Deny Sullivan
@denysullivan.bsky.social
I make charts. Blogs @ deny.substack.com Halifax
In this week's podcast host @landofsticks.bsky.social sat down with @parismarx.com to talk about tech/digital sovereignty to ask him about what cities could learn from the current tech/geopolitical moment. Listen where ever you get your podcasts.
Tech and transportation sovereignty with Paris Marx - The Grand Parade
This week, Matt sits down with Paris Marx to talk about the parallels between tech and transportation and how big tech companies are ruining transportation. Here is that survey I mentioned in the int...
pod.co
🧵 NEW POST: Edmonton’s $15M infill property tax dividend Matching permits to assessment data shows that small-scale infill from just 2024-26 will grow the tax base by $1.8B, and revenues by $15M. That's equivalent to a 0.7% property tax rate increase! #yegcc www.jacobdawang.com/blog/2026/pr...
Edmonton’s $15M infill property tax dividend – Jacob Dawang
Every single-detached home that becomes a rowhome, plex, or backyard home multiplies its assessed value. Matching 2024–2026 building permits to City assessment data, I measure that uplift directly, al...
jacobdawang.com
This would be interesting to do for Halifax because new units come in without the cap, driving even more revenue
Jacob Loo Dawang@jacobdawang.com · yesterday🧵 NEW POST: Edmonton’s $15M infill property tax dividend Matching permits to assessment data shows that small-scale infill from just 2024-26 will grow the tax base by $1.8B, and revenues by $15M. That's equivalent to a 0.7% property tax rate increase! #yegcc www.jacobdawang.com/blog/2026/pr...
The CMHC trying to wiggle out of saying house prices need to fall by suggesting a much harder problem to solve (increasing economic growth) is peak bureaucratic unaccountability
Generation Squeeze@gensqueeze.ca · last wk."It is the great.... conundrum.... Housing prices must, absolutely fall if younger Canadians are to have any hope of purchasing a home. And housing prices must not decline if older Canadians are to avoid seeing their retirement nest eggs ooze value." www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/edit...
One of the problems in our federation is the lower levels of government are constantly trying to horsetrade.
John Michael McGrath@jm-mcgrath.bsky.social · last wk.“'It’s Billy Bishop for Alto, that was always the understanding,' said one insider" www.thestar.com/politics/pro...
This is, as always, Toronto's fault for finding stupid new ways to try to dictate who should get to live where and inspiring others to follow. You can say that people zoning is illegal but you don't have to mean it.
Deny Sullivan@denysullivan.bsky.social · last wk.It's a funny part of Halifax planning that a side goal is to reduce the amount of family-sized units, because they also encourage roommates to live there and that's bad?
It's a funny part of Halifax planning that a side goal is to reduce the amount of family-sized units, because they also encourage roommates to live there and that's bad?
Terri@terriclarke.bsky.social · last wk.I’m also seeing that they set a maximum number of bedrooms per lot in ER-3. So between those 8 units there can only be 20 bedrooms. If someone wanted to build an all family-sized 3 or 4 bedroom 8-plex development it would be forbidden.
How Quebec became North America’s urban outlier (with @adammongrain.bsky.social and @jfrheault.bsky.social)
How Quebec became North America’s urban outlier
YouTube video by Oh The Urbanity!
youtube.com
My "Not screwing young people act" will institute limits on upfront fees to 5 years of equivalent recurring taxes or fees (property taxes, utility fees). I expect 0 votes
Halifax doing *the* thing that has fucked Ontario's chances of solving the housing crisis (taxing new homes), but through a utility fee for better branding
Matt Stickland@landofsticks.bsky.social · 2w agoFuckin' bike lanes.
The Press Block is 90% full (10% vacant) a year after opening. What's your take?
Quintupling fees on new housing in a housing crisis? An extra $20k per unit to get water?
Dystopia is when tech companies cant extract superprofits
The Wall Street Journal@wsj.com · 2w agoOpenAI and Anthropic executives are sounding the alarm about the rise of cheap AI, particularly powerful new models produced in China, suggesting they will lead to a “dystopian” AI future and present unacceptable security risks without regulation.
a truly confusing trend in Halifax rental vacancy, headed down slightly as most of the country moves up
GORDIE HOWE BRIDGE BLOG: The definitive breakdown of the deal! open.substack.com/pub/deny/p/t...
The Gordie Howe Bridge Deal: Explained
Much ado about tolling
open.substack.com
My technology-based solution is to give the streetcars the whole goddamn street
Matt Elliott@graphicmatt.com · 3w agoTTC ran a “pilot project” to track the number of cars illegally passing streetcars at stops: “Preliminary data indicates that near-miss incidents may be very pervasive and that there is likely merit to developing a technology-based solution to this problem” Shocker. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...
The premier of the province should be able to go places without intimidation or threats of violence. If you feel the urge to come up with excuses for this you should take a walk and think about it more.
Government of Nova Scotia@nsgov.bsky.social · 3w agoStatement on Protester Incident in Annapolis Valley news.novascotia.ca/en/2026/07/1...
My first impression of what Fillmore needs more power *for* is to hire comms staff to spin his message
The Globe and Mail@theglobeandmail.com · 3w agoI’d feel better about municipal regulation of private land use if it wasn’t so negligent in public land use
Ben MacLeod 馬志斌@benmacleod.bsky.social · 4w agoI kind of hate that Halifax built a new showpiece downtown park and, at the height of summer, is using much of it as car storage.
New blog! About the blue bank not wanting to forecast falling home prices? open.substack.com/pub/deny/p/c...
Can a bank forecast falling home prices?
RBC's housing affordability report won't say house prices will fall
open.substack.com
New blog! About Ottawa's rental market, public sector jobs open.substack.com/pub/deny/p/o...
Ottawa Rental Market (Jul 2026)
When the government town turns down
open.substack.com
To a rough approximation Nova Scotia builds no condos, they are all purpose built rentals
This is interesting from a principle perspective, and some provinces run major transit operations. But practically, it seems like the ferries would be worse-maintained and staffed by the province!
Tim Bousquet@timbousquet.bsky.social · last mo.The province of Nova Scotia should pay the entire cost of Halifax Transit’s ferries Morning File be me. I go on about Mars and Andy Fillmore, too.