Canadian Federal Election 44 - Sep 2021

[suffolkowner]

I've owned hunting rifles and shotguns all my life.

If concerned about safest places in Canada, and the world,

Canada's Most Dangerous Places 2020 - Macleans.ca

Use this interactive tool to see the full ranking of Canada's most dangerous places. Rank cities by type of crime or see all the statistics for one city.

www.macleans.ca

Safe Cities Index 2021

The Economist Intelligence Unit, sponsored by NEC, has released the Safe Cities Index 2021, covering 60 major urban areas. In its fourth edition, the Index consists of 76 sub indicators grouped under 5 domains.

safecities.economist.com

No. NYC, LA, and Mexico City are are biggest in North America. Toronto comes in fourth. That does not include the GTA.


Thank God for that. There's no Liberal or Conservative way to fix a sewer.

I retired "a gazillion years ago", so am no longer as familiar with the upwards of 240 official and unofficial neighbourhoods within Toronto city limits as it seems some others are.

I tend to mostly stick to my own now.

Neighbourhood conversation is more likely to be about if they should, or should not, install sidewalks. Or, "Why don't the garbagemen pick up from their doorstep anymore, rather than us having to wheel it to the curb ourselves?" Fix the potholes, or leave them as they are. That sort of thing. Not party politics.

Lot of talk on here about funding. I'll leave that for those better informed on the subject than I am.

One thing I do recall was that funding for the department I worked for was a result of a mixed formula, with fifty percent of funding coming from the municipal tax base and fifty percent from the provincial government.[ Provincial funding was based on the census population, not the business day population. As a result, there were always more people requiring 9-1-1 service than the system was funded for.



Governor Long said, "One day the people of Louisiana are going to get good government. And they are not gonna like it!"

why do the numbers not correspond to the rankings?

 

[mariomike]

why do the numbers not correspond to the rankings?

Which numbers to which rankings specifically?

The MacLeans rankings or the Economist rankings?

You will have to interpret the data for yourself.

 

[Altair]

That's a terrible example to set. no one thought to just maybe tell folks to suck it up?
1) Move out of a city
2) Buy a smaller home
3) Rent longer than you wanted?

The little guy isn't getting a voice - they are getting chocked out by more taxes - and they are being fooled into thinking it is salvation.

But you get the .gov you deserve -- I mean hey look at us down here, the Democracies of the Americas are living proof of Devolution in action..

Agree to disagree.

 

[Remius]

Agree to disagree.

People have to live within their means. I’m not saying we should make it impossible but not everyone is the same or equal. If you are living on minimum wage, homeownership isn’t likely. But alternatives like renting should be feasible. My brother in law wants a 4 bedroom home and pool. He doesn’t want to rent. He has to pay child support for four kids. At some point he will need to realise that that is feasible. Buy something smaller, rent or move out of the city and maybe find something better than mom’s basement.

Some people live in denial. Some people make it work with what they have. It took me 25 years from renting (8 years), first small townhouse (2 years), big 4 bedroom (1 year), divorce so down graded to a small 2 bedroom garden home with no yard (8years) to a semi detached (5 years) to where I am now in a single family home. In all that time I had options to move to the country for bigger, stay in town with smaller, rent an older nice place or rent a smaller new place etc etc etc.

People have options, but people make choices. They want a brand new truck, iPhone and every streaming show around but lament they can’t afford a house. We have choices. We don’t all have the same ones but choices can be made.

 

[mariomike]

My brother in law wants a 4 bedroom home and pool. He doesn’t want to rent. He has to pay child support for four kids. At some point he will need to realise that that is feasible. Buy something smaller, rent or move out of the city and maybe find something better than mom’s basement.

Either that, or marry the boss's daughter.

 

[Halifax Tar]

People have to live within their means. I’m not saying we should make it impossible but not everyone is the same or equal. If you are living on minimum wage, homeownership isn’t likely. But alternatives like renting should be feasible. My brother in law wants a 4 bedroom home and pool. He doesn’t want to rent. He has to pay child support for four kids. At some point he will need to realise that that is feasible. Buy something smaller, rent or move out of the city and maybe find something better than mom’s basement.

Some people live in denial. Some people make it work with what they have. It took me 25 years from renting (8 years), first small townhouse (2 years), big 4 bedroom (1 year), divorce so down graded to a small 2 bedroom garden home with no yard (8years) to a semi detached (5 years) to where I am now in a single family home. In all that time I had options to move to the country for bigger, stay in town with smaller, rent an older nice place or rent a smaller new place etc etc etc.

