Indigo & books, Ford & speed, Libs & money, Ottawa & trees
Just some recent sparkly things
Note - If you set up a SubStack account - free - you can manage which of my sections you get notified about - this Odds & Ends, Fiction, or Podcastings. Or all three.
Indigo planning to sell books - OK, they never did stop but they did lose their way for a while. According to a recent Toronto Star article, they are planning on going private and re-focusing. No longer will they aspire to be a gift-giver’s paradise, with candles and bathsalts and furniture and high-end jams, but back to being ‘just’ a bookstore. Granted, Amazon and others may be cheaper, but it can be nice to just browse the sale table, or head for a shelf with your favourite book and check out others near it, or chat with other book lovers, or sit in a comfy chair and read for a while. They will also plan more events and find more cafe partners.
As a published author - I approve.
Ontario, a rapid economy - We’re raising speed limits here to 100 kph (68 mph) in more places, including the 416 from Ottawa down to the 401. This speed will now be on a total of 36% of our highways, and is being done because it’s “a common-sense change to make life more convenient for Ontario drivers”. Is this just for votes? BC tried this in 2019, and with a 10 kph increase, they found fatal crashes increased by 20%, so you could end up with fewer voters. Note that a 10% increase in speed dosen’t come with a 10% increase in reaction times. And you may not get there faster anyway, due to weather, traffic jams, etc. Plus insurance claims rose in the trial. Supposedly BC dropped the limit back down in nearly half of the areas. Seems like a bad direction for us to take, but what do I know, I’m not a politician.
New renter plan can help/hinder credit score - In the latest budget, we learned of a gov’t plan that ensures that if you make regular rental payments, your behaviour will count toward boosting your credit score. Some critics complain that this can penalize the poor whenever they are late with a payment, but it is a voluntary program for the renter. And if you’re frequently delinquent, or just a deadbeat a landlord is stuck with, I think your credit already takes a hit.
Speaking of the budget, it seems the Liberals have finally decided to rename their carbon tax as the Canada Carbon Rebate. Surveys showed that while a large majority of Canadians do get a rebate back, and see a net gain under the plan, many did not even realize it, just seeing some gov’t payments appear quarterly in their account. Now the banks will be required to label those bucks specifically. However, I’m sure Poilievre will keep yapping ‘axe the tax’ like a little puppy, as ‘negate the rebate’ won’t work. He won’t admit that a carbon tax is recognized in many countries as an effective way to manage carbon pollution. Or admit he doesn’t have an alternate plan.
Finally, it appears this budget did nothing for the Liberals’ low standings in the polls. There seems to be pushback on the capital gains increase by those who are not in the 1% elite but still will be hit. Was this not seen by the finance minister? Does she really do this plan or is she just reassuring mature figurehead? As far as selling this to the Gen Z-ers, her smirking bobblehead presentations are a poor choice, and she comes across as OLD! They need to get people like Sean Fraser or Steven Guilbault or Melanie Joly out there.
Ottawa prefers trees to cars - As in Ottawa, the city. We’re updating zoning bylaws to get rid of minimum parking requirements for developers, allow denser housing, and save more trees. We’ll allow four-plexes as part of a federal housing deal and ban new surface parking lots downtown. Mixed neighbourhoods, with more small businesses, will also be encouraged. The new plan will need a lot of consultations, so we won’t see it for a couple of years, but it has long been needed.