The role of an engineer is to solve a problem. And I believe that the work that I’m doing now is helping solve a problem.

On a windy afternoon in the first week of 2017, I sat in the bustling lounge of the Centre For Social Innovation on Spadina Avenue and listened to Luke Anderson talk about some of the problems that he is working hard to solve. Problems such as the steps that lead from the sidewalk into a store, for instance – an architectural feature so ubiquitous that I’d never even thought about them, or noticed them, or wondered how on earth someone in wheelchair deals with them.

Anderson started dealing with them 15 years ago, when an accident left him partially paralyzed and made – by his estimates – almost two-thirds of Toronto off-limits to him. Determined to change this, Anderson started up the StopGap Foundation, a non-profit devoted to installing ramps in Toronto-area businesses. The Foundation – which has grown to include 30 or 40 volunteers – has its office at the CSI at 215 Spadina but is responsible for inspiring the installation of hundreds of ramps across the country.

What is your connection to Toronto?

“I grew up just North of Toronto, and did my undergrad at the University of Waterloo. But a passion for mountain-biking took me to B.C. after I graduated in 2002. A mountain-bike crash caused a spinal cord injury and resulted in a need to come home and be back with close friends and family for my rehabilitation and, just, new life, really. Learning how to navigate my way through a world that’s really not well suited for someone who uses a wheelchair.”

And you weren’t the only person being cut off by this lack of accessibility.

“No, it wasn’t just myself who then wouldn’t be going into a business, it was the friends I was with who would also be barred from shopping there because they wouldn’t bother going in if I couldn’t. I also started to realize that parents pushing strollers, delivery people, elderly, other mobility aid users – they all had an issue with this situation. And nothing was being done about it. The city wasn’t doing anything to alleviate some of these issues. New buildings were being built – and are still being built – with stepped entryways. And I wanted people to start talking about this problem. I wanted people to start thinking about great ideas that could help overcome these issues. And my frustration really reached a tipping point where I needed to figure out a way to get this issue on people’s radar.”

And this frustration turned into the first StopGap ramps in 2011?

“The first project really, I kind of took it on as a side project. I was working full-time as an engineer, and I wanted to experiment with this concept of gifting thirteen business in a neighbourhood with free ramps, just to see what would happen. That’s really where I thought the project would end. I didn’t think that it would stimulate so much interest, and when it did, we realized that there was a real need – from small business owners that were participating, because they responded really well to what we were doing. And community residents responded really well.

The media picked up on our project and wrote stories about it. It all pointed towards doing more of that work. So we moved to different neighbourhoods throughout the city and developed some really great experience on how to effectively implement our project. And then we’d been getting requests from other communities wanting to take on this project as well, so we put all that learning into a document and put together other templates and resources and shared them with those communities.”

[fvplayer src=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UxUhiFE2Eg” splash=”https://torontoism.com//images/2017/01/a-stop-gap-story.png” width=”780″ height=”586″ caption=”A StopGap Story”]

Can you name some of the Toronto neighbourhoods where you’ve installed ramps?

“The Junction neighbourhood was our very first, Kensington Market was an early one. The Danforth. Mount Pleasant Road was another, The Beaches. College Street, Bloor, Bloor Street West. We’ve been all over the place. Leslieville. The most recent one was maybe Queen West, and, like, East Danforth neighbourhoods.”

How has StopGap grown and changed since it began?

“Well, since 2011 those 13 ramps have expanded into over forty different communities right across the country, with over twelve hundred ramps. People have started up their own version of it. So they take on their own chapter of what we’ve started here. And using our information and our resources, our templates and our consultation they do it all under their own steam. But oftentimes we will hear from business owners on a one-off basis. So business owners will contact us and say ‘Hey, we would love a ramp. We noticed that our neighbours have them, they love them, we want one now too!’ So we’ve developed a Ramps on Request program that allows us to respond to those requests. So we’ll hire a contractor and build a ramp.”

Luke with Lowe’s Canada volunteers

You quit your job two years ago to run Stopgap, and are now its only full-time employee. What does that entail?

