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Tuesday’s Headlines

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• Will peace garden fade from view? [ Toronto Star ]
• City to reap $300M from land transfer tax [ Toronto Star ]
• Ontario unveils greenhouse gas targets [ cbc ]
• Ontario offers carmakers cash to green [ Globe and Mail ]
• Toronto remains Canada’s most expensive city, survey finds [ National Post ]
• Compared to Europe, T.O. is cheap [ Toronto Sun ]
• Green plan lacks ‘real action’ [ National Post ]
• Bylaw causes headaches for ice cream truck drivers [ National Post ]
• City order burn troops [ Toronto Sun ]

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15 comments

  1. I love how the Sun article says that removing the ‘Support our Troops’ ribbons is tantamount to a ‘moral victory for the Taliban’.

  2. If it’s true that the Peace Garden is being brushed aside in the new City Hall design, I hope that Spacing readers will react with at least as much protest as when they heard that Sam’s neon sign was in danger.

  3. Stupid statements by the Sun (and other bigoted armchair warriors seeking to stir up anti-peace sentiments) are moral victories for the Taliban.

  4. Since the phrase “Support Our Troops” has unfortunately become so politically charged, then the magnetic ribbons should not be on municipal vehicles – they are such a shallow gesture anyway, like all cheap magnetic ribbons that now grace cars.

    As for the Peace Garden, I completely agree that it should remain intact and visible. Like the Sam’s signs, I could be convinced that it can be moved, however (one of the reasons why I liked Roger Marvel’s unsuccessful entry, though, was keeping the Peace Garden intact and in place).

  5. I do not see what is the big deal if fire trucks have ribbons or not. I think that the anti-war activists are misguided if they think supporting Canadian troops in Afghanistan is the same as supporting a war. I also think that the Sun is making a big fuss over nothing, but I thought the link below would be very appropriate to this situation (even though it is in an American context).

    http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/222

  6. It’s overheated jingoists like that Sun columnist who associate the “support our troops” slogan so closely with a discreditably simple-minded, pro-war position, so it’s their own damned fault that the ribbons face removal.

  7. Perhaps the greatest irony of all is when people put magnetic “support our troops” ribbons on their SUV.

  8. I hope that Spacing readers will react with at least as much protest as when they heard that Sam’s neon sign was in danger.

    And remember, even though it’s advertising, it was a COMPLETELY LEGAL FIRST PARTY SIGN!!!!!!!!!!!!

  9. “I hope that Spacing readers will react with at least as much protest as when they heard that Sam’s neon sign was in danger.”

    The Peace Garden is nice, but it does not mean nearly as much to Toronto as the Sam’s sign does. It was dedicated by glorious leaders, which is fine, but it was plopped down into the sqaure and not part of the original design. It hasn’t been a part of the city for very long (20-plus years) and is certainly not considered a landmark.

    It would be nice to keep the garden, but I don’t think its as important as Sam’s sign. I think if Spacing readers don’t react strongly to the loss of the Peace Garden its not because we’re misguided — rather, it will demonstrate the emotional connection the city’s residents have to the garden, which sadly is not very strong. The reaction to Sam’s sign was gutteral — we knew it was wrong to lose it.

  10. The Sam’s sign wasn’t around for much longer than the Peace garden, by municipal landmark standards anyway. And c’mon, “important”? I think you’re overstating the case more than a little. The importance being assigned to a sign while the loss of an actual public space is downplayed is interesting.

    The Peace Garden is an actual, physical public space that people can interact with. Perhaps the designers erred in not advertising its presence with a giant, gaudy neon sign.

  11. Miles – while i never felt that Sam’s sign deserved to be preserved , I agree with what you’re saying about the lack of a emotional ties Torontonians feel for the Peace Garden.

    But the Peace Garden needs to be preserved for very different reasons. If the Peace Garden was a reminder of the Allied losses in World War II or the Holocaust it probably wouldn’t be brushed aside. But in war hungry times like this our leaders don’t want people easily reminded of the atrocities Western society can inflict on the rest of the world.

  12. Maybe we could combine these two issues and put peace stickers on the emergency vehicles.

  13. it will demonstrate the emotional connection the city’s residents have to the garden, which sadly is not very strong

    Wow. So a bunch of faux-hipster yuppie wannabes are now the arbiters of historical preservation in Toronto just because they have a successful magazine?

  14. Thickslab > Why on earth are you accusing Spacing of being “faux-hipster yuppie wannabes”? Someone named Miles makes a comment and suddenly the entire staff of our magazine gets accused of something it never said.

    If you’re gonna make wide-sweeping insults please keep ’em to yourself as you bring down the level of debate in this blog to Perez Hilton territory.

  15. Matthew Blackett:
    Well, you guys are the guys who posted links to that Facebook petition, posted comments and posts here about saving the Sam’s sign, defended its ugliness as being completely legal, etc., yet had pretty much nothing to say about the Peace Garden. I think that’s a demonstration of the relative value you guys see in each one. Tacky neon ads are more flashy, though, so I suppose it’s natural; there’s no way a peace memorial can compete with bad retro 70s advertising.