Balance on the Ballot

I am currently a renter. I am also currently a home owner - waiting for our old home to be cleared to make way for a new home that will better meet our family's needs for the decades to come, and potentially adding a suite to the housing market.  However, when I think about the prospect of being a landlord, the prospect is not overly alluring. Given current laws governing the landlord tenant relationship - a measure of hesitancy is understandable.  Let's begin with the math on the new suite. We estimate that the cost of our build is about $400 per square foot, and the two bedroom suite is about 700 square feet. That's $280,000 - without accounting for any share of the land value the suite uses. As the suite is about 15 percent of the total square footage of the home, the proportionate share of land value is another $171,000. So the suite has a value of $450,000 - given this what is a fair rental rate? At $2,000 per month - it would be 18.75 years before the rent covers the ...

Our city is beleaguered with many just hoping not too much more damage is done before the next election, with many just hoping that enough, good, qualified and competent people step up to the plate, and hoping that enough people do what they must (get out and vote) to ensure the next group of people elected to govern our city does a better job of it. Yet, with each week, it would seem another bad idea comes to the forefront - another idea that is divisive or damaging. This week brought two such ideas. The first bad idea was an effective cancellation of Canada Day. No fireworks. A subdued event. Lisa Helps offered that a moment of silence was in order, rather than fireworks. The joy and pride of being Canadian is being replaced with guilt and shame because we are recognizing that we, like all other nations on the planet, have parts of our history that do not meet modern standards of conduct. While many would like to imagine a Canada where those who were here when the country was coloniz...