“Well, there’s a lot going on. We’ve developed a school program where we visit schools to talk about what we do and invite school groups to be a part of what we’re doing. So kids go out and talk to business owners in their neighbourhood, write letters to them, and those business owners are then in touch with us and we allow the kids to be involved with painting the ramps and delivering them. That’s super exciting. And part of my day involves working on our school program. Part of my day involves coordinating volunteers to help us deliver ramps, paint ramps, build ramps, spread our message far and wide. We have a social media presence that always needs to be updated and populated with information about what we’re doing. We have an active board, so another task is getting our board members to help out with what we’re doing. Fundraising, grant writing, helping us with PR and promotions– that’s just a few things out of many.”

Tell me about some of the other people who make StopGap work.

“My good friend Michael Hopkins helped get the initiative off the ground during the first couple of years doing a number of ramp projects in different neighbourhoods here in Toronto. Michael is now raising a family and therefore has limited free time, but he is still helping out in spirit. A number of friends and my immediate family were also a part of the project during its infancy and continue to help out on a volunteer basis whenever there is a need. Then there’s our core group of volunteers who are always around to help out. We’ve had some great corporate support. Corporate groups have been helpful by giving donations and further involvement where they come into our workshop and help paint ramps as part of a team-building exercise. Much like a Habitat for Humanity model they benefit from that experience and so do we.”

The first StopGap ramps were temporary. Have they been replaced something permanent?

“All of our ramps are removable. They’re all temporary, light-weight, and they’re to be used on a request basis, so they’re not to be left on the sidewalk full-time because they violate current building code and bylaw. Encroachment bylaw. And we have a waiver that outlines how they should be used. Business owners who participate take on any risk or liability. They take on the responsible use of the ramp. We’ve developed a sign that business owners can put in their window to let people know that they do have a ramp available. But generally what we’ve found is most businesses tend to leave them out. But they’re taking matters into their own hands when they do so.”

The request-basis system seems very inconvenient for both business owners and potential customers, but a restaurant did get into legal difficulty a few years ago because they left their ramp out all the time. How would you like to see this resolved?

“The idea of permanency is an ultimate goal of ours. The name StopGap is strategic; it’s not a perfect solution. We hope that one day we won’t have to see these ramps or build these ramps because when a municipality re-does their sidewalks, for example, they might raise the elevation of the sidewalk to meet the height of the steps. But we have to start somewhere, and this is where we need to start; just with getting people aware of the issue. Not only that but posing a possible solution.”

Are there any more accessibility-minded places that Toronto could learn from?

“Yeah, yeah, for sure. I’d say the Scandinavians have it pretty good because they design with everybody in mind. And that’s the type of design methodology that we need to start adopting. So I think countries like Sweden, cities like Stockholm – where I’ve visited, so I experienced first hand how incredible that is, to be able to – in most cases – navigate independently throughout a city like that.”

Besides stairs, what are some of the other major barriers to accessibility in Toronto?

“Well there’s physical barriers, right? Our transit system is horrendous. There are doorways that are problematic for people who can’t manage a fob system of door opening. The list goes on and on. But beyond the physical barriers, we commonly use language that doesn’t put the person first. So whenever we refer to someone with a disability we should be putting the person before whatever disability they have. So ‘a person with hearing loss’ or ‘a person with vision loss’ is a more empowering way to refer to someone in that situation.”

[fvplayer src=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBp5RVScxI0″ splash=”https://torontoism.com//images/2017/01/luke-anderson1.png” width=”780″ height=”586″  caption=”Luke Anderson’s TedTalk”]

You do a fair bit of public speaking now. What’s that like, and when did it start?

“I started doing speaking engagements about a year after sustaining my spinal cord injury. I was incredibly nervous before my first engagement, so nervous that I almost made my stomach upset! I still get nervous, however, I have become much more comfortable in front of an audience and have developed a passion for sharing my story. Regardless of the age group, there’s a similar response that I get when I wheel into an auditorium or a conference room. I see looks of fear and apprehension.