People have options, but people make choices. They want a brand new truck, iPhone and every streaming show around but lament they can’t afford a house. We have choices. We don’t all have the same ones but choices can be made.

100% I feel the same for the ageing folks who pissed their working years away and never planned for life after work. Tons of these folks in the Maritimes.

Ones inability to lead a mature, productive life should not entitle one to anothers fruits of labor.

 

[Remius]

100% I feel the same for the ageing folks who pissed their working years away and never planned for life after work. Tons of these folks in the Maritimes.

Ones inability to lead a mature, productive life should not entitle one to anothers fruits of labor.

I wish we taught more financial literacy in high school. I took calculus and algebra. Never use it at all and likely wouldn’t be able to given what I see my son doing right now. Budgets, investments, interest rates, credit card management, mortgages, pensions and RRSPs. Imagine how much better people could be if we taught these skills formally in a meaningful way.

 

[daftandbarmy]

100% I feel the same for the ageing folks who pissed their working years away and never planned for life after work. Tons of these folks in the Maritimes.

Ones inability to lead a mature, productive life should not entitle one to anothers fruits of labor.

“It is easy, when you are young, to believe that what you desire is no less than what you deserve, to assume that if you want something badly enough, it is your God-given right to have it.”

― Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild

 

[OldSolduer]

100% I feel the same for the ageing folks who pissed their working years away and never planned for life after work. Tons of these folks in the Maritimes.

Ones inability to lead a mature, productive life should not entitle one to anothers fruits of labor.

Bingo - Trudeau the elder bought the Maritimes in the mid 60s.

 

[Good2Golf]

I wish we taught more financial literacy in high school. I took calculus and algebra. Never use it at all and likely wouldn’t be able to given what I see my son doing right now. Budgets, investments, interest rates, credit card management, mortgages, pensions and RRSPs. Imagine how much better people could be if we taught these skills formally in a meaningful way.

My son may have rolled his eyes at his old man’s fiscal lessons, but on the cusp of his fourth decade of existence and ownership of an appropriately-sized house and decent savings, he too lamented about the education system’s woeful performance in arming youth for the practical challenges they will face in adult life.

 

[Remius]

Cheer up, Tories. And don't do that stupid thing you're thinking of doing - Macleans.ca

Jen Gerson: Let Justin Trudeau and the Liberals eat every morsel of cake coming to them, because time and circumstances are finally on your side.

www.macleans.ca

A good opinion piece Conservatives should heed.

 

[Remius]

But looks like they won’t…

Conservative on national council says members should review O'Toole's leadership

A Conservative who sits on the party's national council says Erin O'Toole should undergo an accelerated leadership review by members following his election loss, marking the first open challenge to him staying in the role.

www.ctvnews.ca

 

[Altair]

People have to live within their means.

I agree

I’m not saying we should make it impossible but not everyone is the same or equal.

Also agree.

If you are living on minimum wage, homeownership isn’t likely.

Agreed.

But alternatives like renting should be feasible. My brother in law wants a 4 bedroom home and pool. He doesn’t want to rent. He has to pay child support for four kids. At some point he will need to realise that that is feasible. Buy something smaller, rent or move out of the city and maybe find something better than mom’s basement.

Make sense.

Some people live in denial. Some people make it work with what they have. It took me 25 years from renting (8 years), first small townhouse (2 years), big 4 bedroom (1 year), divorce so down graded to a small 2 bedroom garden home with no yard (8years) to a semi detached (5 years) to where I am now in a single family home. In all that time I had options to move to the country for bigger, stay in town with smaller, rent an older nice place or rent a smaller new place etc etc etc.

Makes sense.

People have options, but people make choices. They want a brand new truck, iPhone and every streaming show around but lament they can’t afford a house. We have choices. We don’t all have the same ones but choices can be made.

I do like how people assume people are making bad choices.

I'm about to dump my financials here.

My household income is around 85k.

The wife and I identified the neighborhood we want to live in. Housing price around 350-400k

In order to make the finances work, we made a plan. Save a lot of money. 90k. We we have been putting aside around 10k a year. 4 years into our plan, no vacations, no new vehicles, living rather frugally, we saved around 45k. We had some investments pay off, to the tune of about 20k. So we are thinking we are doing really well. almost there.

Then covid hits and this housing market goes nuts. Suddenly 90k isn't enough. Fine, whats another 20k? Two more years? Fine. Another year passes. Another 15k on top of that? What the hell, fine, the neighborhood we planned on isn't going to work. Lets look outside the city. And whats happening? Right, of course, those prices are now rising faster than we can save as well.

