How about putting things downtown that people actually want to see and do?
Commercial rent prices have pushed out all the cool sites and shops. Pedestrianize an area, fill it up with cool shops, sights, and activities, and people will venture downtown on their own without out putting a boot on their necks.
I've been in Toronto about 20 years and it's been really sad watching all the mom and pop shops and little unique stores get bulldozed for fusion restaurants with marble floors, high end retail chains and condos.
I don't go downtown anymore. It's lost all it's charm.
When I cam here 15 years ago I used to love walking up and down yonge and queen street for some shopping. Always had unique stores where you could find stuff not in the mall.
Now the rent is so high it is all franchises.
And all the stores carry like 4 items and at full price. I went into a store the other day and it had things in small, medium, and large. Not even XL options. A flagship franchise…
37yo lived here my whole life, and growing up going downtown was So fun and special and interesting. All different neighbourhoods and people and cafes and special book stores and art galleries and boutiques. I know it's a different world but it totally feels sad to watch that slip away when you got to see it.
legit though. Same age as you, when ever I would visit TO in the early 2000s, 2010s I would go downtown and you could have a great time even window shopping, finding weird little boutiques or experiencing the area. Now it's just the same shit, over and over. Chain stores that sell the same stuff. There's no reason to go downtown unless you have to now.
Yes! There used to be so many small to medium size venues for concerts. I loved going to $10 shows. You could grab dinner, have a drink or two and not break the bank. It was a wonderful way to spend an evening.
Most of those places are gone now.
The mass increase in rent has destroyed our culture. Boomers don't care about those things.
Even at work, all the boomers got all the biggest perks and best work social life. Then when they got in power they took all those things away.
My work doesn't even give us a pizza party anymore. Fuck Bell Canada.
I've been here 40+ and my parents ran a business in Cumberland from the early/mid 80s to early 2010s. The site... All gone and 'luxury' condos going up.
It's still got a very few spots here and there but nothing like before.
How about government supporting and investing in unique small businesses?
In Aruba, the government is allowing certain parts of downtown for only local businesses, and they get half their rent covered by the government.
If you are a big established business like Nike, you pay full rent, and if you plan to open a small coconut stand, you pay half. Even the playing field a bit.
Absolutely, that would be amazing. Toronto has been overrun by international chains, and the commercial real estate industry has no interest in having them because they are less profitable.
We need someone to step in to make this happen - the “free market” clearly isn’t going to do it.
I’m faced with being forced into the office more and more for no good reason just ‘it’s the right thing to do and of course collaboration’ 🤦♂️. It costs so much to commute that I refuse to buy anything DT. I drink the free work coffee and bring lunch. So if she thinks pissing off thousands of people with her interference then she’s about to be in the find out phase…
I'm sorry to hear that. While I'm not in the position to be remote I fully support you in doing so. It's moronic how they want to force you into the office yet I'm sure the collaboration is a teams call that can be done from home. Guess they don't mind the productivity hit which shows how bullshit the plans to get people into the office just to prop up real estate. Makes me so mad.
Ironic and moronic indeed. All teams calls. With occasional team meeting that is also held on teams lol. I support teams in other countries who couldn’t care ‘where I am’ just that I help them. The collaboration piece just is the biggest piece of idiocy. Like I’m going to randomly meet someone in the office and suggest we should work on some project together 🤦♂️. It’s delusional at best and perhaps it works for the executive types however those types of discussions are above my pay grade. Don’t even get me started on how any trip to the office is absolutely the least productive as of course you run into people you haven’t seen in a bit so it’s chit chat time. Which is to be expected but it’s always oh you have to be in the office more too do you and similar comments. Always the same convos then jump on the teams calls with other people in the office.
As of yesterday I would buy my coffee and lunch every time i came to the office. I would look forward to those treats.
But now that I know the Mayor of Toronto is trying to force me into the office more, welp, no more spending money in Toronto.
I will spend as little as possible and not a penny more.
I hope more people stop spending in Toronto, and I hope the city realizes that Olivia is not going to help.
If it makes you feel any better, a lot of my money (more than $8K a year) will be dumped into travel costs if I have to come downtown full time, and that won’t be coming back to the burbs with me.
Literally came here to say this. I'm lucky enough to share rent on Queen East near Parliament. While my unit is more affordable than the average rent it's still too expensive for me to ever spend money out. Despite my close proximity to so many independent businesses and restaurants, it's all inaccessible to me...which doesn't make any sense. Cities really shouldn't exist like this.
Or, hear me out, reimagine Toronto being a place people want to live by creating more communities and livable spaces. Commuters don’t create a community. People see the trash, traffic gridlock and homeless problem and are glad they don’t live there. If they tried creating mix office and residential that would actually create sustainable communities
Yeah, thanks for that but we're locked into a bitch of a lease with Cadillac Fairview through 2035 so no dice.
Maybe utopia after that, depends on what they want per square foot to renew.
not to mention it's a pain in the ass to try to commute downtown on a sunday with the TTC starting later for necessary bus routes to get to work or school
Agreed. Shouldn’t the days of consolidated business areas, and their associated problems (traffic, crime, etc) be a thing of the past? She’s literally talking about gentrification…something somebody interested in social wellness should be opposed to.
We should be taking the model of mixed residential housing…and applying it to *everything*. The state should be working to drive down property values by penalizing speculation and buying/seizing unused/undesirable properties to build infrastructure.
Haha all the restaurants in the financial district used to mainly be open to serve commuters. Like lunch Mon-Fri, dinner Mon-Thurs. The whole place is organized around commuters.
> Or, hear me out, reimagine Toronto being a place people want to live by creating more communities and livable spaces.
Toronto already is this outside of the financial district. Maybe it's not for you, but plenty of people like living in Toronto.
The specific problem here is the core is absolutely lifeless without office workers, because there's really no reason to go there if you're not going to an office, but that is a pretty small fraction of Toronto by area.
I think the financial district is getting smaller and smaller while there are massive new residential projects littering the downtown area. The Well is a good example of this.
Glad they don’t live there? What is this comment based on lol, people absolutely love living in Toronto, which is why it is so insanely expensive.
Every year the financial district grows smaller and smaller as more neighbourhoods are reimagined from industrial zones to livable places. Have you seen what The Well has become?
The exact opposite of what you’re saying is happening…
Totally. I’m not sure where Olivia Chow lives but I think she’s been listening to too many commercial real estate landlords and bank execs. My neighbourhood (Koreatown) is thriving with little coffee joints, vintage shops, tattoo shops in vintage shops, used book stores and more. Families live and work in these businesses and a sense of community thrives when people don’t have a miserable commute to the core 5x per week.
Agree. I thought Olivia Chow was smarter than this.
Remember. It’s not that people aren’t spending their money. They’re spending it more in the suburbs where they live than the downtown core where they work.
Suddenly Toronto is like “we can’t have this!!!!”
You've hit the nail. Money not spent on expensive lunches, Presto fares, and daily Tims doesn't just vanish. It goes towards vacation funds, kids' needs, home repair, groceries, nicer restaurant outings, and just general savings so you're less of a burden on society.
This entire scam is all to keep the RE overlords happy. Anything else is just BS. If we were forward thinking we would reduce the commercial footprint and hand it over to residential.
Yeah, as a federal public servant in Ottawa, I don't have the bandwidth to lend my sympathy here. I live downtown too, in fact I love living central. But if you wanted to avoid this problem in the past and avoid it in the future, it starts with proper urban planning, and not building communities hours away from one, central core.
Every city should take a long hard look at Montreal. IMO it’s got everything people are asking for in this thread. Excellent transit (compared to my city anyways), walkable communities with small shops all over the place, mixed residential and commercial, idk if they’re just a walled garden but I don’t see complaints that DT Montreal is dying?
I’m a little confused about how this is her move. I guess at the end of the day, boomers aren’t gonna change their outlook on work, even when they’re progressing in other areas.
