Thoughts on BC Politics and More

It’s official. Toronto’s most iconic public square — the beating heart of the city’s downtown — has been renamed Sankofa Square. The name comes from Ghana, and means "reflection on the past," but what past are we reflecting on? ... ... following a two-year consultation process led by a city advisory committee stacked with activists and bureaucrats, the square's new name was revealed. To people's surprise, it had no connection to Canada, no resonance with most Canadians, and no relevance to the square itself. A subsequent poll of Torontonians revealed overwhelming disapproval — 71% saying they did not want this change ... CLICK HERE for the full story

  The new electoral map in the swathe of ridings running from Durham Region around the City of Toronto and out around to Niagara Falls is a mixed bag for both the Liberals and the Conservatives. Both parties come out ahead in some ridings and further behind in others. At the margins, the map in this part of Ontario might seem slightly better for the Liberals than the Conservatives. But the biggest changes are to the net benefit of Pierre Poilievre’s party — and that’s over and above the significant shift we’ve seen in the polls toward the Conservatives, both in Ontario and across the country as a whole. This is the latest analysis in my series on the federal riding redistribution, finally completing its cross-country tour of the new electoral map ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Much has been said and written about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s predictably disastrous trip to India for the G20 Summit (including by yours truly; I hope you have read the article ‘PM Trudeau’s India Disaster 2.0). This issue is important enough to keep bouncing around in the public sphere for some time. I will be putting out a podcast episode to sum up my reaction to the responses that I received on Twitter / X to my article. In the meantime, there are other developments that also merit our attention.  Today, I wish to focus on some of these developments at the municipal level. Before I get to the specific instances, it bears noting that our political system has morphed into something where the credentials required for electoral success are mostly related to activism, rather than any demonstrated ability in the areas of policy making or administration. Nowhere is this phenomenon more visible than in municipal politics. I consider this to be a ‘foundation crack’ in the edifice...

  Toronto mayor Olivia Chow is pressing forward with a plan to rename Dundas Street due to the name not representing the “contemporary values of the city.” This plan is estimated to cost taxpayers a minimum of $8.6 million despite the city facing down a major fiscal disaster.   On this special episode of Ratio’d, Harrison hits the streets of Toronto to ask residents if they think renaming a street named after a 1790’s abolitionist who spent his life working toward ending slavery is a good use of taxpayer funds while addicts line the streets, tent cities are becoming a permanent fixture in the street and while Torontonians get hit with more taxes.   Tune in to the latest episode of Ratio’d with Harrison Faulkner !