It's been a while since I've updated my blog. To all my loyal readers (all two of you out there), I apologize since it has been a busy time. I'm sure that my Google rankings have gone down, but the last time I improved my Google rankings, there were some negative unintended consequences. More on that in days to come.

It's not as though there hasn't been anything to discuss over the last month or so. Actually, many issues have arisen that I have wanted to discuss, but I just haven't had the time to bring them up. So here I start again, from the beginning.

In the last week, Mayor David Miller has been lobbying the provincial government for more power. Most of these powers would give Miller arbitrary discretion and the ability to conduct meetings secretly with his Cosa Nostra executive committee. Maybe it's just me, but this situation is starting to look like the final third of the movie Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith. Yeah, I know it's a nerdy reference, but it makes the point.

Some people I have talked to down at City Hall have said that in the weeks leading up to this story breaking, Miller had already begun acting like a dictator. They reported that anything that he wanted to pass got through council because the majority of city councilors were either aligned with him or scared of political repercussions from Miller's camp. Case in point: Toronto Land Transfer Tax and Vehicle Registration. Despite great opposition by the public, the new taxes passed, and the city increased their spending.

Normally, I don't care about politics. I've stated before that I don't want to make this blog turn into a site that solely criticizes the City of Toronto or take a political side. The problem is that the City of Toronto has made life more difficult for my clients and my business.

Recently, I closed a transaction for a young couple of new immigrants who were just so happy to be in Canada and finally have the chance to own their own home. They purchased a home in Toronto, but one party was unable to qualify for an exemption for the City of Toronto Land Transfer Tax. The husband then went off, asking why the City of Toronto feels that they can justify this tax when none of the neighboring municipalities need the tax to make things work. "Why should I live in Toronto over Durham region?" he asked. His point was made and it was clear.

Similarly, my office is located in Toronto, in the former municipality of Scarborough. People who know me will know that I grew up in the area. I left the downtown core to work in Scarborough because of my ties to the community. While there is no shortage of lawyers in the neighborhood, they were all older lawyers working in the "old fashioned" manner. I wanted to provide an alternative to the community, by showing that not all lawyers are the same. As several of my clients have said, "Talking with you is more like talking to a social worker than a lawyer." Unfortunately, given the history of the City of Toronto's treatment of property owners, I may not be able to serve my community from my current location. I fear that commercial property tax increases may make it economically infeasible to continue practising in my area.

So who is being hurt by the City of Toronto? Property owners and small business.

        

 

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