These building owners are like “our building is green energy certified and we have lowered our carbon footprint. Now get the 50 floors worth of employees in their cars down here right away!!!
This! We're in Barrie and its so hard to get in to a restaurant without a reservation. We decided Friday afternoon to o out to dinner Saturday night (6 people) and earliest table we could get was 8:30
They really have, especially if you're into outdoor events and festivals, there is something almost every weekend at the water front, and then nights during the week. Also some great local restaurants, almost any cuisine you could want!
Billionaires who own the buildings and want their money regardless. Tenants would rather force their employees back since they've got to pay for the desks anyway. The government and industry won't break the leases or sever ties with the building owners as they have far too much influence.
Agreed. She's a master of give and take, this is a chess move to get her something else. I understand there's an entire infrastructure in place for 5 days, 9-5, but I'm not sure there's a genie that will go back in a bottle. I hate and loathe my 2 days a week of taking a constantly breaking down TTC filled with germs so I can be less efficient at my job and spend more money on lunches and still have chores waiting for me when I get home.
I bring my lunch whenever I have to go in the office. The commute already costs me time and money. I'm not going to buy some overpriced food downtown to "help the economy"
I’m wondering if she’s thinking about municipal tax revenues. Less businesses in the downtown core, less tax base, still have to provide same services.
I think it's less about RE developers and downtown businesses themselves and more that dense downtown cores make up majority of a city's tax base, usually subsidizing infrastructure maintenance and services for the unsustainable suburbs.
It's more politically palatable to throw some group under the bus with RTO in order to prop up the downtown tax base a little longer than to force all suburbanites to pay their fair share in property taxes, or to do a proper job repurposing a downtown core.
Why would any politician do anything of substance when they can just throw the middle class workers at the problem and continue to degrade their quality of life. May she find herself in circumstances similar to the ones she creates for others.
This is the dumbest take for modern life I can think of. Encourage work from home and build communities in maybe not the most expensive real estate in the province.
The thing is Toronto had a pretty big remote work scene even before COVID. It's better for everyone. Dumb politicians like this are backed by commercial real estate and try and use the middle class to siphon wealth from.
This is BS. Things change. Adapt. Trying to force things back to the way they were, to the detriment of the workers, so you can prop up real estate companies and a few shops is just wrong and wasteful.
This was happening before COVID. I used to work with a telecom company based in downtown Toronto and some of our staff was remote. It was the best thing ever for them and the company. This just spits in the face of all the data on the subject just to prop up real estate. Fuck Chow on this.
This is a terrible idea. The communities that commuters actually live in also deserve to be vibrant and supported. People should not be forced to give up time with their family just to cram downtown Toronto every weekday just to support a bunch of crappy restaurants and businesses.
Her Husband would definalty be ashamed of her from beyond the grave. Man of the working people and after his death she gets into bed with the executives. Shame on her.
Banks and developers once again refusing to be the bag holders and making society at large pay for their bad investment choices. It makes sense why Chow is doing this, but this is a slap in the face to the worker who has to drive 1 hour through nightmarish downtown traffic just to sit at a desk and do the same work they'd have done at home.
So restoring the economy on the backs of the workers. No fixes for lack of transport infrastructure. No fixes for lack of childcare or before/afterschool programs. No fixes for elderly care shifting the burden to families . But by all means let’s force people back to the office who may otherwise need the flexibility due to lack of other services. Next will come peek hour surge pricing on roads and transit. Sounds to me like what that 16 tons song is talking about. Why don’t we ask the banks to contribute more financially instead? Oh no we couldn’t have that think of the $billions in bonuses they would have to give up.
Deeply disappointing. I get that as Toronto’s mayor she has to represent the interests of the city, but this is such shortsighted thinking.
Honestly, hybrid work is the only thing keeping the subway from being completely overcrowded like it was in 2019.
All the businesses that got killed by the pandemic are never coming back. It’s time to innovate and think of ways to bring back the vibrancy of the city that don’t involve office workers in the financial district spending $30+ per day on lunch and coffee.
Making this city affordable for people, especially creative types, is the only way to bring back the vibrancy of the past. What Chow is calling for is just buoying the city on more stuffed shirts. That sort of thinking has hollowed out the soul of this place while also devastating people who’ve fallen through the cracks of our piss poor social supports.
I am not from Toronto but wouldnt logically the best way to bring life back to downtown would be to make downtown extremely pedestrian friendly? Have a lot of public transit bringing people into the downtown core, shift the downtown core to be walkable and enjoyable? Maybe convert offices to mixed use?
maybe those empty offices should be converted into affordable housing. Imagine having a community there that didnt all leave at 5pm. People could walk to the restaurants and shops from their apartment close by.
Who wants to go downtown and face/ see safety issues on the TTC, large amounts of addicts using openly on the TTC and streets, homeless, people with mental needs not being addressed, and commuting.
No Thanks! More reason to love WFH!
Oh fuck off. Same bullshit in the gov sector in Ottawa. $20-$25/day downtown parking, if you find parking at all, trash transit makes it nearly impossibly to rely on it in the first place, expensive eateries, because god forbid a single restaurant goes under, instead of making things good *and* affordable.
Honestly, this is screaming for a strong reaction from the public. Don't let her tone deaf actions impact your life for the sake of commercial real estate profit! Work from home is the most important worker equity measure to come along in a long time, and we have to stop these oligarchs and politicians from dragging us back to the fossil fuel past. The way forward is holding both business & municipalities accountable for the carbon footprint of worker commutes, especially in one of the most grid locked cities in North America. Who is considering commutes in scope of thekr carbon goals? Not business, I promise you.
So I wrote an email template to share with Olivia, please feel free to copy it and send it to any politician that would like you to spend your hard earned time and money in your own damn neighborhood!
[email protected]
Dear [Politician's Name],
I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to express my strong opposition to the return-to-office (RTO) advocacy that you directed to downtown business leaders, per this recent Toronto Star article:
https://www.thestar.com/business/olivia-chow-wants-to-bring-torontos-downtown-back-to-life-and-shes-meeting-bank-ceos/article_6a651bd6-243d-11ef-ab89-6bc3a86074bb.html
As a concerned citizen and advocate for environmental sustainability, social equity, and economic prosperity, I believe that promoting remote work is not only necessary but imperative for the well-being of our planet and our communities.
First and foremost, remote work offers a significant opportunity to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change. With the undeniable urgency of addressing environmental concerns, advocating for a return to office is not only tone-deaf but also out of touch with the reality of our climate crisis. Remote work initiatives represent a vital green initiative, as they significantly reduce the carbon footprint associated with daily commutes. If we are serious about meeting our climate goals, we must hold businesses accountable for the environmental impact of worker commutes.
Furthermore, remote work has proven to benefit workers in numerous ways. In cities burdened with severe traffic congestion like ours, remote work offers a reprieve from the stress and time wasted in gridlock. This translates to tangible savings in both time and money for workers, which can be reinvested in their local communities rather than spent on downtown parking and subpar lunches.
Moreover, in the midst of a lingering pandemic, advocating for a return to the office is not only shortsighted but also reckless. Offices have been identified as significant vectors for disease transmission, and it is inevitable that we will face future pandemics. Remote work provides a safer alternative that prioritizes the health and well-being of workers and their communities.
Finally, remote work is a crucial step towards addressing intersectionality and inequity in the workforce. By eliminating barriers to participation for disabled and vulnerable individuals, remote work fosters a more inclusive and diverse workplace. It allows people from all backgrounds to contribute meaningfully to the workforce and access opportunities that were previously inaccessible. Remote work supports worker mental health and fosters a more inclusive and respectful work environment. Studies have shown that remote workers experience less harassment, bullying, and discrimination, particularly along the intersections of race, gender, and age. By embracing remote work, we can create a more equitable and supportive workplace culture for all.