A lot of people haven’t met somebody who uses a wheelchair – they certainly haven’t been part of a presentation like the one that I give. And they’re not sure. There are looks of … I’m looking for the word that describes the look on the face of a kindergarten kid as well as on a bank executive. And it’s.., maybe an ignorance. It’s an ignorance, but as soon as I start telling some stories and cracking some jokes those looks change from looks of fear to real curiosity and interest. So I know I’ve done my job when I see that transition happen.”

You can help too!

• If you’re interested in building a ramp for your business, visit StopGaps website here and contact them with your request.
• If you want to help Luke Anderson and the StopGap Foundation by volunteering, sign up here!
• If you want to donate or become a sponsor of the StopGap Foundation, you can do so here.

JN00SK

A few days ago I was called in by a client to give them an idea of the price they could expect for their house…that is my job and I love doing it. However, the situation that I came across I see too often. The Seller had stayed in their house too long.

Not only was the house in bad shape and devaluing daily but the Seller had aged to the point where he could not climb stairs or walk without assistance. In his large two storey home he was restricted to one room on the main floor with a caregiver coming for one hour every weekday. His mind was sharp but he was overwhelmed with the prospect of moving anywhere and felt that he had few options. He realized that selling the house would put him in a financial position to easily live in assisted living and his quality of living would have changed for the better, but seemed paralyzed to move forward. Luckily, I do have service providers that can help ease the burden in these situations but sadly they become Estate sales too often during the process.

Clients in this position often worry too much about their children’s wishes and not their own needs. They are so concerned about their independence that they do not realize that they are no longer safe alone in the house but are also not taking advantage of some of the options that exist as we age.

In the last 12 months I have run into a similar situation at least four times and each time I come away realizing that the Sellers have stayed too long. Maybe friends and family did not broach the subject when they should or maybe the Sellers felt that their physical outlook would alter with time. The question we must always be asking ourselves and others: “Is this the safest and best living situation?”

I am a lot happier to assist in a lifestyle change than an Estate sale….so let’s all make a commitment that we will not stay too long, making the right move at the right time. Remember, it is not downsizing but RIGHTSIZING!!!

Click here to read our comprehensive guide to Rightsizing

The commission paid on a real estate transaction is usually a percentage of the purchase price. Traditionally, commission is paid by the Seller to the Listing Broker. Any co-operating agents involved in the transaction are paid through the Listing Broker. Each Broker then “splits” the commission with the agent according to their contract.

From time to time, and mostly from people who don’t know us, we get an email or a phone call where the commission question comes up front and centre:

“Can you tell me what your commission rate is?”

It is obvious that this consumer has decided that commission is the most important issue. It’s not that we have not dealt with the question before, but it seems that the consumer’s assumption is clear that “all Realtors provide the exact service but for different fees”. That assumption is very wrong.

Each agent develops a style with services that they include when selling property. This is the first question a consumer should ask:

“What services will be included in the commission that I will be paying?” 

Before the discussion begins please realize that the listing agent, who collects the commission from the Seller, usually offers half of that commission to the Buyer’s agent. That agent needs to be out in the marketplace daily, viewing listings, guiding and presenting successful offers for their clients. Please note that no commission gets paid to either until the property closes. Not many business models exist where all the work has to be completed before any money changes hands.

We cannot speak for what other Realtors provide but we suggest a service fee of 5 percent, half going to the Co-operating Broker. And here are the services that Torontoism includes for our half of the commission:

Staging

• We are big believers in staging, so we offer all our clients a written staging consultation with a home stager at our expense.

FLOOR PLANS

• Floor plans allow a prospective buyer to imagine their furniture in the property so we pay for the property to be measured. Some Buyers can only justify asking price in relationship to square footage.

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS AND VIDEOS

• Professionally taken property photos are hugely important in today’s marketplace so all of our listings are professionally photographed at our expense, featured with Virtual Tours and HD Video on our YouTube Channel.
• We will use Drone photography/video and professional voiceover for videos for the listings that we feel require them.
• Your property will be on TorontoMLS and on REALTOR.ca but they will also have virtual tours and at least 20 professional photos as well as professional floor plans attached to the listing for both Realtors and the consumer to view.

