How Doug Ford and Metrolinx dimmed Toronto's once-bright transit future
By Contributing Columnist
Shawn Micallef is a Toronto-based writer and a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Follow him on Bluesky: @shawnmicallef.bsky.social.
When it comes to getting around town, we're stalled. Grim and dismal times as all forms of transportation are mired. Traffic is bad and getting worse. Public transit is decades behind and often stuck in that traffic. Cycling is under attack.
Not long ago it felt very different. The future was bright with smart, transformational plans big and small that had political momentum behind them. Then they started to get watered down, undermined or cancelled.
Opinion articles are based on the author's interpretations and judgments of facts, data and events. More details
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Globe and Mail
3 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
I'm new here but I'm falling in love with ‘Canadianness'
First Person is a daily personal piece submitted by readers. Have a story to tell? See our guidelines at Like millions in this country, I spent the evening of Thursday, Feb. 20, in front of the TV, captivated by the Four Nations hockey final. Packed cheek-by-jowl into a downtown Toronto pub, the unbridled pandemonium that accompanied Connor McDavid's goal, all flailing limbs and tossed beers, was one of the most joyful sporting spectacles I've been a part of. That could be the result of a success-starved sporting life as a fan of both England's national soccer team and Tottenham Hotspur (who finally broke their trophy drought in May), but it's impossible to disassociate that hockey game from a web of political issues. For me, though – a recent-ish newcomer to this country – it also represented several personal revelations about belonging, home and community. I emigrated from the U.K. nearly two years ago. I had no previous ties to this country (the closest case was my grandfather who, as a child, was nearly being evacuated here during the Blitz before having a last-minute change of heart, a wise decision considering the passenger ship was sunk by the Germans). But I've been blessed to find a network of welcoming, funny, outgoing and thoughtful individuals that has only grown. (There were also a few absolute knobheads, but such is life.) The natural cycles of adventure and homesick depression followed, but over time, my affection for the idiosyncrasies of Canadian life grew. Why 'elbows up' is Canada's rallying cry in the trade war against Trump's tariffs I spent last summer in Serbia and Central and Eastern Europe, a wonderful, thrilling and culturally enriching experience. By August, however, I was more than ready to return home – and for the first time in my life, 'home' meant somewhere different from the place I was born. And at some unidentifiable point in the past few months, when speaking to friends and family in the U.K., I made the subconscious switch from 'them' to 'we.' Truth be told, this moment for me, like the wider uptick in pride for all things Canadian, has correlated with the actions of a certain convicted felon and the expansionist fervour of our erstwhile neighbours down south. You don't need a political science degree to understand that threats to sovereignty tend to have a 'rally round the flag' effect. It has sometimes been exacerbating explaining to those outside of Canada the extent to which Donald Trump's existential threats dangle over Canadian life: how we could come to see Wayne Gretzky as a complicit traitor and no longer the Great One; why I'm boycotting American products; and that, yes, booing The Star-Spangled Banner and removing American booze from liquor-store shelves is justified and proportionate. That's not to say my feelings of 'Canadianness' are purely an anti-Trump response. But what's been happening over the past several months has crystallized sentiments that were bubbling within me and made me realize I truly do love living here – Toronto as a city and Canada as a country. I could write about all manner of knackered cultural clichés, about hockey and poutine, the fundamentally decent nature of the people and the stunning landscapes. But if they seem overused, it's because, by and large, they're true. In recent years, this country's politics and wider Canadian life have included an abundance of cynicism, and in many cases, rightfully so. A healthy dose of skepticism and desire to see things improve are natural and vital elements to social progress. Sometimes, though, it's necessary to step back and appreciate the positive aspects that define this country. Sometimes, there's no one better placed to see this fuller perspective than an outsider. Canadians are ready to fight tariffs with their dollar. Here's what they told us Sure, such sentiments on my part could be seen as disingenuous bandwagoning at best and disrespectful at worst. If the idea of Canadianness I'm falling in love with is so deep and so special, how can I really appreciate it after less than two years? To take it back to that hockey game, I could not, a mere few years ago, have envisaged reacting in such a way, singing along to O Canada horrendously out of time and tune (and yet still better than the rendition in Boston that night) and pouring my heart and soul into a sport that I'd hitherto barely acknowledged. Yet in that moment, I got no strange looks or judgment for my boisterous and obviously non-North American accented shouts. I wasn't simply a sports fan – I felt like part of a team of 40 million. You can't yet call me Canadian, not out of hesitation or lack of desire on my part, but because this process of joining a nation is a journey, one that will have setbacks and moments of unease, plus industrial bouts of bureaucratic frustration. So, for now, all I can do is profess my deep and growing affection, grounded in the values and multiplicity of perspectives of its people, and try to positively add, now and going forward, to the values that make Canada so desirable, until the day I can proudly say, 'I am Canadian.' Now, where's my Molson commercial? Thomas Law lives in Toronto.
Toronto Star
a day ago
- Toronto Star
How Doug Ford and Metrolinx dimmed Toronto's once-bright transit future
By Contributing Columnist Shawn Micallef is a Toronto-based writer and a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. Follow him on Bluesky: @ When it comes to getting around town, we're stalled. Grim and dismal times as all forms of transportation are mired. Traffic is bad and getting worse. Public transit is decades behind and often stuck in that traffic. Cycling is under attack. Not long ago it felt very different. The future was bright with smart, transformational plans big and small that had political momentum behind them. Then they started to get watered down, undermined or cancelled. Opinion articles are based on the author's interpretations and judgments of facts, data and events. More details
CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
Alcohol to be served on party bikes in Ontario
The Doug Ford government is continuing to expand the accessibility to alcohol across Ontario by allowing party bikes, or 'pedal pubs' to serve booze or have it consumed on board. These types of operators are businesses that tour groups around notable areas on large, shared quadricycles, visiting local restaurants, breweries, wineries, cideries and other businesses. The province says this change would apply to pedal pub operators in Ottawa, Toronto, Niagara-on-the-Lake and Windsor beginning July 1. Prior to the change, these party bikes would only transport tourist groups to various vendors and producers. Ottawa currently has one party bike operator, the Thursty Pedaler, which operates pub crawl and coffee shop tours in the Glebe and Hintonburg neighbourhoods. 'Explore some of the best bars, restaurants, and patios Ottawa has to offer. Pedal your way through one of two vibrant Ottawa neighborhoods, refueling along the way at three local watering holes,' the Thursty Pedaler says on its website. 'The tour is 2 hours and includes a designated party pilot, a curated party playlist, samples at our awesome partner locations, and an all-around party-pedaling great time. Each tour hosts up to 14 people.' 'Pedal pubs offer a fun and memorable way to explore Ontario's communities, and we're making sure that experience is responsible,' said Attorney General Doug Downey, in a statement. 'Beginning this summer, Ontario is supporting a unique opportunity that will not only stimulate tourism and bring communities together, but also protect local jobs, our economy and small businesses across the province.' Pedal pubs are allowed to operate in a community only once the local municipality passes a by-law to permit their operations. A licence from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) will be required to sell and serve alcohol on pedal pubs.