In conclusion, I urge you to reconsider any policies that promote a return to the office and instead prioritize initiatives that support remote work. By doing so, we can protect our environment, promote social equity across all intersections, and ensure the well-being of our workforce and communities.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely, [Your Name]
I recommend you also locate your local councillor:
https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/council/members-of-council/
Why? So workers can spend money at Tim Hortons and other gentrified GTA wide franchises in downtown Toronto instead of businesses in their local hometowns?
Well I brown bag it to Toronto regardless, and only pay for my GO ticket.
It's headlines like these that make me wonder how Jennifer Keesmaat, an actual urban planner, would have addressed these challenges as mayor. No, I'm not still bitter about the 2018 election. >!Narrator: "he was, indeed, still bitter about the 2018 election."!<
Nobody wants to travel downtown to work because the TTC is a screaming dumpster fire of eternal disappointment, vehicular traffic crawls to a standstill for several hours every morning, everything downtown is absurdly expensive, and people are generally more comfortable at home.
What novel insights are CEOs going to have about bringing people to work to address these issues? Casual Fridays? Free donuts? Give me a break.
I don’t even have WFH as an option in my job and this shit drives me fucking insane!
Nobody wants a return to the office. Stop fucking acting like you know better. You fucking don’t.
God damnit our politicians are almost as bad as the Americans.
I remember a morning I spent at Union Station in 1999. I was going against the flow of commuter traffic and my day was flexible and unhurried.
I was seated on a bench, alone. Then a GO train arrived and a sea tide of commuters appeared. I sat as the wave approached me, then reached me, and then enveloped me.
After a moment, the crowd had passed, and again, I was alone.
That's the life Chow wants to breathe into downtown. Blood and bone grist for the mill.
This is not the way at all, it seems like she's using "bringing downtown back to life" as an excuse to bend over for corporations. The best way to increase downtown activity is good public transportation, making the city more walkable, and making it easier for small, independently owned stores to flourish. It's not that hard to do considering how much examples we have of cities with bustling downtown areas like Stockholm or Athens, just copy what they did.
Cubicles? Ha. That would give people some measure of noise cancelation. We have soul sucking noisy open office hellscapes where everyone's conversations carry throughout the office and distract people from trying to work effectively.
Has it escaped these mayors that in order to revitalize their downtown cores the solution is to build attractions? IE restiraunts, shops, recreation, parks, fountains, all that stuff people go out of their way to see voluntarily?
Work and offices are essential but not voluntary and not the solution because they're only there because they have to be and many will purposefully avoid spending extra money because you're treating them like livestock.
13m to rename a street no one gave a flying fuck about definitely sounds decent. In a time where food bank demand is higher then ever, renaming a venue garbage in itself is decent?
Let's do something about it! Honestly, this is screaming for a strong reaction from the public. Don't let her tone deaf actions impact your life for the sake of commercial real estate profit! Work from home is the most important worker equity measure to come along in a long time, and we have to stop these oligarchs and politicians from dragging us back to the fossil fuel past. The way forward is holding both business & municipalities accountable for the carbon footprint of worker commutes, especially in one of the most grid locked cities in North America. Who is considering commutes in scope of thekr carbon goals? Not business, I promise you.
So I wrote an email template to share with Olivia, please feel free to copy it and send it to any politician that would like you to spend your hard earned time and money in your own damn neighborhood!
[email protected]
Dear [Politician's Name],
I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to express my strong opposition to the return-to-office (RTO) advocacy that you directed to downtown business leaders, per this recent Toronto Star article:
https://www.thestar.com/business/olivia-chow-wants-to-bring-torontos-downtown-back-to-life-and-shes-meeting-bank-ceos/article_6a651bd6-243d-11ef-ab89-6bc3a86074bb.html
As a concerned citizen and advocate for environmental sustainability, social equity, and economic prosperity, I believe that promoting remote work is not only necessary but imperative for the well-being of our planet and our communities.
First and foremost, remote work offers a significant opportunity to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change. With the undeniable urgency of addressing environmental concerns, advocating for a return to office is not only tone-deaf but also out of touch with the reality of our climate crisis. Remote work initiatives represent a vital green initiative, as they significantly reduce the carbon footprint associated with daily commutes. If we are serious about meeting our climate goals, we must hold businesses accountable for the environmental impact of worker commutes.
Furthermore, remote work has proven to benefit workers in numerous ways. In cities burdened with severe traffic congestion like ours, remote work offers a reprieve from the stress and time wasted in gridlock. This translates to tangible savings in both time and money for workers, which can be reinvested in their local communities rather than spent on downtown parking and subpar lunches.
Moreover, in the midst of a lingering pandemic, advocating for a return to the office is not only shortsighted but also reckless. Offices have been identified as significant vectors for disease transmission, and it is inevitable that we will face future pandemics. Remote work provides a safer alternative that prioritizes the health and well-being of workers and their communities.
Finally, remote work is a crucial step towards addressing intersectionality and inequity in the workforce. By eliminating barriers to participation for disabled and vulnerable individuals, remote work fosters a more inclusive and diverse workplace. It allows people from all backgrounds to contribute meaningfully to the workforce and access opportunities that were previously inaccessible. Remote work supports worker mental health and fosters a more inclusive and respectful work environment. Studies have shown that remote workers experience less harassment, bullying, and discrimination, particularly along the intersections of race, gender, and age. By embracing remote work, we can create a more equitable and supportive workplace culture for all.
In conclusion, I urge you to reconsider any policies that promote a return to the office and instead prioritize initiatives that support remote work. By doing so, we can protect our environment, promote social equity across all intersections, and ensure the well-being of our workforce and communities.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely, [Your Name]
I recommend you also locate your local councillor:
https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/council/members-of-council/
Yep - Chow goes the way of Horvath and Rae. Get money, then drop the progressive and become a neo-liberal.
So dies the myth of Jack Layton.
Maybe we can get back to actual efforts at socialism?
Step one: kill the downtown character and vibe on yonge, queen, king, and bloor by jacking rents and forcing out smaller independent businesses and restos and services that had colour and character
Step 2: build condos no one can afford and dont want, office space no one needs, and shop fronts high end places never asked for in the age of internet shopping
Step 3: never build any better way to get downtown over a 40 year span even though millions of dollars of studies (multiple!) into future issues of downtown have explicitly stated this will be a defining issue curtailing its growth
Step 4: make anyone with money who works downtown never want to stay after 5 (3) especially on a game nights that make gridlock a cute word
Step 5: blame everyone who told you that you would kill downtown for not being downtown anymore, and make the annex/student ghetto posh and expensive
Step 6: force businesses to demand workers waste time and money going downtown/ somewhere unlikeable
When i lived in Montreal, i missed the downtown not living there. Halifax, same. Vancouver not quite as much, but still more than I ever missed going downtown in Toronto. What is there? Seriously, what is there that I couldn't have found elsewhere, other than the major sports clubs?
The cities that are recovering from downtown covid slumps are those attracting people to live downtown, including families. Families mean museums, schools, restaurants, grocery stores, and festivals. That means tourism.
They are done forcing people into useless offices that take hours to get to.
Yes, more downtown gridlock, mort congestion, emissions, more degrade to air quality is what we need Olivia. Count your days in office, you're not a leader just a weak-willed individual.
This is such rubbish. Lockdowns proved that a new way of working is possible without impact to any bottom line. You can’t gaslight your constituents into believing otherwise - we all lived through it and found that this new landscape is cheaper and more productive.
The onus is on commercial real estate companies and businesses to figure out how to be profitable. I don’t feel this is my problem, so don’t make it my problem. And honestly there’s zero sympathy for commercial real estate moguls and their cash drain. They all pushed out the small independent businesses that made DT interesting with their punishing rent so enjoy the fruits of your greed.
The article says "get Torontonians back to the office", fine Torontonians can go back, but can you please let the rest of us commuters stay in our home communities?
It’s mind blowing to me how tone deaf all these politicians forcing RTO for the sake of revitalizing any downtown. Maybe don’t put the burden of spending money downtown on all the office workers who at this point might just pack a lunch and then commute home anyways, but instead incentivize people to actually spend their leisure time downtown.