COLOUR BROCHURES AND FEATURE SHEETS

• At Torontoism, we also include colour brochures and feature sheets.

CATERED OPEN HOUSES 

• We are known for providing Agent Open Houses with food served at our expense. It encourages the Realtors to spend more time, look around, feel comfortable and engage with each other.

EMAIL AND SOCIAL MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENTS OF NEW LISTINGS

• Announcements of new listing and their Open Houses are broadcast on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and sent out via email.

See examples of our Facebook posts here and here. 

PRINTED OPEN HOUSE INVITATION CARDS TO SURROUNDING 2000 HOMES

• We have often been surprised at the power of “neighbour marketing” so we send out Just Listed and Open House invitation cards to the surrounding 2000 homes at our expense.

ONLINE EXPOSURE

• We long ago realized the importance of the Internet, so not only are properties placed on the TorontoMLS system, they are on REALTOR.ca, shared on the Toronto Real Estate Board’s Internet Data Exchange or IDX, they also appear on our site Torontoism.com, as well as our Company sites sothebysrealty.ca and sothebysrealty.com. They will also appear on big websites such as nytimes.com, wsj.com, jamesedition.com, juwai.com and more. These sites are optimized professionally to be on the front pages of the Search Engines in the top 30 categories of search terms for Toronto Real Estate.
• Our listings are featured in the e-galleries of all our 640 Sotheby’s International Realty offices around the world.
• Our sellers get a password protected VIP account where they can check on the status of their listing anytime and anywhere.

PRINT ADS

• We do advertise in the Globe and Mail on Fridays, but we find that a banner ad sending interested parties to the web is the best way to go. Very few contacts have ever come from print ads today. 90 percent of buyers are now searching on the Internet.

GREAT TEAM OF SPECIALISTS TAKING CARE OF YOU DURING THE PROCESS 

• We are always available and we have a great group of back-up staff and marketing specialists who handle extraneous appointments, database and follows up with showings and updates on your property.
• Over the years, property marketing has become much more complicated and a consuming time commitment leaving us frustrated when trying to search for Buyers at the same time. That’s why we are a team at Torontoism. Our salespersons have been excellent in helping our Buyers find the best available in today’s marketplace because they focus on that task.
• We have a 50 step workflow process of getting a property ready to list to successfully sold.
• We use the latest technologies such as Docusign, which allows you to sign documents online, to make the whole process as easy and efficient for our clients as possible.
• We happily work with other agents in facilitating offers on your property to get you the best price possible in today’s market.

OPEN HOUSES FOR THE PUBLIC ON EVERY POSSIBLE WEEKEND 

• Recognizing that today’s buyers have changed the way they shop, we suggest Open Houses for the public on every possible weekend.

We are a full-service brokerage who take the stress and time out of selling a property for busy professionals, who would rather spend their valuable time elsewhere. Our goal is to achieve the highest sale price possible, which at the end of the day will make the “how much commission do you charge” question moot.

This list should provide some clarity about how we handle our business model, but remember that each of us bring a different set of services to the table and those services may be offered to the consumer for different commission rates. Our suggestion when shopping for a Realtor would be to ask them to list the services that they provide when listing a property.

When you know what is involved, then it is up to you to decide whether the value is there to commit to that Realtor. If not, you have over 100,000 other options in Canada and over 1,000,000 in the United States.

A few hours north of the congestion and pollution of the country’s largest city lies an oasis of solitude. A place where people can breathe fresh pine-tinted air, cannonball into crystal-clear water, or just sit around a fire under the stars.

Ontario’s cottage country has been an escape for city-dwellers for generations. Every summer a wave of people brave the much maligned “cottage country traffic” in order to escape for a few precious days. It’s a time-honoured tradition and, as such, demand for cottage properties is always high.

Shawn Woof is a sales agent for Sotheby’s Realty specializing in cottage properties. He says the cottage market has always been a hot one in Ontario.

I would say in the last two seasons the market has been stronger but there’s always a desire for a cottage property. I think it’s a dream that a lot of Canadians, and people all over the world for that matter, aspire to.

Woof operates out of Port Carling, in the Muskoka region but has also acted for buyers and sellers in the Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton and Georgian Bay areas.

