Urbanism
My column in the Ottawa Citizen this week took the mayor to task for acting surprised at OC Transpo’s financial situation. Transit is a public service, not a business. It’s not meant to turn a profit. Oh, and there are other, more important things the mayor clearly doesn’
Politics
This week I’ll keep the roundup a little shorter. I’m hanging out most unwelcomingly at the Conservative Party Convention in Quebec City and writing a longer piece about that. I will endeavour to make it entertaining and perhaps even funny but fair warning, some of this stuff is
Politics
My Ottawa Citizen column this week is on 24 Sussex, our official mojo dojo casa house (obligatory Barbie movie reference, more on which below), and why Pierre Poilievre should make history, in a good way, by giving up his own taxpayer-funded mansion. Continuing with our summer series of lovely and
Gender
In my column this week I amplify Fae Johnstone’s invitation to straight and cis-gender Ottawans to march in Sunday’s parade. I add a few choice words about the “parents’ rights” crowd, including this important bit: If your child is out and you’re the only one who doesn’
Urbanism
The last thing I expected to find in a suburb of Vancouver is affordable gentle density but that’s why they say you should travel. It truly does expand your mind. As my patient reader knows too well, I was in that city recently to attend the ultimate national championships
Urbanism
I spent most of the week in Vancouver and Surrey. If anyone I personally spawned asks you why I was there, please tell them it was to support my eldest (number 23 above) who was playing for the Saskatchewan team (Go Wheaties!) at the national ultimate championships. But really, I
Urbanism
John Bauters is the mayor of Emeryville, California (pop. 12,870 as per the 2021 census). (And other interesting parenthesis: in California mayors are not directly elected but chosen by council.) Emeryville is not far from San Francisco. I’ve never been to it, but I sure want to. I
Urbanism
When the City of Ottawa sent a press release, both in French and English, to inform us that the mayor and a few councillors had gathered merrily together to mark the beginning of Construction Season I could not help myself. I guffawed. “This is satire begging to be written,” I
Urbanism
Every time a right-of-centre “sensible” politician suggests burning trash I want to scorch the garbage bag that held this putrid inanity. Like, the fuck. We don’t need to burn garbage. We need to make less of it. Why do we still have to explain this in — checks notes — 2023?
Urbanism
You know Ottawa has its ridiculous moments, but I never thought they’d go through with this … idea? [Source, because even I can’t make this shit up.] It’s clear we no longer have any fucking clue what to do to revive the desiccated corpse that is downtown Ottawa.
Urbanism
Ottawa is experiencing a housing and homelessness crisis. We’ve known that for a while. Years, even. It’s not just the people who can’t afford a home at all. It’s also the people who struggle to make ends meet even though they do have stable jobs with
Travel
Not to boast, but the other day I crushed a flex post with my car. I didn’t mean to, of course. I was in downtown Detroit on my way to the Delray neighbhourhood for a little bit of blightseeing when, attempting to make a right on Cass from Bagley,