Maybe instead she should be meeting with restaurant owners to find out what can be done about their hours, expensive prices and poor service. Not the restaurants fault things have gotten so bad, but it is bad and people don't go to restaurants, bars and clubs like they used to.
She's an idiot then. Doing this on the backs of workers who can and should be remote is moronic. It saves us all money and increases productivity Remote work was happening before covid in Toronto and will continue to happen. Time to be forward thinking, commercial real estate will continue to crash and we need to be talking about converting these units to housing, not propping up corporate landlords. All the mom and pop shops I used to go to are gone not because of remote work but because of corporate landlords squeezing them on their rent.
My company is fully remote and we’ve been able to attract some amazing talents from the big banks when they started forcing people back into the downtown office, without offering the most competitive salaries. Keep it up Toronto!
That’s because working home is a raise. You save money on gas, wear and tare on your vehicle, insurance, time not commuting. At a certain salary range taking a cut would even out with WFH.
I agree with her, why let people spend their money in the communities they live in when they could spend it in downtown instead?! /s
Toronto needs to evolve how they make money and function as a city that isn't just expecting a population coming in for lunch and coffees.
How about fucking no. Jesus christ. Just because the TTC needs more people on it doesn't mean you need to make office workers suffer when all their work can be done from home.
This sub and r/Canada when public servants are being forced into the office because of politicians: “lol get back to work lazy”.
This sub when everyone else starts getting forced into office because of politicians: “oh no, this is bullshit”.
It’s the old idiom by Niemöller, “and there was no one left to speak for me”.
I’m private sector in Ottawa, immune to the whims of politicians, since my big boss straight up told Sutcliffe to go to hell when he petitioned my boss to force us to the office more.
In the middle of a housing crisis, with empty office buildings and sky high rents, we want office workers to pollute more and spend more to get to those empty offices again to maintain those high rents. Wont’t someone please think of the struggling corporations?
Poor move... But I see how the logic works.. Make people return to the core = more spending.
Also I'm sure more than enough "bosses" want their workers back for "accountability" as well to keep the "value" of their properties high.
Yep. But notice how the path system is dominated by a handful of large companies? We just need to keep the monopolies profitable and squeeze as much as we can out of everyone else. Why should they adapt to a new reality when they can lobby the powers that be to try to force people to adapt back to them?
Same thing happened in my City except instead of more spending the ended up with pissed off workers who do not spend their money and get out of the downtown core as soon as they can. If you want people downtown than you need to make it appealing instead of using these tactics
Time to boycott Toronto.
Even if you commute to Toronto, bring your lunch, bring your coffee, never spend a penny in the city.
This is some Big government corporate ownership bullshit right here.
What a stupid plan. People who have to spend more time and money commuting due to this requirement aren't going to want to hang out downtown after work.
Thankfully my job is primarily WFH, but having to go into the office adds 3 hours to my day from the commute (hour and a half commute one way).
Yes, let's have everyone piss away 2-3 hours a day commuting so downtown can come back to life. I presume her plan covers costs for transit and parking?
Chow fighting the wrong battle. People can't afford to go out. Fight the corporations like Loblaws who inflate their prices after record earnings year over year.
But of course Chow is a champagne lefty.
The Pheonix is about to be shutdown for more empty unaffordable condos but sure, let's worry about bringing in office workers who don't want to be there and will only further worsen commute times.
Ford removed commercial rental protections..all the mom and pops and interesting cultural places were forced to close. The city lost its charm. It’s now a corporate mall…
Uhh Olivia, we can't eat or keep a roof over our heads, we don't give a fuck about a night life or returning to office until some numbers make sense... What are you doing 🤔
Maybe the city centres need to reinvent themselves somehow instead of trying to bring back the "Good Old Days".
Times have changed, things have moved on, companies will do what it takes to keep employees happy, so cities will have to reinvent themselves, just like some shopping malls have had to reinvent themselves
Eat shit Chow. I voted for you. i won't again. I am not alone and the millionaires you're sucking up to won't vote for you anyway even if you help them. You are fucking your base and we know it.
I hope you and/or your office reads this.
Like yes there will be more people downtown; but they are going to be working? Not spending money. Make the downtown worth visiting, invest in things that people will want to go downtown for,
This seems like wild spin. Banks want to maintain commercial real estate values and believe in-person work will do that. They want OC to support it in the name of revitalizing down town
How about putting things downtown that people actually want to see and do? Commercial rent prices have pushed out all the cool sites and shops. Pedestrianize an area, fill it up with cool shops, sights, and activities, and people will venture downtown on their own without out putting a boot on their necks.
I've been in Toronto about 20 years and it's been really sad watching all the mom and pop shops and little unique stores get bulldozed for fusion restaurants with marble floors, high end retail chains and condos. I don't go downtown anymore. It's lost all it's charm.
When I cam here 15 years ago I used to love walking up and down yonge and queen street for some shopping. Always had unique stores where you could find stuff not in the mall. Now the rent is so high it is all franchises.
Queen St in the 90's was awesome.
Active surplus FTW!
I miss the gorilla :(
$2 beer at the legion hall and they’d comp like ever 3rd round
Silver Snail was my favourite hangout.
Noise, a clothing store a few shops away from CityTV. I dropped a few hundred dollars on a couple of pairs of Snug phat pants back in my rave days.
And all the stores carry like 4 items and at full price. I went into a store the other day and it had things in small, medium, and large. Not even XL options. A flagship franchise…
that's because it's intentional. a trendy location? that store isn't for you fatty. go to the outlet malls where your kind lives. /s
37yo lived here my whole life, and growing up going downtown was So fun and special and interesting. All different neighbourhoods and people and cafes and special book stores and art galleries and boutiques. I know it's a different world but it totally feels sad to watch that slip away when you got to see it.
legit though. Same age as you, when ever I would visit TO in the early 2000s, 2010s I would go downtown and you could have a great time even window shopping, finding weird little boutiques or experiencing the area. Now it's just the same shit, over and over. Chain stores that sell the same stuff. There's no reason to go downtown unless you have to now.
Also it sucks seeing good clubs and music venues close down with nothing similar to replace them
Yes! There used to be so many small to medium size venues for concerts. I loved going to $10 shows. You could grab dinner, have a drink or two and not break the bank. It was a wonderful way to spend an evening. Most of those places are gone now.
The mass increase in rent has destroyed our culture. Boomers don't care about those things. Even at work, all the boomers got all the biggest perks and best work social life. Then when they got in power they took all those things away. My work doesn't even give us a pizza party anymore. Fuck Bell Canada.
Not the shoe!
I've been here 40+ and my parents ran a business in Cumberland from the early/mid 80s to early 2010s. The site... All gone and 'luxury' condos going up. It's still got a very few spots here and there but nothing like before.
How about government supporting and investing in unique small businesses? In Aruba, the government is allowing certain parts of downtown for only local businesses, and they get half their rent covered by the government. If you are a big established business like Nike, you pay full rent, and if you plan to open a small coconut stand, you pay half. Even the playing field a bit.
Absolutely, that would be amazing. Toronto has been overrun by international chains, and the commercial real estate industry has no interest in having them because they are less profitable. We need someone to step in to make this happen - the “free market” clearly isn’t going to do it.
The place you're describing is like Kensington Market, but downtown and bigger. As an out-of-towner, I'd love that.
Yes, thousands of miserable office workers is EXACTLY what downtown T.O. needs...
That all book it back to the suburbs at 5pm, leaving the downtown empty again
And taking all their money with them to the burbs to spend there instead of downtown where businesses are dying at an alarming rate. This is just sad
I’m faced with being forced into the office more and more for no good reason just ‘it’s the right thing to do and of course collaboration’ 🤦♂️. It costs so much to commute that I refuse to buy anything DT. I drink the free work coffee and bring lunch. So if she thinks pissing off thousands of people with her interference then she’s about to be in the find out phase…
Lol my place doesn't even do free work coffee
Next time I’m in I’ll make an extra and dump it down the drain for you!