So home ownership for us is pretty much out of the window.

I work for the forces, and my exit job is tied to this geographical location, so I cannot simply move across the country and net a job that pays anywhere near what my exit job is going to pay.

Where exactly did I screw up? What bad choices did I make?

 

[QV]

The same that Alberta pays to Toronto. 0.

Oh.

I agree

Also agree.

Agreed.

Make sense.

Makes sense.

I do like how people assume people are making bad choices.

I'm about to dump my financials here.

My household income is around 85k.

The wife and I identified the neighborhood we want to live in. Housing price around 350-400k

In order to make the finances work, we made a plan. Save a lot of money. 90k. We we have been putting aside around 10k a year. 4 years into our plan, no vacations, no new vehicles, living rather frugally, we saved around 45k. We had some investments pay off, to the tune of about 20k. So we are thinking we are doing really well. almost there.

Then covid hits and this housing market goes nuts. Suddenly 90k isn't enough. Fine, whats another 20k? Two more years? Fine. Another year passes. Another 15k on top of that? What the hell, fine, the neighborhood we planned on isn't going to work. Lets look outside the city. And whats happening? Right, of course, those prices are now rising faster than we can save as well.

So home ownership for us is pretty much out of the window.

I work for the forces, and my exit job is tied to this geographical location, so I cannot simply move across the country and net a job that pays anywhere near what my exit job is going to pay.

Where exactly did I screw up? What bad choices did I make?

Trying to make it in a six figure region on a five figure salary? It's a mistake many make.

 

[Halifax Tar]

I agree

Also agree.

Agreed.

Make sense.

Makes sense.

I do like how people assume people are making bad choices.

I'm about to dump my financials here.

My household income is around 85k.

The wife and I identified the neighborhood we want to live in. Housing price around 350-400k

In order to make the finances work, we made a plan. Save a lot of money. 90k. We we have been putting aside around 10k a year. 4 years into our plan, no vacations, no new vehicles, living rather frugally, we saved around 45k. We had some investments pay off, to the tune of about 20k. So we are thinking we are doing really well. almost there.

Then covid hits and this housing market goes nuts. Suddenly 90k isn't enough. Fine, whats another 20k? Two more years? Fine. Another year passes. Another 15k on top of that? What the hell, fine, the neighborhood we planned on isn't going to work. Lets look outside the city. And whats happening? Right, of course, those prices are now rising faster than we can save as well.

So home ownership for us is pretty much out of the window.

I work for the forces, and my exit job is tied to this geographical location, so I cannot simply move across the country and net a job that pays anywhere near what my exit job is going to pay.

Where exactly did I screw up? What bad choices did I make?

That's life. Who ever told you is was gonna be easy, or you had some sort of entitled state lied to you.

Keep you stick on the ice and keep plugging away.

 

[KevinB]

Not sure about that. I think we have far more rural or small towns where the crime rate is significantly higher than most big cities.

Crime or reported Crime?
I've done enough ride alongs with various Big City Departments both in Canada and down here - and I know that crime does not equal reported crimes.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Crime or reported Crime?
I've done enough ride alongs with various Big City Departments both in Canada and down here - and I know that crime does not equal reported crimes.

VPD got their pee pee slapped for not recording or responding to property crimes for awhile now they are obliged to attend.

 

[KevinB]

I'm about to dump my financials here.

My household income is around 85k.

The wife and I identified the neighborhood we want to live in. Housing price around 350-400k

In order to make the finances work, we made a plan. Save a lot of money. 90k. We we have been putting aside around 10k a year. 4 years into our plan, no vacations, no new vehicles, living rather frugally, we saved around 45k. We had some investments pay off, to the tune of about 20k. So we are thinking we are doing really well. almost there.

Then covid hits and this housing market goes nuts. Suddenly 90k isn't enough. Fine, whats another 20k? Two more years? Fine. Another year passes. Another 15k on top of that? What the hell, fine, the neighborhood we planned on isn't going to work. Lets look outside the city. And whats happening? Right, of course, those prices are now rising faster than we can save as well.

So home ownership for us is pretty much out of the window.

I work for the forces, and my exit job is tied to this geographical location, so I cannot simply move across the country and net a job that pays anywhere near what my exit job is going to pay.

Where exactly did I screw up? What bad choices did I make?

I don't want to come across as a smart ass, as I am legitimately sorry for your situation.

