City news

Three pieces of Toronto-related news today.

The first: according to the Globe, Toronto city council was unable to complete a photo shoot yesterday. The city's protocol office had provided a seating plan for the shoot, which put Mayor David Miller's executive committee in the front row. But several of the more right-wing Toronto councillors had gotten there early to snag front-row seats, and refused to move. After some bickering, the mayor cancelled the shoot.

The same article mentioned that the city is going to attempt to overturn an Ontario Municipal Board decision that allows developers to build 14 to 19-story towers in a Queen Street West neighbourhood known for its art galleries and studios. The Board's actions have long been controversial: for instance, if the city turns down an application for a new block of condos, the builder can appeal to the Board, which is widely considered to be pro-development. Developers can afford more expensive legal counsel at Board hearings than citizen's groups can, which may tend to sway decisions in favour of builders. In effect, the city of Toronto has no control over its planning process. This likely means that we will see more and more condos in the city.

And one other bit of news, this time good: Susan Lawrence, a Toronto homeowner, is not going to become the victim of mortgage fraud. Someone pretending to be Ms. Lawrence sold the home to another impostor, who then took out a mortgage on it. The mortgage holder then tried to evict Ms. Lawrence, who went to court. The Ontario Supreme Court originally ruled in favour of the mortgage holder, citing prior decisions, but reversed their ruling yesterday. This means that homeowners - especially vulnerable seniors - are not likely to be booted out of their homes due to fraud that they were not responsible for. Homeowners also don't have to spend money on title insurance, designed to protect against mortgage fraud.