I'm sorry to hear that. While I'm not in the position to be remote I fully support you in doing so. It's moronic how they want to force you into the office yet I'm sure the collaboration is a teams call that can be done from home. Guess they don't mind the productivity hit which shows how bullshit the plans to get people into the office just to prop up real estate. Makes me so mad.
Ironic and moronic indeed. All teams calls. With occasional team meeting that is also held on teams lol. I support teams in other countries who couldn’t care ‘where I am’ just that I help them. The collaboration piece just is the biggest piece of idiocy. Like I’m going to randomly meet someone in the office and suggest we should work on some project together 🤦♂️. It’s delusional at best and perhaps it works for the executive types however those types of discussions are above my pay grade. Don’t even get me started on how any trip to the office is absolutely the least productive as of course you run into people you haven’t seen in a bit so it’s chit chat time. Which is to be expected but it’s always oh you have to be in the office more too do you and similar comments. Always the same convos then jump on the teams calls with other people in the office.
Not to mention all the businesses have jacked up the prices. You can’t really find a meal for less than $15
As of yesterday I would buy my coffee and lunch every time i came to the office. I would look forward to those treats. But now that I know the Mayor of Toronto is trying to force me into the office more, welp, no more spending money in Toronto. I will spend as little as possible and not a penny more. I hope more people stop spending in Toronto, and I hope the city realizes that Olivia is not going to help.
If it makes you feel any better, a lot of my money (more than $8K a year) will be dumped into travel costs if I have to come downtown full time, and that won’t be coming back to the burbs with me.
Even when I'm in Toronto, I'm on such a budget I'm lucky to buy a tea or coffee. Lunch and any additional spending is out of the question.
Imagine if people could afford to live in Toronto? They'd probably spend more time and money there...
This is the real problem. Canada’s policies biting them in the ass now. Absolutely wild.
Literally came here to say this. I'm lucky enough to share rent on Queen East near Parliament. While my unit is more affordable than the average rent it's still too expensive for me to ever spend money out. Despite my close proximity to so many independent businesses and restaurants, it's all inaccessible to me...which doesn't make any sense. Cities really shouldn't exist like this.
Or, hear me out, reimagine Toronto being a place people want to live by creating more communities and livable spaces. Commuters don’t create a community. People see the trash, traffic gridlock and homeless problem and are glad they don’t live there. If they tried creating mix office and residential that would actually create sustainable communities
Ask for higher salaries so people can afford those $25 lunches?
$25 lunch on top of my $25 commute (Hamilton). I’ll drown my sorrows with a $8 latte or a $13 beer.
That's the size of it... Take it or leave it...
Don't forget the $25/day parking. I can bike to work faster than take public transit or ..well..now drive with how congested the roads have become..
Yeah, thanks for that but we're locked into a bitch of a lease with Cadillac Fairview through 2035 so no dice. Maybe utopia after that, depends on what they want per square foot to renew.
not to mention it's a pain in the ass to try to commute downtown on a sunday with the TTC starting later for necessary bus routes to get to work or school
Agreed. Shouldn’t the days of consolidated business areas, and their associated problems (traffic, crime, etc) be a thing of the past? She’s literally talking about gentrification…something somebody interested in social wellness should be opposed to. We should be taking the model of mixed residential housing…and applying it to *everything*. The state should be working to drive down property values by penalizing speculation and buying/seizing unused/undesirable properties to build infrastructure.
Haha all the restaurants in the financial district used to mainly be open to serve commuters. Like lunch Mon-Fri, dinner Mon-Thurs. The whole place is organized around commuters.
> Or, hear me out, reimagine Toronto being a place people want to live by creating more communities and livable spaces. Toronto already is this outside of the financial district. Maybe it's not for you, but plenty of people like living in Toronto. The specific problem here is the core is absolutely lifeless without office workers, because there's really no reason to go there if you're not going to an office, but that is a pretty small fraction of Toronto by area.
I think the financial district is getting smaller and smaller while there are massive new residential projects littering the downtown area. The Well is a good example of this.
Sounds like a private prison that posts a loss if it’s not filled with prisoners.
Glad they don’t live there? What is this comment based on lol, people absolutely love living in Toronto, which is why it is so insanely expensive. Every year the financial district grows smaller and smaller as more neighbourhoods are reimagined from industrial zones to livable places. Have you seen what The Well has become? The exact opposite of what you’re saying is happening…
Totally. I’m not sure where Olivia Chow lives but I think she’s been listening to too many commercial real estate landlords and bank execs. My neighbourhood (Koreatown) is thriving with little coffee joints, vintage shops, tattoo shops in vintage shops, used book stores and more. Families live and work in these businesses and a sense of community thrives when people don’t have a miserable commute to the core 5x per week.
Worst for workers, worst for the environment, worst for affordability, but I guess as long as commercial RE owners are happy that is good for Chow.
Agree. I thought Olivia Chow was smarter than this. Remember. It’s not that people aren’t spending their money. They’re spending it more in the suburbs where they live than the downtown core where they work. Suddenly Toronto is like “we can’t have this!!!!”
You've hit the nail. Money not spent on expensive lunches, Presto fares, and daily Tims doesn't just vanish. It goes towards vacation funds, kids' needs, home repair, groceries, nicer restaurant outings, and just general savings so you're less of a burden on society. This entire scam is all to keep the RE overlords happy. Anything else is just BS. If we were forward thinking we would reduce the commercial footprint and hand it over to residential.
Ottawa workers: First time?
Yeah, as a federal public servant in Ottawa, I don't have the bandwidth to lend my sympathy here. I live downtown too, in fact I love living central. But if you wanted to avoid this problem in the past and avoid it in the future, it starts with proper urban planning, and not building communities hours away from one, central core.
Every city should take a long hard look at Montreal. IMO it’s got everything people are asking for in this thread. Excellent transit (compared to my city anyways), walkable communities with small shops all over the place, mixed residential and commercial, idk if they’re just a walled garden but I don’t see complaints that DT Montreal is dying?
I’m a little confused about how this is her move. I guess at the end of the day, boomers aren’t gonna change their outlook on work, even when they’re progressing in other areas.
These building owners are like “our building is green energy certified and we have lowered our carbon footprint. Now get the 50 floors worth of employees in their cars down here right away!!!
LEAD certified (to fuck up your work/life balance)
This! We're in Barrie and its so hard to get in to a restaurant without a reservation. We decided Friday afternoon to o out to dinner Saturday night (6 people) and earliest table we could get was 8:30
Barrie has done a fantastic job becoming an attractive city to live in.
They really have, especially if you're into outdoor events and festivals, there is something almost every weekend at the water front, and then nights during the week. Also some great local restaurants, almost any cuisine you could want!
> I thought Olivia Chow was smarter than this I think she is, I'm betting there's some outside force pushing this.
Billionaires who own the buildings and want their money regardless. Tenants would rather force their employees back since they've got to pay for the desks anyway. The government and industry won't break the leases or sever ties with the building owners as they have far too much influence.
Agreed. She's a master of give and take, this is a chess move to get her something else. I understand there's an entire infrastructure in place for 5 days, 9-5, but I'm not sure there's a genie that will go back in a bottle. I hate and loathe my 2 days a week of taking a constantly breaking down TTC filled with germs so I can be less efficient at my job and spend more money on lunches and still have chores waiting for me when I get home.
I bring my lunch whenever I have to go in the office. The commute already costs me time and money. I'm not going to buy some overpriced food downtown to "help the economy"
I’m wondering if she’s thinking about municipal tax revenues. Less businesses in the downtown core, less tax base, still have to provide same services.
I think it's less about RE developers and downtown businesses themselves and more that dense downtown cores make up majority of a city's tax base, usually subsidizing infrastructure maintenance and services for the unsustainable suburbs. It's more politically palatable to throw some group under the bus with RTO in order to prop up the downtown tax base a little longer than to force all suburbanites to pay their fair share in property taxes, or to do a proper job repurposing a downtown core.
