🚍🗳️ During the #Elxn44 campaign, there’s been plenty of discussion about how Canada can recover from COVID-19. Experts and an advocate I spoke to want to make sure one topic in particular isn’t left out: transit. (And not just because public transit starred in #ShangChi) [1/9]
“Building back better — to use what's become a slogan — involves transit, and you've seen governments recognize that,” @DrewFagan4, professor at @munkschool, says. That goes beyond funding projects and requires intelligent land-use, he adds. [2/9]
Putting what people need along transit lines results in what researchers call “transit-oriented communities.” An @ontario360 paper Fagan cowrote states such communities co-locate housing, jobs, public amenities and social services near transit. [3/9] on360.ca/policy-papers/…
.@BrockUniversity prof Chris Fullerton says such communities improve the quality of life for people who don't drive, and also make transit more attractive to people who do, something experts say matters given that the pandemic seems to have led more people to drive. [4/9]
In #HamOnt, the @HamCommFdn found public-transit ridership fell 46 per cent to 11.7 million rides in 2020, compared to 21.6 million rides in 2019. @iancborsuk says that shows a significant portion of riders depend on transit for essential reasons. [5/9] hamiltoncommunityfoundation.ca/getting-around/
Borsuk is a member of the national advocacy coalition Keep Transit Moving, whose platform calls for federal operational and capital funding, inter-city transit, better accessibility, and leadership to improve equity. [6/9] keeptransitmoving.ca
Matthew Palm, a researcher with @UTSC's Mobilizing Justice Project says people who depend on transit need to be the focus going forward, since improvements helping essential riders will also make systems more useful for people who don't rely on them. [7/9]
Federal leadership is important here, Borsuk says, since feds can guide cities and provide much-needed funding. Fagan says that while historically reticent to do so, federal leaders now seem willing to attach conditions to funding around housing or emissions, for example. [8/9]
I asked the Liberal, Conservative, NDP and Green parties if transit is part of their plans for pandemic recovery and if so, how. Their answers and/or details about their platforms are in the article: tvo.org/article/how-ca… Watch for more on @TheAgenda Friday night! [9/9]
@TheAgenda Here's a teaser for tonight's upcoming segment on @TheAgenda! Thanks, as always, to @carrletta, @JeyanTVO
and the team.

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More from @mr_lois_lane

9 Sep
With advance polling starting tomorrow and the leaders' debate tonight, here's my attempt at a handy-dandy #Elxn44 resource guide for those in need. It's non-exhaustive and #HamOnt focused, but should be broadly applicable.

Firstly, the election is on Sept. 20. [1/11]
There are several ways to vote, as outlined by @ElectionsCan_E: voting in-person on election day, in advance polls (Sept. 10-13 from 09:00-21:00), by mail (apply before Sept. 14 at 18:00) or at any elections Canada office (before Sept. 14 at 18:00).
tvo.org/article/your-f… [2/11]
Elections Canada’s Voter Information Service allows you to search for your electoral riding by postal code, and see which candidates are running there. It will also show you where you can vote in advance polls, or on election day.
elections.ca/Scripts/vis/Fi… [3/11]
Read 15 tweets
27 Aug
📈💸 With affordability on many Ontarians’ minds this election, basic income advocates in #HamOnt (and across Canada) are working to make the topic an election issue. I spoke with several advocates and two economists about that push. [1/9] #Elxn44
Research released in May found Hamilton is the third-most-expensive city in North America (cbc.ca/news/canada/ha…). During the pandemic, rent and housing prices shot up. @basicincomeHAM co-chair @lisaAalfano says current attempts at poverty reduction aren't working. [2/9]
BIH is part of a first-ever national campaign of advocates, called #BasicIncomeNow, asking federal candidates to support the measure. Alfano: “Our mandate at Basic Income Hamilton is to inform, educate, and engage our local community in the basic-income concept.” [3/9]
Read 9 tweets
25 Aug
🍃🍇Here's another bug to worry about: the spotted lanternfly. This invasive plant-hopper particularly enjoys feeding on grapes, and it’s present in New York State, just a border away from the agriculturally significant Niagara Region. [1/10] A red, white and black lant...
There are currently no established lanternfly populations in Canada, but as @InvSp programmer Mandy Ehnes says: "There are concerns now, especially with people moving across the border,” that travelers could unwittingly bring the insect with them. [2/10] Left: Lanternflies on a tre...
The lanternfly is thought to have arrived in the U.S. on a stone shipment at some point between 2012 and 2014. “They feed on over 70 types of plants, and although they lay their eggs in the vicinity they’re growing up in, they’ll lay their eggs on anything,” Ehnes says. [3/10]
Read 12 tweets
17 Aug
📚🦸A #HamOnt comics historian is working with a group of researchers and enthusiasts to mark the 80th anniversary of the first Canadian comic book. Better Comics #1, from Vancouver’s Maple Leaf Publishing came out in 1941 during a unique period of homegrown comics. [1/12]
Prior to World War II, “all the American comics were there on our newsstands,” Ivan Kocmarek of @cdncomics says. But the War Exchange Conservation Act of 1940 banned the import of pulp magazines, certain candy bars, and comic books, among other things, creating a void. [2/12]
Canadian publishers stepped in to fill that void. After Better Comics, titles including Dime and Triumph were soon available in the now-ubiquitous “floppy” format. Previous #comics weren't published in Canada in that style. [3/12] Image
Read 13 tweets
13 Aug
💉📊 My colleagues @ashleyokwuosa, @joshxsherman, @NickFDunne, @charneland, @marshamcleod_ and I wrote about the least-vaccinated areas in each of our coverage areas. The result is a pan-Ontario look at why some people aren't getting their shots. tvo.org/article/callin… [1/7]
In #HamOnt, I looked at L8L, where 48.09 per cent of people have gotten two shots according to ICES data. Hamilton has 334 cases per million people — one of the highest rates in Ontario — as well as one of the lowest vaccination rates. [2/7] Image
All but one of L8L's neighbouring FSAs — L8R, L8N, L8M and L8H — had coverage rates below 55 per cent, as of Friday. Those are in Hamilton's lower city, which tends to be more racialized and less affluent. Health outcomes tend to be poorer there (tvo.org/article/inequa…). [3/7]
Read 7 tweets
12 Aug
🌎Get ready for #HamOnt's entry into the #TVORoadsideShowdown: the big globe at the wastewater plant. Maybe it’s not what you’d immediately think of as a roadside attraction, but Mr. Steve Paikin himself supports it, so hear me out. [1/7] A giant blue and yellow glo...
The globe (30 metres tall and 24 metres in diameter) is really a steel gas tank built in 1970. Located on the grounds of the Woodward wastewater plant, it’s visible to anyone walking along the Waterfront Trail and to the 130,000 drivers who pass it on the QEW each day. [2/7] ImageA giant blue and yellow glo...
As I've reported previously (tvo.org/article/ontari…), the tank is part of a cogeneration unit turning methane from wastewater sludge into electricity. It's a bit of a mystery why the tank was painted to look like Earth. [3/7] A map of a wastewater plant...
Read 7 tweets

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