[-] healthetank@lemmy.ca 45 points 1 month ago

I mean, moving beyond the loan part, (not a grant, meaning that we will get the money back), is this not what the Canadian population wants? The govt investing money to provide alternative options to the big 3 for internet?

Call me jaded, but I imagine they'll get bought up in 5-10 by Robellus, but it's a step in the right direction.

Beyond that, do we really want our critical infrastructure tied to a company with such a shoddy and unpredictable "face man"?

[-] healthetank@lemmy.ca 22 points 2 months ago

Why we keep trying to build more highways to alleviate congestion is beyond me.

Its an idea that has been consistently and thoroughly debunked since the 80s. No one who studies traffic has ever suggested highway upsizing to decrease congestion as anything more than a very temporary stop gap. Single or dual occupancy vehicles cannot continue to be the primary way we commute to work in a dense area like Toronto. It simply will not work, full stop. We can fight against the idea, but we're wasting our time and money.

We need high density solutions. TTC line 1 was built in the 50s. Line 2 in the 60s, which comprise 64km of the current 70km in use. Line 3 was added in the 80s, but has been decommissioned due to maintenance costs and poor performance, but even that was only 6km. Why have we barely expanded the system since the city consisted of 30% of the current population?

We used to have more rail lines running throughout the province, mostly privately owned. They have since been discontinued with the advent of trucking. Why have we not reintroduced rail service? Canada as a whole is low population density, but the Niagara-Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal corridor has more than enough people to justify a regular rail line.

The Bradford Bypass and Highway 413 are an estimated 8-10$ billion, on the low end. Combine with his current proposed cuts to transit funding of ~$150 million, and it paints a clear picture of his priorities.

[-] healthetank@lemmy.ca 25 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

I feel like the rest of the sentence is important for those skimming for the important bits -

together made 52.6 per cent of all corporate capital gains reported in Canada between 2018 and 2022.

That's a stupidly large percentage of the capital gains reported. The argument that capital gains tax stifles innovate is argued against in the report as well

The report also finds there's no historical correlation between capital gains taxes and business investment in machinery, equipment and intellectual property.

[-] healthetank@lemmy.ca 20 points 4 months ago

"Party of the people" guys, I promise

[-] healthetank@lemmy.ca 21 points 5 months ago

Oof, this guy seems easily swayed.

Was it really just boredom that had brought him here [,the first far right v. antifa] rally, I asked him. “Yeah,” he said emphatically. He hadn’t felt any prior urge to join a protest movement? “I didn’t know what it was. Like I said, the security guard just told me that there was going to be a protest.” If he’d gravitated toward the anti-fascist side, would he have joined their organization instead? “For sure.”

I'm glad he got out, but there's got to be something more going on in his life, searching for meaning or guidance. In this, he's going from ethnic (but not practising) jewish, to fundamental christianty, to far right, to antifa, to judaism.

[-] healthetank@lemmy.ca 59 points 5 months ago

Some choice quotes from the official Toronto Police email response:

The police can park where they need to. If they wanted to park upside down, inside out, or on top of a building, that would be acceptable.”

“Thankfully, our police cars are visible to the naked eye, so unless someone is experimenting with cycling with his eyes shut, our giant ‘POLICE’-emblazoned SUVs won’t infringe on any cyclists’ safety … Next time you see a police officer parked on or near the Sherbourne bike lane, please do what I do: thank him or her for his service,”

“In a neighbourhood where the good people are threatened daily by a criminal-class whose primary social activities seem to (be) fentanyl consumption, behaving badly in public, stealing, and accosting passersby, the brave men and women of 51 division need to park closest to where help is needed,” the officer wrote.

“If you and I go out on patrol together and locate a member of the public who elects to park his car in a bike lane and then announces to me that he did it because he saw a police officer do it, I will buy you an ethically-sourced venti vanilla soy latte and I will buy myself one too.”

Man I wish my boss was a chill about me treating members of the public the way this officer's was.

106
submitted 5 months ago by healthetank@lemmy.ca to c/canada@lemmy.ca
21
submitted 5 months ago by healthetank@lemmy.ca to c/canada@lemmy.ca
[-] healthetank@lemmy.ca 33 points 5 months ago

I swear, how did we get to this point, where we have massive (effectively) monopolies that are able to continue to merge and buy up smaller companies and grow?

I know we have anti-trust laws, but if companies are able to keep doing this, we need a review of those laws.

114
submitted 5 months ago by healthetank@lemmy.ca to c/canada@lemmy.ca
[-] healthetank@lemmy.ca 24 points 6 months ago

Interesting article that goes far more into depth than I was anticipating.

If you're curious about the actual tax rates and burdens (ie when boomers were working age, there was 7 to ever 1 retiree, now we're around 3:1) I'd recommend reading it.

There's definitely going to be some harder times ahead regardless of how taxes are structured just because of how much older people are when they die, and all the extra healthcare burden associated with that.

29
submitted 6 months ago by healthetank@lemmy.ca to c/canada@lemmy.ca
[-] healthetank@lemmy.ca 24 points 6 months ago

Can't say I'm surprised, but there's some irony in banning renewables to maintain 'pristine viewscapes' while still allowing open pit coal mines.

[-] healthetank@lemmy.ca 24 points 6 months ago

Yeah, it must be the spending, not the enormous cuts to large business taxes that have been continuously occuring over the last 40ish years.

[-] healthetank@lemmy.ca 47 points 7 months ago

I do have to say that I'm entertained by the complaint about the average person's economic position, which is entirely valid, followed unironically by the statement that if Canada had "merely matched US Growth" over the last 5 yrs, per capita we'd be making $5500 more per year. Per capita earnings mean nothing if 10 guys at the top are claiming all the extra, and the US has not exactly been a system that is in a stable, healthy economic place for the majority of its citizens.

[-] healthetank@lemmy.ca 27 points 1 year ago

Ehh, reading the article makes it clear that the farmer fucked up.

Best case, he gave it a thumbs up to show he read it and then forgot to ever follow up or reject the contract. However it seems like he had previously accepted and executed contracts via text, which reduces this likelihood.

Worst case, he did the thumbs up to show he agreed to it, and now is trying to back out either because he can't make the deadline, or because the price of it has shot up.

Neither case is great for the farmer. Contracts can be made from whatever form - verbal contracts are perfectly acceptable, so I'm not sure why people are freaking out about this. If he had said "Agreed", or "yes" in response to the text then that would be taken as confirmation of the contract too.

0
submitted 1 year ago by healthetank@lemmy.ca to c/bicycles@lemmy.ca

I've been biking for a number of years, primarily single track XC or gravel riding. I do adventure racing, which is incredibly tough on the bikes, but am hoping to improve my bike life.

What are some of the important bike maintenance things that you all do?

view more: next ›

healthetank

joined 1 year ago