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The City of Toronto is desperate to find new sources of revenue. Why not stop the insanity with respect to Accessible Parking Permits (APP)?

“A permit holder or driver (operating a vehicle for the purpose of transporting an accessible permit holder) who displays a valid accessible parking permit is entitled to the following exemptions:

• Signed prohibited parking areas (this includes time restricted areas only between the hours of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) No exemptions exist during the rush hour periods between 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Further non-exemptions apply, please see below.
• Signed on-street permit parking areas. Vehicles displaying a valid parking permit are permitted to park without a designated on-street parking permit
• Signed parking limits such as one hour and two hour maximums; holders are allowed to exceed the signed maximum parking limit
• Unsigned maximum three-hour parking limit in effect on all city streets
• Holders may park at on-street parking meters or pay and display machines without putting a coin in the meter/machine during the hours of legal operation. Note: Exemption does not apply to off-street parking meters/machines (ie. on private property or in Green P parking lots).“

https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/streets-parking-transportation/sidewalk-tours-wayfinding/accessible-streets/accessible-parking-permits/

APP holders should be required to have a street parking permit for overnight parking. Temporary permits are available online.

APP holders should pay for parking. We are no longer in the age of coins and parking meters. If an APP holder is required to pay in a Green P lot, why would street parking (using the Green P app) be any different?

The level of manipulation with respect to APPs is out of control.

Perhaps instead of giving wealthy people money to buy an expensive EV (which in turn reduces gas tax revenue that is supposedly used to maintain our roads), the Government of Ontario could use that money to fix public transit.

Maybe instead of allowing wealthy EV drivers to drive solo in HOV lanes, single-person passes could be sold to EV and ICE vehicle drivers alike.

“If you’ve got a mortgage or if you’re considering making a major purchase, or you’re a business and you’re considering making an investment, you can be confident rates will be low for a long time,” Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said at a press conference in July 2020.

I was the idiot who followed this advice and opted for a variable-rate mortgage in early 2021. I got slaughtered. Still am getting slaughtered.

Why don’t Canadian banks offer 25 and 30 year fixed rate mortgages at competitive rates like US banks do?

How about allowing Canadians to claim a tax deduction on mortgage interest on their principal residence?

Statistics Canada indicates that “Two-parent families with two children and an annual income of more than $135,790 from 2014 to 2017 spent on average $403,910 per child from birth to age 17”, or about $24,000/year/child. Assuming a marginal tax rate of 40%, this equates to $40,000 in household income per child per year.

https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/plus/5111-how-much-do-canadian-families-spend-raising-child

This is scary data – from 2017.

Statistics Canada goes on to state that “the cost of living has risen over the past decade, with especially large price increases for various goods and services since early 2021. These increased costs mean that the amount parents spend on children has likely increased since the data used for this study were collected in 2017.

For example, shelter prices, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, have risen by just over one-quarter (+25.3%) from July 2017 to July 2023.

The cost of transportation was up by almost one-third (+31.3%) this July compared with July 2017, while the price of food was up by over one-quarter (+28.7%).”

If the Federal and/or Provincial government is serious about stabilizing (increasing) birth rates, I have some suggestions:

• Eliminate all the complex/nuanced support programs including federal daycare funding and replace with a tax credit of $25,000 per child under the age of 18 (up to 3 children)
• Provide a tax credit of $10,000 per child between the ages of 18-24 (up to 3 children)
• Reduce the age threshold for a TFSA from 18 to 12 years of age – let’s get kids educated on the benefits of saving/investing
• Increase RESP contribution limit to $75,000/child and remove government matching; make withdrawals tax-free
• Index EI payments during maternity leave to 80% of previous years’ taxable income for 12 months
• Permanently remove GST/HST from necessities
  • Strollers and car seats
  • Diapers, formula, etc