Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 16h

The "work backwards from a set number without making substantial compromises" budget model has famously worked wonders for Toronto, so let's see how this goes for them!

share.google/vgzmPh4TFCIK...

Hamilton mayor tells staff to keep 2026 tax increase below 4.25% | CBC News

Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath issued a directive to city staff Tuesday saying they must keep this year’s property tax increase at 4.25 per cent – which she called a "fairly average municipal inflation...

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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 17h

It's a very fleeting time, but as far as what a perfect day for weather looks like, I'd take a crisp autumn day in Ontario over anywhere else in this world

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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 17h

Only the spending power from senior levels of government can get us across that line. Every year we don't hit sizeable reductions is a policy choice, not an inevitability.

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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 17h

I know there's frustration with certain aspects of the regional response to homelessness with regards to encampments, but a few other things can be true: we continue to have one of the most robust municipal plans to end homelessness in Cda relative to our size. The province/feds need to step up.

Chronic homelessness is still increasing, with region’s plan to end it ‘flattening the curve’

Chronic homelessness is still increasing, with Waterloo’s Region’s plan to end it ‘flattening the curve’

www.therecord.com

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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 17h

Anyways, if the market picks up, this will be one of the top three most interesting high density spots on the ION line within 10 years (already is tbh).

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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 17h

I am pretty sure that the Bauer complex falls within the Uptown Waterloo BIA boundary, but this nexus doesn't typically fall into what we might conceive of as an Uptown Waterloo location. It's kind of in a weird middle point between the hazy boundary with Midtown KW.

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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 17h

Story: www.therecord.com/news/waterlo...

This is actually *the* most logical place in the entire city for high-rises, tbh. I would hazard a guess that the immediate 200m surrounding Allen Station has the highest density of any ION LRT station.

It’s ‘anybody’s guess’ when twin condo towers might be built, Waterloo developer says

City council has been asked to approve condo towers at 37 and 33 storeys just blocks from three towers that were approved but not built

www.therecord.com

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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 17h

Here's a good example of how the consensus around urban density in KW differs from many other medium-sized cities. At a development proposal meeting, a Waterloo councillor responded to the "high-rises aren't for families" trope with a comment that they are in no way a lesser-than form of living.

This drew a rebuke from Coun. Royce Bodaly. “There are many, many residents who live in the city of Waterloo who are raising families in high-density apartment buildings, and I don’t think that we should be suggesting that is some sort of lesser-than way of living,” he said.

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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 18h

The elbows are increasingly being lowered to half-mast

blair @blairaf.com · 20h

Looks like Canada's approach to "sovereign AI" will involve creating structural dependencies on large US tech companies

Excerpt from an article that reads: Lehane met with AI Minister Evan Solomon on Monday. Solomon told The Logic in June that his mission is to “create sovereign AI.” But “sovereignty is not solitude,” Solomon said, noting that Canada still needs technology and capital from other countries.

OpenAI is participating in similar initiatives in other advanced economies. In May, the firm launched OpenAI for Countries, a new program that localizes ChatGPT and its underlying models for a nation’s particular customs and the requirements of its public sector. It is also offering to build data centres for countries that help pay for the infrastructure.

Countries are turning to OpenAI because of its “cutting-edge technology,” which can be used to build homegrown tools and applications, and because the firm can help stimulate their domestic AI ecosystems by building or buying compute capacity, Lehane said.

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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 21h

Chain of Lakes is a metal af name

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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 1d

Phenomenal news here: one doctor in this story estimates this could put Ontario in the neighbourhood of cutting waitlists for IVF treatment in half. For anyone who's had a loved one go through this journey, you'll immediately understand how transformative this can be for people starting families.

The Globe and Mail @theglobeandmail.com · 1d

Ontario says 25 fertility clinics to get first round of funding as part of plan to reduce IVF wait lists

Province’s $250-million plan aims to ‘triple’ number of families that can access in vitro fertilization

www.theglobeandmail.com

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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 1d

If you had to sum up the moral philosophy of the MAGA/evangelical Christian nationalism cult in just one example, quoting the Beatitudes after bankrolling a genocide is probably it.

Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 1d

BREAKING

President Trump announces that Israel and Hamas have signed off on the first phase of the peace plan.

The president has ALL hostages will be released soon.

Photos release — which I will post in the thread below — show mediators celebrating.

Donald J. Trump *
@realDonaldTrump
I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan. This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace. All Parties will be treated fairly! This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!
DONALD J. TRUMP
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 1d

It is only a matter of time, to be honest, until there's a serious injury on the Iron Horse trail in Waterloo Region due to these.

