate funding for the city's established programs?

 

[zang]

That is the point people work and due to how unaffordable real estate is in this city...people live in worse accommodation then a hotel and they get no thought by anyone.

Like I know people who pay 700 a month to share a room with someone lol

Then they are expected to pay taxes to house people in hotels for free.

Lol

Please, do me a favour and name the parties you voted for in the last three provincial and federal elections.

If people rent, they don't directly pay property tax to the city. The landlord does, and businesses pay higher property taxes than individuals, per sq. foot, which gets passed on to renters. Meaning a greater tax burden. This needs to change. Property taxes should be equal across the board. We should average out the property tax so businesses and individuals pay the same amount, and have progressive payroll taxation on business size, which would bring in more revenue for the city as well as lessen the tax burden on small business. Right now, in our country, province and city, the majority of tax income comes from people as opposed to companies. Vote for someone who opposes this idea. People want smaller taxes, let the ultra rich and big companies pay them instead. Because the way we've been doing it just hasn't worked.

 

[Jasmine18]

Okay, bring up an unrelated anti-immigrant trope, whydoncha?



Read the article before making any further statements on this, thanks.



Well, it'll cost the city less to actually house people permanently than running shelters and the other associated costs of homelessness. Not to mention it then gives people safety, security, helps people with mental health issues gain stability and hold jobs, etc. Oh, and it's less of a burden on taxpayers.

But sure, if you want to look at it from the selfish position of "people get stuff for free and I don't."…


Start voting for councillors who have the best interests of society as a whole instead of suburban NIMBYs who resist every opportunity to provide adequate funding for the city's established programs?

It is not an anti immigrant trope as many immigrants I know were annoyed.

It was how unequal the system is a new person to this country gets zero help in comparison.

 

[Jasmine18]

Please, do me a favour and name the parties you voted for in the last three provincial and federal elections.

To satisfy your moronic delusions
-trump-
Faith goldy
And people party


In reality I voted ndp federally and province and Patrick brown in brampton.

 

[DSC]

That is the point people work and due to how unaffordable real estate is in this city...people live in worse accommodation then a hotel and they get no thought by anyone.

Like I know people who pay 700 a month to share a room with someone lol

Then they are expected to pay taxes to house people in hotels for free.

Lol

I assume you are among those who complain that the homeless are "too visible' and should not sit on the streets, erect tents or really 'impose themselves' on honest hard-working taxpayers. Making available temporary hotel-shelters seems like a good idea to me as the City (and Province) can then, MAYBE, work with them to find permanent housing, health care, mental health support and trying to deal with the (usually complex and multi-faceted) problems that have resulted in their homelessness in the first place. I certainly agree that ONLY providing a roof and a bed is not enough.