A story of cause and effect: Last November, Ontario banned cities from using speed safety cameras to issue tickets. Reckless speeding immediately surged in Toronto, Ottawa, Guelph, and cities throughout the province. A 🧵 about my latest in Bloomberg (gift link)

What Happens When Speed Cameras Get Shut Off

In 2025, Ontario banned automated traffic enforcement. Now the number of drivers exceeding the speed limit has surged, according to traffic data.

bloomberg.com

The good thing about the omni-focus of being heavily involved in a specific campaign is that I'll functionally be blind to all the rest of this at an emotional level.

Brian F. Kelcey@stateofthecity.bsky.social · 2d ago

75 days to local elxns in BC 77 days to Alberta's pre-referendum on separation 84 days until E-Day for city elxns in Ontario 86 days to E-Day for Winnipeg City elxns 92 days to E-Day for the US mid-terms Local elxns aside, I feel as if there's a lot of sleepwalking on this continent right now

“If you take the deal, you’re going to be exploited. If you don’t take it, you’re going to die,” said attorney Frank Ssekamwa about the U.S. demand to access the health data of millions of Ugandans. “It’s the essence of digital colonialism.”

An awesome series of workshops for LGBTQ+ youth who'd like to get crafty/DIY!

Awesome Foundation Toronto@awesomefoundgta.bsky.social · 5d ago

Proudly introducing July's grant recipient: Sew You Want to Sew! The Quartz Cluster puts on this beautiful seven-week introductory sewing program for 10 Queer and Trans Asian youth, teaching the skills to build future works of self-expression 🧵🪡 Sew cool! www.awesomefoundation.org/en/projects/...

The Ford government caused a governance crisis in Waterloo Region by forcing Regional Council to sign NDAs over the Wilmot land assembly, and eviscerated the countryside line that had protected prime agricultural land for decades. Their "concern" for farmland affected by Alto is a complete sham.

Isaac Callan@isaaccallan.bsky.social · 7d ago

The Ford government is escalating its infrastructure fight with Ottawa, threatening to rescind support for a federal high-speed rail line after the Carney government said it would block the expansion of Toronto’s island airport. #onpoli globalnews.ca/news/1200172...

The Federal Housing Strategy now is to have everyone move to Alberta! (the last phrase is sure awkwardly worded: "That's why we work in partnership with Alberta to put in place the infrastructure which is needed to accelerate housing construction, so that more Canadians can live there.")

Canada's premiers have a bad habit of bigfooting their biggest cities on everything from bike lanes to airports -- and denying them the economic and political autonomy they deserve. It's past time to fix that. And Ottawa can help. #cdnpoli www.nationalobserver.com/2026/07/29/o...

Canada’s cities need a new deal. Ottawa should give it to them

A constitutional amendment granting cities the power to tax and raise revenue is both perfectly logical and politically impossible. The federal government needs to find another way to give it to them ...

nationalobserver.com

Important piece by @maxfawcett.bsky.social here. I made a similar point some time ago. The peripheral, vulnerable position of municipalities in Canadian federalism is neither fair nor functional - and it can be changed. www.therecord.com/opinion/cont...

It’s past time to furnish municipalities with revenue required for 21st-century challenges

The current system is neither fair nor functional.

therecord.com

Max Fawcett@maxfawcett.bsky.social · last wk.

Canada's premiers have a bad habit of bigfooting their biggest cities on everything from bike lanes to airports -- and denying them the economic and political autonomy they deserve. It's past time to fix that. And Ottawa can help. #cdnpoli www.nationalobserver.com/2026/07/29/o...

An article about "the hidden cost of free parking" came out this morning in our national news and 2 persons have already emailed me the link saying "I think this will interest you". Yes, parking regulation is my hobby! ici.radio-canada.ca/info/long-fo...

Le coût méconnu du stationnement gratuit

Le Canada compte près de six cases gratuites par voiture, l’un des taux les plus élevés au monde. Mais des promoteurs et urbanistes déplorent le prix à payer.

ici.radio-canada.ca

Some good news from Vancouver at least

Josh White@jwhiteyvr.bsky.social · last wk.

Important update on this initiative. Council endorsed proposed changes to our low rise apartment zoning district that will facilitate this innovation in land use regulation…/1

Edmonton erasure.

august 🍂@auguststreet.ca · last wk.

toronto does libraries right. our current mayor has managed to open every single library branch on all 7 days of the week. i don't believe any other major city has achieved the same in north america, not even nyc. we have the best library system in the world 🤭

For as long as I’ve been a reporter in this city the complaint has been that we build too many giant luxury condos in a few places and not enough medium density housing across neighbourhoods. But this week reaffirmed why that approach is so baked into the DNA and political culture of Vancouver.