Location, location, location

Whatever draws people to purchase a cottage, Woof says their homebase will usually impact where they end up buying. East of Yonge in Pickering or Oshawa? They’ll probably end up in the Kawartha region. Those who live West of Yonge–in Oakville, Burlington or even as far away as London–will typically head up the 400 to Muskoka and Haliburton.

The typical buying pattern consist of considering the driving range as the decisive factor. Woof says, Torontonians usually go for the 2-2,5 hour trip, but also notes that the further they go the better deal they receive.

Things To Consider

One of the first things that people need to understand, according to Woof, is that every cottage property is unique. Shoreline, topography, and lot size combine to make each space special.

There’s no such thing as a cookie-cutter-type property. Even properties that are right beside each other can have significant differences.

With that in mind, it’s important for people to know what they need, what they want, and what they’re willing to compromise on. Woof provides a short list of some things to keep in mind:

• Exposure To The Sun – Does the building face North, South, East or West? According to Woof, Southwest and West exposures are the most desirable since they face the sun set.
• Access – Can the property be accessed year-round or is the road only accessible seasonally? Is the road municipally or privately owned or maybe the cottage is only accessible by water?
• Shoreline – Is it sandy and good for wading near the shore, or a steep drop off and good for cannonballing off the dock?
• Typography – Is the property level or is it a steep walk to the water? Woof suggests it might be more difficult to conquer steep surface and stairs for older people. Also, “a level piece of land” is safer for kids who like to run around and play outside.
• The building – How many bedrooms does it have? How many bathrooms? What shape is it in? Is it usable year round?
• Services – Is water taken in from the lake or a well? Is it drinkable? What’s the condition of the septic system?

The Process

The process for buying a cottage usually starts on sites like realtor.ca or sothebysrealty.ca, according to Woof. Potential buyers begin looking for properties and try to match their vision with what they find online. This can differ from buying a home in the city, where reaching out to a realtor will often be peoples’ first step.

After looking around online, buyers will contact a realtor like Woof who will start showing them some options. This takes more time than it would if you were buying in the city. People need to commit a whole day to driving up to cottage country and checking out different options.

When they finally commit to coming up and looking at properties, quite often things are different than what they have perceived on line. Until I actually get people in front of me at particular properties, because of the uniqueness of each property, I can’t fully ascertain what [the buyers’] likes and dislikes are.That’s why it’s impossible to buy a cottage without taking time to look at the individual properties.

While it can be time consuming, Woof says it’s worth it.

It can sometimes take two or three visits. It could take more or less, but the process absolutely requires visiting a number of properties and making sure that we understand exactly what property’s going to best fit their overall needs.

The Land of the Lakes

Since part of Woof’s job requires showing people around a vast swath of territory he and other realtors like him need to have a large knowledge base.

Imagine how many lakes there are in Ontario. So not only do you need to be really familiar with the property and how to look at it and the building and what goes into it, you also need to be familiar with the lake, the area, the amenities that are around, and how people are going to enjoy their lifestyle at the property once they purchase it.

Woof may not know exactly what kind of fish are in each lake, but he can sure find out. That’s part of what Woof calls “after-sale-service.” He says buyers should have someone they can reach out to with any questions even after they’ve closed on the property and he’s happy to be that person.

The Popular Choices

While each property contains its own unique charms, there are certain types of properties that Woof has noticed are more popular. Any site that’s been updated will demand a premium. Properties that require less work will be snatched up more quickly.

I do find a lot of people who don’t mind doing small cosmetic things, but they don’t want to undertake a large project so far from home.

The property, the lakefront, and the level of access all demand a higher premium. But Woof says many times if the building isn’t appealing the buyer will discount the whole lot. “I have [also] seen clients that absolutely fall in love with the building that might be on a lot that isn’t perfect,” he says.

A Good Investment

For anyone with the knowledge and the gumption though, a fixer-upper can be as good an investment as any other type of property.

I think in some cases there’s opportunity to create value for yourself because if you’re into a cottage that needs a little repair and you’re handy … you can certainly put some elbow grease into it, improve the property and create some value for yourself.

