People
January 5th, 2010
Just launched Monday, Toronto election news clearinghouse Toronto Election News is a splashy aggregator that aims to be the most comprehensive source of information on the titular topic. When it comes to offering information about itself, however, TEN is a bit more coy.
As Mondoville found, not only are all the posts anonymous but a WHOIS search for the domain registration reveals that its owner paid a bit extra for the privilege of being able to obscure his identity. That said, it doesn’t take much clicking (or taunting) to trace the site back to Tory strategist Brett Bell, who most recently served as “Social Media director” for Tim Hudak’s leadership campaign.
December 23rd, 2009
Spacing will present a handful of drinks, desserts, and snacks that are catered to our very own political leaders. The series will continue until the end of the year.…
December 21st, 2009
Welcome to City Hall Seasonal Recipes: Spacing will present a handful of drinks, desserts, and snacks that are catered to our very own political leaders. The series will continue until the …
December 14th, 2009
EDITOR’S NOTE: Around 10am this morning, one of Toronto’s great civic leaders passed away after a two year battle with cancer. David Pecaut was the Chair and founder of the Toronto Summit Alliance, and was a major force behind Greening Greater Toronto, DiverseCity, Emerging Leaders Network, as well as leading The Boston Consulting Group. Last week, David sent out a mass email to his friends and colleagues outlining how he views the future of Toronto. Spacing received permission to re-print his letter. You can also read the Globe and Mail obituary and Spacing editor Shawn Micallef’s piece in Eye Weekly.
Friends and Colleagues,
As many of you know, I have been battling cancer over the past while and have been focusing in recent weeks on spending time with my family. I am truly lucky to be blessed with an incredible wife and children.
As a consequence of my health issues, I have not had the chance to see many of you and express my appreciation for all the work we have done together. Nor have I had the chance to share some of my thoughts on Toronto’s future. This note gives me the opportunity to do both.
Working with you on all manner of city building activities has been one of the greatest highlights of my life.
Aside from my family, there is nothing for me more personally gratifying than working with other citizens in our community to address a civic challenge or identify an opportunity we can make happen together. I feel very lucky to have found in Toronto a place where so many others felt the same way.
When I moved to Toronto nearly 30 years ago, I am embarrassed to say that I did not really know very much about the city. It did not take long for me to become charmed by the wonderful diversity of the city’s neighbourhoods and people, the green spaces in our unique ravines and along the lake, and dozens of other surprises, both large and small.
But the most amazing thing that struck me at every turn was how many people from all walks of life in this city were passionately concerned with making it a great city. There was a wide belief that Toronto had something special to offer the world. There was deep pride in big things the city had done - like building a great transit system - and equal passion for how to get the small things right, like making our neighbourhoods truly successful.
November 30th, 2009
Lobbyists. In the lobby. Ahead of the November 4 Planning and Growth Management Committee meeting at which the Billboard By-law and Tax were debated.
Lobbying, as a profession and an industry, is an endlessly fascinating thing. Although I tend to think of lobbyists as mercenary influencers, one I know likes to joke that they’re simply “activists with better shoes” (and indeed her footwear is considerably nicer than my own).
I used to be afraid of them. Well, afraid of writing about them. Knowing that they resent the recent regulation of their industry and would just love for community activists such as myself to become subject to the same rules, I generally tried to avoid provoking them too much.
But then I finally realized that lobbyists gain their power from being able to operate quietly — the Registry, which lets anyone track their movements, is something of which they are understandably not fond. Like a good PR firm, lobbyists are most effective when they are invisible to the public, and so nothing causes them to bristle so much as being called out.
Here then is a guide to some of the more notable City Hall lobbyists shaking hands on behalf of the outdoor advertising industry these days:
November 26th, 2009
On January 9, 2009, City Councillor Karen Stintz had a business lunch with Les Abro, president and CEO of billboard company Abcon Media. They went to The Abbot, a pub on Yonge Street north of Lawrence. Stintz had a shepherd’s pie, a soda water, and a tea; Abro had a burger, a cranberry juice, and also a tea. We know this because Stintz submitted the receipt to have her meal reimbursed by the City [PDF, 3rd page]. (Two glasses of Ironstone wine were additionally ordered at $11 each, but neither was billed to Stintz’s expense account.)
Four days later, Abro submitted a permit application to build a massive new roof sign at 3442 Yonge — in Stintz’s ward, two blocks north of The Abbot. And on the Reimbursement of Business Meals form, Stintz (or her assistant) noted that the meeting was with regard to the upcoming sign bylaw (”re: Sign by-law”).
Les Abro, however, was not registered as a lobbyist, and so on May 26, I submitted a formal complaint to the Lobbyist Registrar. On June 9, the complaint was officially rejected because the meeting “did not constitute lobbying” and the “Lobbying By-law therefore would not apply.”
So when is lobbying not lobbying? When the parties involved say it isn’t.
September 29th, 2009
On Saturday the Canadian Lesbian & Gay Archives opened their permanent new home in an (appropriately old) house on Isabella between Church and Yonge Streets. After being transient for many years, the CLGA …
September 3rd, 2009
He was waiting for his snack to be seared at the fish sandwich shop on College West - much better than doughnuts.
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August 30th, 2009
CityBuilders Toronto has been looking for nominations of young individuals or groups that are actively working towards building a better Toronto. Tomorrow, August 31st, is the deadline to nominate anyone you think
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August 14th, 2009
CityBuilders Toronto is looking for nominations of young individuals or groups (approx. under 40 years old) who are actively working towards building a better Toronto. Selected referrals will be published in their upcoming …