Govt's are using that downturn to fool themselves into thinking they don't need to do anything on housing. But all they're doing is setting all of us up for the next cycle of dramatic price escalations.

Oh hey, my neighbourhood *does* contribute to city revenue.

Matt Elliott@graphicmatt.com · last wk.

Cool heatmap of Toronto intersections and red-light camera tickets. Kennedy Road & the 401 tops the list by a country mile. (via secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...)

That the Ford government considers the majority of Toronto to be a fringe group is entirely consistent with everything they've done since they came to power. “We’ve seen the federal government here listen to a small, fringe group in Toronto,”

TorontoToday@torontotoday.ca · last wk.

Amazing thread. This is how an elected official models accountability.

Julia Grant Reed@juliareedwa.bsky.social · last wk.

I was at the vigil organized by community members from gun violence prevention groups tonight at #Seattle Center. Some folks came and heckled @mayor.seattle.gov. Friends. I know you’re angry and scared. But if I may, let me offer you some better people to yell at. Yell at me. And I can say why 🧵

The various quest franchises from Sierra

John Michael McGrath@jm-mcgrath.bsky.social · last wk.

Wing Commander

Feels the same way with SUV bloat

🏳️‍🌈Real🛠️Time🧙‍♂️🔜 Otakon@realtime.crt.video · last wk.

it's not enough that my eyes are safe, everyone else's eyes must be made unsafe

Friday night lights aka late breaking news release. Ka boom. Toronto anger was not for naught. You moved a monolith: the Liberal caucus. www.thestar.com/politics/fed...

Federal government grounds Billy Bishop airport expansion

The just-concluded public survey suggested strong public opposition to the project, according to a federal government official.

thestar.com

That combined feeling of relief/disgust when you figure out your phone's mic is *not* busted, but rather simply because of the accumulated detritus of corporeal existence. (Why no, this is not an overly laboured metaphor for my mental and physical health, thank you for asking)

Three years ago today, the Scarborough RT came to an abrupt end following a derailment south of Ellesmere station. Today, we remember the line, with Damian Baranowski's video about the line's last days. Check out the video here: youtu.be/Ep7fusbNOAI

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 ago

Fuckin' bike lanes.

Well that's certainly not going to help the Fax meet its much needed housing targets.

Cheryl in Nova Scotia 🇨🇦🍁🍁@minibubbly.bsky.social · 2w ago

Understand Halifax Water is NOT part of the Halifax Regional Municipality- they are separate entities Halifax Water utility proposes 650% hike to water connection fee for new construction — this is insanity🤬 #NovaScotia www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Attention single-stair/missing middle people: as part of OBC review, the Province has opened a consultation on the Building Code, seeking to “identify ways to reduce unnecessary costs, delays, complexity, and administrative burden”. Runs to August 14. ero.ontario.ca/notice/026-0744

The flakey sketchy anon survey monkey (!) the federal government put out on the Island Airport, their "consultation," ends Friday. If you haven't yet be sure to still fill it out. There are places you can add your own thoughts like "this survey is faulty and skews towards done deal" and etc.

Public consultation on the future of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport

Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.

surveymonkey.ca

"People can turn anywhere into a third space, no matter its intended purpose." Kaede Ashizawa spent a day at Mississauga's Ridgeway Plaza observing and talking to people about what the popular destination reveals about the city's evolution. spacing.ca/toronto/2026...

Ridgeway Plaza marks Mississauga’s evolution - Spacing Toronto

The way spaces are designed influences how people socialize, build community, and go about their day-to-day lives, directly impacting how they commute, shop, and eat. That influence can manifest in un...

spacing.ca

Big news for nerds: The Department of City Planning updated their city planning children's book (original was put out by the LaGuardia administration in 1937) They are giving them away at upcoming Summer Streets events across the boroughs.

When we talk about Canadian artists contributing to the discourse, this isn't usually what we mean (complimentary)

thisisfranciswu@thisisfranciswu.bsky.social · 2w ago

"[…] without UBI, people like this are exceedingly rare. Einsteins are rare. Khns and Kleks are rare. With UBI, they will be less rare. That is not a hope. That is a statistical near-certainty." www.scottsantens.com/the-angine-d...

I didn't think the Golden Dome would be, like, an actual physical dome.

Global News@globalnews.ca · 3w ago

"If Canada will not manage its forests to prevent these fires, the United States will look elsewhere, and act on our own, to protect our people,” said a group of U.S. lawmakers. globalnews.ca/news/1196860...

We're #1

André Picard @picardonhealth @picardonhealth.bsky.social · 3w ago

Toronto has worst air quality in the world today as city grapples with a double-whammy of intense heat and wildfire smoke from hundreds of raging forest fires in northwestern Ontario, by @smckeown.bsky.social, Daniyah Yaqoob www.thestar.com/news/gta/tor... via @thestar.com