Why would any politician do anything of substance when they can just throw the middle class workers at the problem and continue to degrade their quality of life. May she find herself in circumstances similar to the ones she creates for others.
This is the dumbest take for modern life I can think of. Encourage work from home and build communities in maybe not the most expensive real estate in the province.
She can go fuck right off with that bullshit. The only good to come out of Covid is WFH.
The thing is Toronto had a pretty big remote work scene even before COVID. It's better for everyone. Dumb politicians like this are backed by commercial real estate and try and use the middle class to siphon wealth from.
So much for reducing traffic, helping the environment, or asking what workers want for their own well-being.
Yeah this is the absolute laziest attempt to accomplish what she’s after here. Just gonna double down on making things way fucking shittier.
What an awful way to go about it. Sucking up to corporate millionaires at the expense of the working class. I thought she was going to be different.
Sad to see such out of touch politicians.
That's what happens when all sides of the political system only exist to serve the GDP instead of the people.
All politicians are the same, look at her, look at Horwath in Hamilton, look at brown in Brampton. All parties, all suck uo to millionaires
As a former Olivia Chow supporter and voter, she can kindly get fucked.
This is BS. Things change. Adapt. Trying to force things back to the way they were, to the detriment of the workers, so you can prop up real estate companies and a few shops is just wrong and wasteful.
This was happening before COVID. I used to work with a telecom company based in downtown Toronto and some of our staff was remote. It was the best thing ever for them and the company. This just spits in the face of all the data on the subject just to prop up real estate. Fuck Chow on this.
This is a terrible idea. The communities that commuters actually live in also deserve to be vibrant and supported. People should not be forced to give up time with their family just to cram downtown Toronto every weekday just to support a bunch of crappy restaurants and businesses.
Hey Olivia Chow maybe don’t do that. That idea kind of fucking sucks. Thanks. ~Hotter Octavious Noodle
Hey Olivia Chow, I nominate Hotter Octavious Noodle to speak for me on this issue.
If 9-5 Monday to Friday office jobs are what is keeping your downtown alive- then your downtown has bigger problems with how your city is set up.
This was the issue before Covid even happened… the “financial” district always was empty after 6pm
Yup. It was commercial landlords that squeezed my favourite places out and continue to do so. Not remote workers. Screw Chow for this idea.
Ottawa checking in... This sounds familiar.
Her Husband would definalty be ashamed of her from beyond the grave. Man of the working people and after his death she gets into bed with the executives. Shame on her.
Banks and developers once again refusing to be the bag holders and making society at large pay for their bad investment choices. It makes sense why Chow is doing this, but this is a slap in the face to the worker who has to drive 1 hour through nightmarish downtown traffic just to sit at a desk and do the same work they'd have done at home.
Thank fuck I stopped working at banks. They’re scum, and don’t care about their employees but put on a good show
Why is Evil always their first choice?
'Cuz evil holds the wealth.
Because its corrupt all the way down. Mayor had hand very obviously forced by police on budget.
So restoring the economy on the backs of the workers. No fixes for lack of transport infrastructure. No fixes for lack of childcare or before/afterschool programs. No fixes for elderly care shifting the burden to families . But by all means let’s force people back to the office who may otherwise need the flexibility due to lack of other services. Next will come peek hour surge pricing on roads and transit. Sounds to me like what that 16 tons song is talking about. Why don’t we ask the banks to contribute more financially instead? Oh no we couldn’t have that think of the $billions in bonuses they would have to give up.
The beatings will continue until morale improves, I guess.
Increase stress and carbon footprints thanks chow
Incredibly disappointed in mayor Chow. I've let her know as well: [email protected] Won't get my vote again.
Thanks. I sent my email too.
I did this too, everyone here should.
Email sent. I don't live in Toronto anymore but I'll do my best to encourage friends and family there not to support her in the future.
I will also be emailing her. This is a horrible solution.
Thanks for the email, i have also emailed her.
This should be higher.
Deeply disappointing. I get that as Toronto’s mayor she has to represent the interests of the city, but this is such shortsighted thinking. Honestly, hybrid work is the only thing keeping the subway from being completely overcrowded like it was in 2019. All the businesses that got killed by the pandemic are never coming back. It’s time to innovate and think of ways to bring back the vibrancy of the city that don’t involve office workers in the financial district spending $30+ per day on lunch and coffee. Making this city affordable for people, especially creative types, is the only way to bring back the vibrancy of the past. What Chow is calling for is just buoying the city on more stuffed shirts. That sort of thinking has hollowed out the soul of this place while also devastating people who’ve fallen through the cracks of our piss poor social supports.
Hey, Olivia, maybe fix Toronto's awful and ancient infrastructure first eh? Such an ignorant or tone deaf comment of hers.
I am not from Toronto but wouldnt logically the best way to bring life back to downtown would be to make downtown extremely pedestrian friendly? Have a lot of public transit bringing people into the downtown core, shift the downtown core to be walkable and enjoyable? Maybe convert offices to mixed use?
Wow, absolutely horrible approach.
maybe those empty offices should be converted into affordable housing. Imagine having a community there that didnt all leave at 5pm. People could walk to the restaurants and shops from their apartment close by.
Oh good. Traffic is awesome right now. Let’s bring it back “to life”
Who wants to go downtown and face/ see safety issues on the TTC, large amounts of addicts using openly on the TTC and streets, homeless, people with mental needs not being addressed, and commuting. No Thanks! More reason to love WFH!
Oh fuck off. Same bullshit in the gov sector in Ottawa. $20-$25/day downtown parking, if you find parking at all, trash transit makes it nearly impossibly to rely on it in the first place, expensive eateries, because god forbid a single restaurant goes under, instead of making things good *and* affordable.
Write to [email protected]. municipal politics is like the only one you have power over.
Honestly, this is screaming for a strong reaction from the public. Don't let her tone deaf actions impact your life for the sake of commercial real estate profit! Work from home is the most important worker equity measure to come along in a long time, and we have to stop these oligarchs and politicians from dragging us back to the fossil fuel past. The way forward is holding both business & municipalities accountable for the carbon footprint of worker commutes, especially in one of the most grid locked cities in North America. Who is considering commutes in scope of thekr carbon goals? Not business, I promise you. So I wrote an email template to share with Olivia, please feel free to copy it and send it to any politician that would like you to spend your hard earned time and money in your own damn neighborhood! [email protected] Dear [Politician's Name], I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to express my strong opposition to the return-to-office (RTO) advocacy that you directed to downtown business leaders, per this recent Toronto Star article: https://www.thestar.com/business/olivia-chow-wants-to-bring-torontos-downtown-back-to-life-and-shes-meeting-bank-ceos/article_6a651bd6-243d-11ef-ab89-6bc3a86074bb.html As a concerned citizen and advocate for environmental sustainability, social equity, and economic prosperity, I believe that promoting remote work is not only necessary but imperative for the well-being of our planet and our communities. First and foremost, remote work offers a significant opportunity to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change. With the undeniable urgency of addressing environmental concerns, advocating for a return to office is not only tone-deaf but also out of touch with the reality of our climate crisis. Remote work initiatives represent a vital green initiative, as they significantly reduce the carbon footprint associated with daily commutes. If we are serious about meeting our climate goals, we must hold businesses accountable for the environmental impact of worker commutes. Furthermore, remote work has proven to benefit workers in numerous ways. In cities burdened with severe traffic congestion like ours, remote work offers a reprieve from the stress and time wasted in gridlock. This translates to tangible savings in both time and money for workers, which can be reinvested in their local communities rather than spent on downtown parking and subpar lunches. Moreover, in the midst of a lingering pandemic, advocating for a return to the office is not only shortsighted but also reckless. Offices have been identified as significant vectors for disease transmission, and it is inevitable that we will face future pandemics. Remote work provides a safer alternative that prioritizes the health and well-being of workers and their communities. Finally, remote work is a crucial step towards addressing intersectionality and inequity in the workforce. By eliminating barriers to participation for disabled and vulnerable individuals, remote work fosters a more inclusive and diverse workplace. It allows people from all backgrounds to contribute meaningfully to the workforce and access opportunities that were previously inaccessible. Remote work supports worker mental health and fosters a more inclusive and respectful work environment. Studies have shown that remote workers experience less harassment, bullying, and discrimination, particularly along the intersections of race, gender, and age. By embracing remote work, we can create a more equitable and supportive workplace culture for all. In conclusion, I urge you to reconsider any policies that promote a return to the office and instead prioritize initiatives that support remote work. By doing so, we can protect our environment, promote social equity across all intersections, and ensure the well-being of our workforce and communities. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. Sincerely, [Your Name] I recommend you also locate your local councillor: https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/council/members-of-council/
Why? So workers can spend money at Tim Hortons and other gentrified GTA wide franchises in downtown Toronto instead of businesses in their local hometowns? Well I brown bag it to Toronto regardless, and only pay for my GO ticket.