As prices continue to skyrocket in the country’s urban centres, millennials who have been pushed out of the market are looking for other opportunities to invest. That has many young potential homebuyers salivating over cottage country’s cheaper priced and less competitive options.

“I have heard stories about that where millennials will forego the idea of buying a home in the city, they’ll rent and get into a cottage situation,” says Woof. Surveys have demonstrated that millennials are helping to drive business in cottage country, and the proliferation of user-driven vacation rental websites like Airbnb is making it easier for people to undercut some of the buying costs.

Compromise

Buying a recreational property is a great opportunity for many reasons. Whether you’re just looking for a weekend escape, a way to invest outside of the city’s high-priced real estate markets, or hoping to live out the Canadian dream, buying a cottage can yield a lot of rewards.

But whoever is buying and for whichever reason, Woof says they’re going to need to make compromises. What they originally planned for in a property might not be what they find available. “If you’re rating your cottage on a scale of one-to-ten and you find an eight, you’ve done pretty well,” he says.

Finding your own oasis of solitude will take work and patience, but don’t forget to also breathe in the fresh air.

I was looking at basically coming up with a way to integrate some ideas, kind of trying to capture people’s experiences and their emotional connection to the spaces that are important to them.

This was photographer Jeremy Korn’s explanation for his online project Hogtown Stories, a year-long series of pictorial profiles featuring Toronto residents. Started in the spring of 2015, and completed this July, Hogtown Stories comprises around fifty individual profiles –many of which were published by the Globe and Mail. Here are Korn’s answers to my questions about the story behind Hogtown Stories.

Why did you start Hogtown Stories?

My first subject was somebody that I went to high school with. She was a photographer and was giving me advice on how to be a photographer, so she said ‘Oh, you need to get a website’. So I actually started a website, and the website was originally not this concept; it was just sort of like a not-very-large portfolio of work. And I realized that I wanted a theme, and I wanted to do something – not just a website that was like a portfolio with a non-existent portfolio.

Why did you choose to call this project ‘Hogtown’ Stories?

I called it Hogtown stories because I like ‘hogtown’ nickname for Toronto – it reflects the history of the city more than the other nicknames. And hogtown stories felt like it had a good ring to it.

How did you find people to profile in the beginning?

Some of them were friends, some of them were just people I knew.. like Daniel Rotsztain [creator of the adult colouring book All The Libraries]. He was a great one because he had done a project that I am inspired by. And then, through that, I just kept asking people for their suggestions… I profiled Amy Rosen who did that Toronto Cooks book, like, three years ago. And she was really really nice, and the publisher she had for that book… I reached out to them, and they were really nice, and really generous with their time, and had all these ideas for what would make a good profile, and then they started recommending people, and I profiled a few.

Most people have many stories in their lives. How did you decide which story – or which approach to the story – to use?

First, I kind of knew what the story was, going into it. The more meaningful it was, and the more someone was excited about it, then the better the story. But when it came to the Globe, there was back-and-forth with an editor that I was working with, and so he wanted to approve it. So I would pitch it, and he would almost every time say yes.

While photographs play a big part of each profile, there is also a text story told by the subject. How did you put those together?

I got a lot of tape – a lot of recording, and then I condensed it into a story. I actually had everybody verbally consent to me changing around the specific wording into a story. So it wasn’t like a newspaper article, the way you would have quotes. It was, let’s say, almost fictional dialogue coming from a real story.

I was always looking for the human side of the story. And there were a lot of stories where there really was like, a strong, emotional, human connection, and a real, just, genuine story about a person’s struggles, and how they got through those struggles.

You took hundreds of photos for each profile, but only used a few. How did you decide which ones to include?

I would take the photos that had the most genuine expression, and also the ones that illustrated the location, and kind of put it together. I’d get ten to fifteen, or ten to twenty. Sometimes it was five, really, I didn’t always get good photos. It was just a matter of really engaging with people, and making sure that the photos I was choosing were those real, true moments that you capture. And then other photos that would capture something about the place.

Eventually, people were contacting you, asking you to profile them. Why do you think they wanted to participate?

