“Homelessness & Affordability Crisis”

A Los Angeles city councilman just coined a new appellation for the drug-addicted vagrants who colonize city streets. They are “our neighbors,” says Hugo Soto-Martínez, a member of the L.A. Chapter of Democratic Socialists of America. Who knew?

This new identity is even more cheeky than the original rebranding of such vagrants as “the homeless.” Soto-Martinez used the “neighbors” designation to persuade his fellow council members to allow homeless encampments near senior centers and libraries and around freeway overpasses. The previous occupant of Soto-Martinez’s seat had banned such encampments in his and, eventually, Soto-Martinez’s district, which includes Hollywood and Echo Park. Last Tuesday’s 10–3 vote repealed that ban. At present, the repeal applies only to what is now Soto-Martinez’s jurisdiction. But expect this green light for street squalor to extend more widely, as the Left pushes Los Angeles further toward uncontrolled anarchy.

Australian beef is on Canadian supermarket shelves at much lower prices than for Canadian beef.

Some producers are concerned about their products being undercut, and some consumers are just happy to have an affordable option.

Tyler Fulton, president of the Canadian Cattle Association, said the Australian option has been around for years.

Do you see Oz Beef on offer at your local grocer?

According to the Food Professor, or Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, an agri-food professor who operates a lab out of Dalhousie University, Canada’s chicken prices could soar to record levels in September if the feds don’t do something about it.

Canadians continued to file for insolvency in the second quarter at levels not seen in more than a decade as the housing market slump and rising costs caught up with consumers, according to the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy.

OSB data released on Monday shows 37,523 Canadian consumers filed for insolvency in the second quarter – a 6.9-per-cent increase compared to the same period last year, and the highest quarterly volume since 2009. There were 402 more insolvencies during Q2 as compared to the first quarter of the year. The increase marked two consecutive quarters above 2009 levels; that was the all-time highest full year for consumer insolvency filings.

A group of Toronto tenants gathered at a local park to welcome new members to their group, called Toronto Tenants Union, which only formed in April with a mandate to protect renters, especially low-income earners, and inform them of their rights.

Their latest push is against recently announced federal loans granted to private developers.

“It’s very problematic because it’s just a bailout for the private developers who led us into this housing crisis in the first place,” said Bruno Dobrusin, co-chair of the Toronto Tenants Union, in an interview with CTV News.

One unselective meteor is all I ask.

Homelessness is growing the fastest in Canadian communities where rental prices have spiked and vacancy rates have tightened for low-cost rental units, according to a first-of-its-kind national analysis.

The Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, in a study to be published Thursday, proved a clear relationship between regional rates of homelessness and housing affordability. It helps explain why homelessness has surged in Canada since 2018 and why certain communities have seen a sharper increase than others.

The federal government is pledging $2.7 billion to build more than 18 housing projects across the city of Toronto, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Wednesday.

The plan includes 5,600 rental homes, 1,800 of which will be “deeply affordable,” supportive or rent-controlled, according to Carney. He said 4,500 new homes will be under construction by year’s end.

He said the projects will take place in neighbourhoods hardest hit by rising rent and evictions, and will include a 16-story complex in Parkdale and another in Scarborough at 158 Borough Drive.

Building Gang Banger slums.

On Aug. 19, the United States is expected to impose a 50% tariff on selected Canadian dairy products. Predictably, Ottawa will denounce Donald Trump and portray any discussion about reforming supply management as capitulation. That would be a mistake. The tariffs do not cover all dairy exports. Cheese, butter, yogurt and conventional milk are generally excluded. They primarily target ingredients such as whey, milk powders, lactose, casein and milk-protein concentrates.