However the adage Life Sucks, Wear a Helmet comes to mind -- good people get F'd over by life all the time, you do the best with what you can, and you adapt as necessary.

I live in Horse Country Northern Virginia -- when we moved from Florida, our FL house which we owned outright - wasn't going to come close to helping with a house up here -- at least one we wanted.
We rented for 9 years - and slightly over a year ago where able to move in on a home built for us-- we had to have it built, as we had started looking pre-COVID - but homes where in the 800K plus range for what we wanted, and then where going for above asking - and most of the homes needed work - so you where looking at around 1.1M USD - which to me and my wife was crazy -- we managed to find a builder who had build a home for family friends - and he did fantastic work, had land to build on - and wasn't going to charge us a fortune.
We lucked out - we paid a tad over 800k, and now it's allegedly worth 1.3m
That said - I lost money on many houses before.
1) Calgary - Divorce from Trg Wife
2) Calgary Condo - I went back to the PPCLI after 9/11 and the market had crashed - so that was a 30k hit.

Now - if my wife or I need to go into the Pentagon, or worse DC - its a frightful hike - 27miles doesn't seem like much - until your doing 5 mph.
When I was working for FN in McLean VA - my commute was around a 4hr trip - I ended up working an off peak schedule like a lot of Fed gov folks do - to try to miss peak traffic - even then it was an hour or so either way -- for a 34.7m drive.


BUT if we had wanted to live closer to DC - a home we would need (2 kids, mother in law, 3 Labs) would be way over 3M - which I can't afford anytime soon.

I would suggest that you look further out -- you may find you enjoy it more - even if the commute in to work makes you homicidal at times --
Even if you buy out of your planned area - it will at least allow you to build up equity, so later if you want you can move to a more permanent home.

 

[Altair]

That's life. Who ever told you is was gonna be easy, or you had some sort of entitled state lied to you.

I don't think anyone told me that.

What people did say was work hard, save money, build your credit and when you have done these things long enough home ownership will be the next step.

Those people lied. I might as well have spent recklessly and travelled the world and bought new vehicles and the newest electronics because I have the same chance of buying a house as those folks and had a lot less fun in the past few years than they did.

Keep you stick on the ice and keep plugging away.

I don't think one can keep plugging away when house prices are rising faster than I am able to save. Math doesn't work that way. I am actually further away from home ownership today than I was 2 years ago and I have saved more money.

Riddle me that.

 

[Altair]

I don't want to come across as a smart ass, as I am legitimately sorry for your situation.

However the adage Life Sucks, Wear a Helmet comes to mind -- good people get F'd over by life all the time, you do the best with what you can, and you adapt as necessary.

I live in Horse Country Northern Virginia -- when we moved from Florida, our FL house which we owned outright - wasn't going to come close to helping with a house up here -- at least one we wanted.
We rented for 9 years - and slightly over a year ago where able to get a home built -- we had to have it built, as we had started looking pre-COVID - but homes where in the 800K plus range for what we wanted, and then where going for above asking - and most of the homes needed work - so you where looking at around 1.1M USD - which to me and my wife was crazy -- we managed to find a builder who had build a home for family friends - and he did fantastic work, had land to build on - and wasn't going to charge us a fortune.
We lucked out - we paid a tad over 800k, and now it's allegedly worth 1.3m
That said - I lost money on many houses before.
1) Calgary - Divorce from Trg Wife
2) Calgary Condo - I went back to the PPCLI after 9/11 and the market had crashed - so that was a 30k hit.

Now - if my wife or I need to go into the Pentagon, or worse DC - its a frightful hike - 27miles doesn't seem like much - until your doing 5 mph.
When I was working for FN in McLean VA - my commute was around a 4hr trip - I ended up working an off peak schedule like a lot of Fed gov folks do - to try to miss peak traffic - even then it was an hour or so either way -- for a 34.7m drive.


BUT if we had wanted to live closer to DC - a home we would need (2 kids, mother in law, 3 Labs) would be way over 3M - which I can't afford anytime soon.

I would suggest that you look further out -- you may find you enjoy it more - even if the commute in to work makes you homicidal at times --
Even if you buy out of your planned area - it will at least allow you to build up equity, so later if you want you can move to a more permanent home.

Our ideal neighborhood was a a 30 minute drive to work.

As those got more expensive, we looked further out. 45-50 minute drive, and no transit now.

As those got more expensive, trying to get something basic is over an hour drive with traffic.

It's better to rent.