I did get a strong sense that people were just genuinely interested in the project. They just wanted to be involved. There wasn’t an obvious benefit to anybody. There wasn’t, like, ‘Oh, I want exposure so I’m gonna [participate]’. They were just ‘Oh, I get to be creative and talk about, like, these things that are important tome.’ Everyone wants to talk about the things that they love.

Now that Hogtown Stories is over, are you doing anything else with photography?

Yes I am. I’m building right now a fashion-photography portfolio. I’m trying to get more into that. I’m spending a lot more time on each photo, so I’m doing a lot more planning, I’m involving make-up artists and stylists, and models, and trying to work with agencies, and build up a portfolio in that way.

Do you think Hogtown Stories was good practice for fashion work?

It was. It was a really important learning experience for photography, and I’d actually taken a course at Ryerson in photography while I was doing the project, so that was a really great way to apply what I was learning in the class, and that really was helpful.

Were there any particularly memorable interviews or photo-shoots involved in Hogtown Stories?

There were some really cool ones… one of the people I profiled was one of the new ballet dancers at the National Ballet, and they were so nice; they were generous and they let me see backstage and everything. That was really cool. And they were prepping for the Nutcracker, which was really cool. But they were all interesting.

There was another cool one that I met, another guy… He’s contacted me and he was like “Yeah, I work in the British government, whatever. I work at the consulate.’ And during the interview I was like ‘So what do you do there?’ and he’s like ‘I’m the Consul General of this region. I’m the British Consul General.’ He was so nice.

Another thing that was kind of funny was the artist, Hooley McLaughlin, that contacted me more recently; his thing was that he was an artist in this area around, like, Markham Street – Honest Ed’s. And at the very end of the interview I found out that he’s one of the vice-presidents of the Science Centre. I was like ‘Wow. That is a very different thing from what I was just interviewing you about.’ You kind of learn about people. People have different identities and different things that they do. I do too.

You were involved in one of the mayoral campaigns back in 2010. Have you always been connected to Toronto?

I did grow up in Toronto, and I lived in Montreal for four years, but I grew up in Toronto, and I went to Cedervale, and I went to Arlington, and I went to Vaughn Road, and I went to McGill. And then I came back here. Then I worked on a campaign, then I went to U of T for urban planning.

Why Urban Planning?

I think the best way to answer is: I was just really interested in what was going on in the city at that time -2009, 2010 – and I’d just returned from Montreal, and I had been reading about all of these amazing project that were going on [in Toronto]; you know, interesting waterfront development, and interesting things happening at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, which is what I ended up writing my thesis on. And I was like ‘Wow, there’s this whole field where people are able to shape the environments that people live in, and it has an impact’.

Title photo taken by Aly Bird and edited by Jeremy Korn.

Somebody always has to take the blame. But the lack of self-reflection causes needless panic among Canadians and the really disappointing fact is that it comes from the one body that should keep an eye on such events and keep them in check – the Canadian Government.

This careless behaviour resulted in the introduction of a tax on foreign buyers of real estate in Vancouver, British Columbia, and negative attitudes.

You can read about who the foreign buyers are here on our blog, but basically we usually talk about mainland Chinese citizens who are getting away from the Communist regime that forbids them from purchasing real estate, build an equity, and, well, the rights we take often take for granted. Anyway, in the newest study carried out by Urbanation there is evidence of foreign ownership being only a small fraction of the new condo market in Toronto.

Domestic investors outnumber foreign buyers 10-to-1! Moreover, only 5 per cent of units sold in the buildings developed between July and September were bought by foreign buyers. On the other hand, Canadians who do not even plan to live in the units they bought made up 52 per cent of the sales. The rest of the units now belong to locals who plan on living in the buildings.

It is human nature to look for a scapegoat, as the BC government has done, while the real culprit is the lack of product in cities that are growing fast in a country that has been less agrarian and more citified, and will continue being like that in the future. The government’s policy has discouraged purpose-built rental product causing Condominiums to fill that gap to serve the publics needs, foreign or Canada born.

The study by Urbanation can be found here.

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