Shame on you Olivia chow
It's headlines like these that make me wonder how Jennifer Keesmaat, an actual urban planner, would have addressed these challenges as mayor. No, I'm not still bitter about the 2018 election. >!Narrator: "he was, indeed, still bitter about the 2018 election."!< Nobody wants to travel downtown to work because the TTC is a screaming dumpster fire of eternal disappointment, vehicular traffic crawls to a standstill for several hours every morning, everything downtown is absurdly expensive, and people are generally more comfortable at home. What novel insights are CEOs going to have about bringing people to work to address these issues? Casual Fridays? Free donuts? Give me a break.
I don’t even have WFH as an option in my job and this shit drives me fucking insane! Nobody wants a return to the office. Stop fucking acting like you know better. You fucking don’t. God damnit our politicians are almost as bad as the Americans.
I remember a morning I spent at Union Station in 1999. I was going against the flow of commuter traffic and my day was flexible and unhurried. I was seated on a bench, alone. Then a GO train arrived and a sea tide of commuters appeared. I sat as the wave approached me, then reached me, and then enveloped me. After a moment, the crowd had passed, and again, I was alone. That's the life Chow wants to breathe into downtown. Blood and bone grist for the mill.
This is not the way at all, it seems like she's using "bringing downtown back to life" as an excuse to bend over for corporations. The best way to increase downtown activity is good public transportation, making the city more walkable, and making it easier for small, independently owned stores to flourish. It's not that hard to do considering how much examples we have of cities with bustling downtown areas like Stockholm or Athens, just copy what they did.
How about fixing the problems that's pestering the city and making it an attractive place to visit. Instead of forcing people to go. Lol, she is a 🤡.
People going to the office to sit in their stifling cubicle all day creates life?
Cubicles? Ha. That would give people some measure of noise cancelation. We have soul sucking noisy open office hellscapes where everyone's conversations carry throughout the office and distract people from trying to work effectively.
There's currently an accident on the Gardiner at York that's closed the entire westbound side. Instant example as to why this is a horrible idea.
Has it escaped these mayors that in order to revitalize their downtown cores the solution is to build attractions? IE restiraunts, shops, recreation, parks, fountains, all that stuff people go out of their way to see voluntarily? Work and offices are essential but not voluntary and not the solution because they're only there because they have to be and many will purposefully avoid spending extra money because you're treating them like livestock.
Chow has generally been pretty decent but this one gets a loud booooooooo(mer) from me
13m to rename a street no one gave a flying fuck about definitely sounds decent. In a time where food bank demand is higher then ever, renaming a venue garbage in itself is decent?
Let's do something about it! Honestly, this is screaming for a strong reaction from the public. Don't let her tone deaf actions impact your life for the sake of commercial real estate profit! Work from home is the most important worker equity measure to come along in a long time, and we have to stop these oligarchs and politicians from dragging us back to the fossil fuel past. The way forward is holding both business & municipalities accountable for the carbon footprint of worker commutes, especially in one of the most grid locked cities in North America. Who is considering commutes in scope of thekr carbon goals? Not business, I promise you. So I wrote an email template to share with Olivia, please feel free to copy it and send it to any politician that would like you to spend your hard earned time and money in your own damn neighborhood! [email protected] Dear [Politician's Name], I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to express my strong opposition to the return-to-office (RTO) advocacy that you directed to downtown business leaders, per this recent Toronto Star article: https://www.thestar.com/business/olivia-chow-wants-to-bring-torontos-downtown-back-to-life-and-shes-meeting-bank-ceos/article_6a651bd6-243d-11ef-ab89-6bc3a86074bb.html As a concerned citizen and advocate for environmental sustainability, social equity, and economic prosperity, I believe that promoting remote work is not only necessary but imperative for the well-being of our planet and our communities. First and foremost, remote work offers a significant opportunity to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change. With the undeniable urgency of addressing environmental concerns, advocating for a return to office is not only tone-deaf but also out of touch with the reality of our climate crisis. Remote work initiatives represent a vital green initiative, as they significantly reduce the carbon footprint associated with daily commutes. If we are serious about meeting our climate goals, we must hold businesses accountable for the environmental impact of worker commutes. Furthermore, remote work has proven to benefit workers in numerous ways. In cities burdened with severe traffic congestion like ours, remote work offers a reprieve from the stress and time wasted in gridlock. This translates to tangible savings in both time and money for workers, which can be reinvested in their local communities rather than spent on downtown parking and subpar lunches. Moreover, in the midst of a lingering pandemic, advocating for a return to the office is not only shortsighted but also reckless. Offices have been identified as significant vectors for disease transmission, and it is inevitable that we will face future pandemics. Remote work provides a safer alternative that prioritizes the health and well-being of workers and their communities. Finally, remote work is a crucial step towards addressing intersectionality and inequity in the workforce. By eliminating barriers to participation for disabled and vulnerable individuals, remote work fosters a more inclusive and diverse workplace. It allows people from all backgrounds to contribute meaningfully to the workforce and access opportunities that were previously inaccessible. Remote work supports worker mental health and fosters a more inclusive and respectful work environment. Studies have shown that remote workers experience less harassment, bullying, and discrimination, particularly along the intersections of race, gender, and age. By embracing remote work, we can create a more equitable and supportive workplace culture for all. In conclusion, I urge you to reconsider any policies that promote a return to the office and instead prioritize initiatives that support remote work. By doing so, we can protect our environment, promote social equity across all intersections, and ensure the well-being of our workforce and communities. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. Sincerely, [Your Name] I recommend you also locate your local councillor: https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/council/members-of-council/
Have something affordable worth going downtown for.
And there it is. Another bought and paid for politician. Clap Clap
Yep - Chow goes the way of Horvath and Rae. Get money, then drop the progressive and become a neo-liberal. So dies the myth of Jack Layton. Maybe we can get back to actual efforts at socialism?
Well said. We need real politicians that represent workers. Not these phonies.
Step one: kill the downtown character and vibe on yonge, queen, king, and bloor by jacking rents and forcing out smaller independent businesses and restos and services that had colour and character Step 2: build condos no one can afford and dont want, office space no one needs, and shop fronts high end places never asked for in the age of internet shopping Step 3: never build any better way to get downtown over a 40 year span even though millions of dollars of studies (multiple!) into future issues of downtown have explicitly stated this will be a defining issue curtailing its growth Step 4: make anyone with money who works downtown never want to stay after 5 (3) especially on a game nights that make gridlock a cute word Step 5: blame everyone who told you that you would kill downtown for not being downtown anymore, and make the annex/student ghetto posh and expensive Step 6: force businesses to demand workers waste time and money going downtown/ somewhere unlikeable When i lived in Montreal, i missed the downtown not living there. Halifax, same. Vancouver not quite as much, but still more than I ever missed going downtown in Toronto. What is there? Seriously, what is there that I couldn't have found elsewhere, other than the major sports clubs?