David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 1d

My unpopular urbanist opinion is that big, hyperfast two-wheelers are a menace and should be banned from bike lanes/paths (with enforcement).

These things endanger everyone riding a bike or legal e-bike. Worse, they deter some from even trying.

E-bikes have evolved into e-motorcycles. Law enforcement is lagging behind.

Serious injuries are on the rise in emergency rooms around the country, as electric cycles become bigger and faster. Lawmakers and police departments are scrambling to address the problem.

www.inquirer.com

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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 1d

As @shawnmicallef.bsky.social has humorously noted in the past, it's such a silly looking word that it's hard to believe it's a real place

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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 1d

"Guelph"

Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 1d

What’s the word where you’re from that, when pronounced exactly as it looks, identifies a tourist immediately?

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Reposted by Phil

Matt Elliott @graphicmatt.com · 1d

I think Doug Ford benefits a lot from his Queen's Park opposition always tending to assume that his populist instincts are correct, and so they water down their criticism with too much nuance and hedging. He doesn't always know what voters want — sometimes it's just personal grievance.

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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 1d

I totally get looking at this from a more political realist lens, but there is a moral dimension that we lack a societal framework for finding agreement on. We want to position ourselves as global leaders in progress; what does this say about our priorities? We can only control our own actions.

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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 1d

Are you having a bad day or do you just need a Body Break with Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod

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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 1d

We can't even have Santa Claus robes for our Supreme Court anymore. Because of woke.

Mary Fernando M.D. 🇨🇦 @maryfernando.bsky.social · 3d

Actually (Canadian here) the traditional robes have been replaced. Apparently the old ceremonial robes were a tad warm.

“Supreme Court justices debuted on Monday new ceremonial black robes accented with red”

www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

Chief Justice Wagner speaks alongside his fellow
Supreme Court of Canada justices as the court opens its judicial year on Monday.

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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 2d

Yeah, getting your first house or finding the love of your life is great, but have you ever heard a coworker audibly laugh out loud at a joke you made in Teams?

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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 2d

Think of their shenanigans around 4plexes. It is ludicrous that the federal government had to negotiate this on a city by city basis. The province should have just forced this across the board. Well, that or something more ambitious, because fourplexes aren't enough minimum density in large cities.

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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 2d

A problematic aspect of this government is that with their constant bad meddling, they've delegitimized *good* unilateral policy making for cities. BC is a perfect example of how to do this right, and there are absolutely areas where the province should overrule cities when they refuse to cooperate.

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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 2d

The frustrating thing about the premier's visceral reaction here is that he could have reacted with this much zeal anytime on the housing file, by forcing reforms on intransigent municipalities. Standardized upzoning & bans on parking minimums for all the cities are all things the province can do.

Isaac Callan @isaaccallan.bsky.social · 2d

NEW: Ontario Premier Doug Ford has responded to a letter from more than 20 Ontario mayors asking to save the province’s automated speed cameras, telling them “the answer is no.” #OnPoli
globalnews.ca/news/1146790...

‘The answer is no’: Ford rejects plea from mayors to save, alter Ontario’s speed cameras | Globalnews.ca

Replying to a letter sent last week asking for changes to how speed cameras operate instead of an all-out ban, Ford repeated his claim the program is a 'cash grab.'

globalnews.ca

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Reposted by Phil

Stewart Prest @stewartprest.ca · 2d

This is dangerous rhetoric. Attempts to delegitimize opponents' right to take part in a conversation inevitably undermine respect on both sides.

It polarizes our politics, undermining trust in democracy, which depends on expressing disagreement.

www.ctvnews.ca/politics/art...

Danielle Smith meets with PM Mark Carney, calls B.C. premier ‘un-Canadian’

Prime Minister Mark Carney has committed to reaching an agreement regarding Alberta’s pitch for a proposed bitumen pipeline to the West Coast by next month, according to Premier Danielle Smith.

www.ctvnews.ca

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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 2d

This is a full out lie. There is hard data from TMU and SickKids that they reduce speeds. The fines are no more of a cash grab than property taxes or other municipal user fees are, and mainly go to recouping costs and traffic safety, unless you're suggesting property taxes cover those too.

Automated cameras cut speeding by 45 per cent in Toronto school zones, study finds

First-of-its-kind research by TMU and SickKids shows how cameras can make streets safer for children

www.torontomu.ca

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