How much did you hand over to the taxman on April 30? Well here’s a simple tip: the more you give to charity, the less you give to Canada Revenue Agency. In fact, tax incentives for charitable giving in Canada are among the most generous in the world. Most accountants would argue that making a […]
Category: Money, Life and Law
Spring real estate market shows signs of balance
Well, spring has finally settled in, and summer is just around the corner. The last vestiges of winter hung around longer than we’ve grown accustomed to, as just a short month ago we saw the last of the snow fly. Our neighbourhood is about to put on its dazzling display of flora and fauna. Our […]
Are you a stock or a bond?
Meet Tula, age 33. She is the child of a baby boomer. After university she wasn’t able to get a job in her field, so she travelled the world. When she finally returned home from her travels, she moved back in with her parents. She pays her parents rent (and doesn’t have to cook). Today […]
Right to know lease cost denied
Thank you to so many who wrote to me to express interest about my appeal to the Information and Privacy Commissioner to shed light on what happened with the Boardwalk Cafe lease. The results are quite stunning and worthy of a small follow up. I have tried for months to get public disclosure of the […]
Beach residents have a right to know
Does it cost money to break a contract? Most of the time, yes. In 2003, it cost taxpayers $35 million to cancel a $22 million bridge to the Island Airport. In 2011, cancelling Transit City in favour of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s subway-focused plan could have cost taxpayers $65 million. The politically motivated gas plant […]
The ins and outs of parking fines
Anyone who attended the community town hall meeting on Feb. 4 at The Balmy Beach Club about traffic and parking in the Beach didn’t feel the love in the room, but rather the frustration. An open and heated discussion with city transit staff, hosted by Ward 32 Councilor Mary-Margaret McMahon, showed the raw emotions of […]
Snow, shoveling and mutual driveways
Winter has arrived. We haven’t seen this much snow in a couple years, and certainly didn’t last winter. As I sat down to write my first article of the new year, I decided to revisit a column I penned some time ago. This article goes hand in glove with the arrival of snow, as it […]
Don’t let the Beach bed bugs bite
The bed bugs are here. The reported cases of bed bug infestations in Toronto have been increasing yearly and it may be going critical. Bed bugs have been compared to miniature little vampires. They are small parasitic insects that live on human blood. They feed late at night. During the day, they hide in tiny […]
Beach market cools slightly with fall weather
Didn’t that beautiful summer fly by? And September and October…those months fell away like the acorns from our mighty oak trees. Have you noticed that the acorns are somewhat smaller this year? Still, the nightly plop and ping of those falling acorns are an unmistakable sign that fall is upon us, and winter not too […]
Include care giving in your retirement planning and year end reminders
Research is showing that more and more of Canada’s aging population is relying on family and friends for their care during retirement. For example, Statistics Canada shows that nearly 70% of the care needed by seniors over age 65 is provided by a family member. Another 30% of care is provided by friends, neighbours and […]