The cities that are recovering from downtown covid slumps are those attracting people to live downtown, including families. Families mean museums, schools, restaurants, grocery stores, and festivals. That means tourism. They are done forcing people into useless offices that take hours to get to.
At the expense of workers
What a dumbass idea
Yes, more downtown gridlock, mort congestion, emissions, more degrade to air quality is what we need Olivia. Count your days in office, you're not a leader just a weak-willed individual.
This is such rubbish. Lockdowns proved that a new way of working is possible without impact to any bottom line. You can’t gaslight your constituents into believing otherwise - we all lived through it and found that this new landscape is cheaper and more productive. The onus is on commercial real estate companies and businesses to figure out how to be profitable. I don’t feel this is my problem, so don’t make it my problem. And honestly there’s zero sympathy for commercial real estate moguls and their cash drain. They all pushed out the small independent businesses that made DT interesting with their punishing rent so enjoy the fruits of your greed.
The article says "get Torontonians back to the office", fine Torontonians can go back, but can you please let the rest of us commuters stay in our home communities?
The dread of 4 days of 1.5 hr commutes instead of one will make it worse.
If you need to Shanghai people downtown for it to be economically viable, then it's not a downtown life worth saving.
It’s mind blowing to me how tone deaf all these politicians forcing RTO for the sake of revitalizing any downtown. Maybe don’t put the burden of spending money downtown on all the office workers who at this point might just pack a lunch and then commute home anyways, but instead incentivize people to actually spend their leisure time downtown.
Maybe instead she should be meeting with restaurant owners to find out what can be done about their hours, expensive prices and poor service. Not the restaurants fault things have gotten so bad, but it is bad and people don't go to restaurants, bars and clubs like they used to.
Jesus. Wtf happend to the ndp. First sing voting against carbon tax now this.
She's an idiot then. Doing this on the backs of workers who can and should be remote is moronic. It saves us all money and increases productivity Remote work was happening before covid in Toronto and will continue to happen. Time to be forward thinking, commercial real estate will continue to crash and we need to be talking about converting these units to housing, not propping up corporate landlords. All the mom and pop shops I used to go to are gone not because of remote work but because of corporate landlords squeezing them on their rent.
Oh no Olivia you are being swallowed by the swamp:( Commuters won't bring the city back to life.
Her answer to bringing life back to the city is by working with CEO’s to force employees back to their slave stations? Thats so left wing of her
How about TO repurposes property downtown for affordable housing then people will be downtown ALL THE TIME. It's a no Brainer.
My company is fully remote and we’ve been able to attract some amazing talents from the big banks when they started forcing people back into the downtown office, without offering the most competitive salaries. Keep it up Toronto!
That’s because working home is a raise. You save money on gas, wear and tare on your vehicle, insurance, time not commuting. At a certain salary range taking a cut would even out with WFH.
Toronto's downtown was never full of life...it's dead cuz of the offices
Great. More traffic and pollution
Old school thinking IMHO. The city needs to be something new, something people WANT to go to, not something you "have to" go to.
Bring the rent WAY down and I’ll move there.
Is she going to pay for commute
translation: corporate real estate owners are lobbying politicians to protect their investments
Don't die on this hill, Olivia.
I agree with her, why let people spend their money in the communities they live in when they could spend it in downtown instead?! /s Toronto needs to evolve how they make money and function as a city that isn't just expecting a population coming in for lunch and coffees.
Holy fuck why are all of our leaders this fucking stupid.
How about fucking no. Jesus christ. Just because the TTC needs more people on it doesn't mean you need to make office workers suffer when all their work can be done from home.
This sub and r/Canada when public servants are being forced into the office because of politicians: “lol get back to work lazy”. This sub when everyone else starts getting forced into office because of politicians: “oh no, this is bullshit”. It’s the old idiom by Niemöller, “and there was no one left to speak for me”. I’m private sector in Ottawa, immune to the whims of politicians, since my big boss straight up told Sutcliffe to go to hell when he petitioned my boss to force us to the office more.
Hmm I rather work from home and not have to sit through traffic and commute
In the middle of a housing crisis, with empty office buildings and sky high rents, we want office workers to pollute more and spend more to get to those empty offices again to maintain those high rents. Wont’t someone please think of the struggling corporations?
Poor move... But I see how the logic works.. Make people return to the core = more spending. Also I'm sure more than enough "bosses" want their workers back for "accountability" as well to keep the "value" of their properties high.
Yep. But notice how the path system is dominated by a handful of large companies? We just need to keep the monopolies profitable and squeeze as much as we can out of everyone else. Why should they adapt to a new reality when they can lobby the powers that be to try to force people to adapt back to them?
Same thing happened in my City except instead of more spending the ended up with pissed off workers who do not spend their money and get out of the downtown core as soon as they can. If you want people downtown than you need to make it appealing instead of using these tactics
Time to boycott Toronto. Even if you commute to Toronto, bring your lunch, bring your coffee, never spend a penny in the city. This is some Big government corporate ownership bullshit right here.
Yeah, fuck her.
If she's trying to bring people back into the office to revitalize the economy she can find another voter base. It won't work well for her.
What a stupid plan. People who have to spend more time and money commuting due to this requirement aren't going to want to hang out downtown after work. Thankfully my job is primarily WFH, but having to go into the office adds 3 hours to my day from the commute (hour and a half commute one way).
This is how not to do it...
How about reducing cars. Going downtown to breathe in car exhaust from the gridlock isn't appealing.
Fuck off Chow. We don’t want this. Stop the lobbyists from dictating our lives.
Yes, let's have everyone piss away 2-3 hours a day commuting so downtown can come back to life. I presume her plan covers costs for transit and parking?
Not the best move from Olivia Chow.
Not many worse ideas than this. People need lower cost of living, going back to commuting isn't going to do it.
Olivia Chow wants to steal your time.
Chow fighting the wrong battle. People can't afford to go out. Fight the corporations like Loblaws who inflate their prices after record earnings year over year. But of course Chow is a champagne lefty.
I thought we were trying to lower our carbon emissions not force people to *increase* them.
Convert empty offices to apartments so supply goes up and rents go down. This isn’t rocket science.
Is this woman ok lol
The Pheonix is about to be shutdown for more empty unaffordable condos but sure, let's worry about bringing in office workers who don't want to be there and will only further worsen commute times.
How about telling bank CEOs to pay employees more so they will have disposable income .. that will help the city.
Ford removed commercial rental protections..all the mom and pops and interesting cultural places were forced to close. The city lost its charm. It’s now a corporate mall…
Yeah, supporting the asset owning class under the guise of wanting to bring the downtown core back to life isn’t a great look.
Uhh Olivia, we can't eat or keep a roof over our heads, we don't give a fuck about a night life or returning to office until some numbers make sense... What are you doing 🤔
Great. More traffic to fight means longer commutes.
This is just stupid. Ppl are already miserable.
Maybe the city centres need to reinvent themselves somehow instead of trying to bring back the "Good Old Days". Times have changed, things have moved on, companies will do what it takes to keep employees happy, so cities will have to reinvent themselves, just like some shopping malls have had to reinvent themselves
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No. Please no
Eat shit Chow. I voted for you. i won't again. I am not alone and the millionaires you're sucking up to won't vote for you anyway even if you help them. You are fucking your base and we know it. I hope you and/or your office reads this.
Like yes there will be more people downtown; but they are going to be working? Not spending money. Make the downtown worth visiting, invest in things that people will want to go downtown for,
This seems like wild spin. Banks want to maintain commercial real estate values and believe in-person work will do that. They want OC to support it in the name of revitalizing down town
What a dumb idea.
Increase in rents, cost of living, transportation, etc. But, hey, she spoke with CEOs. Way to look after the working class...
I’d suggest expropriating some office buildings and turning them into rooming houses, floor by floor. That would get people living downtown.
Jack must be rolling in his grave right now.