healthetank

joined 1 year ago
[–] healthetank@lemmy.ca 22 points 2 months ago (5 children)

Why we keep trying to build more highways to alleviate congestion is beyond me.

Its an idea that has been consistently and thoroughly debunked since the 80s. No one who studies traffic has ever suggested highway upsizing to decrease congestion as anything more than a very temporary stop gap. Single or dual occupancy vehicles cannot continue to be the primary way we commute to work in a dense area like Toronto. It simply will not work, full stop. We can fight against the idea, but we're wasting our time and money.

We need high density solutions. TTC line 1 was built in the 50s. Line 2 in the 60s, which comprise 64km of the current 70km in use. Line 3 was added in the 80s, but has been decommissioned due to maintenance costs and poor performance, but even that was only 6km. Why have we barely expanded the system since the city consisted of 30% of the current population?

We used to have more rail lines running throughout the province, mostly privately owned. They have since been discontinued with the advent of trucking. Why have we not reintroduced rail service? Canada as a whole is low population density, but the Niagara-Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal corridor has more than enough people to justify a regular rail line.

The Bradford Bypass and Highway 413 are an estimated 8-10$ billion, on the low end. Combine with his current proposed cuts to transit funding of ~$150 million, and it paints a clear picture of his priorities.

[–] healthetank@lemmy.ca 26 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

I feel like the rest of the sentence is important for those skimming for the important bits -

together made 52.6 per cent of all corporate capital gains reported in Canada between 2018 and 2022.

That's a stupidly large percentage of the capital gains reported. The argument that capital gains tax stifles innovate is argued against in the report as well

The report also finds there's no historical correlation between capital gains taxes and business investment in machinery, equipment and intellectual property.

[–] healthetank@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Interesting start, and I hope they receive more funding, but I can't see how a two year (max participant length of 4yrs) period is near long enough to confirm that these changes are solely due to age and not some other, personal factors or generational factor.

For those interested in the actual study (non-paywalled) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7301912/

[–] healthetank@lemmy.ca 1 points 3 months ago

Fair enough, but if they wind up misusing the power it won't be long before someone makes a big stink and brings it to the human rights tribunal claiming they violate due process, and then it will be up to the courts to decide. I'd be surprised if it did, since historically our committees and groups like this tend to do less, rather than more, but it may happen.

It won't punish 'free thinkers' but it will punish those who have used online spaces as a free space to incite hatred, as it has been defined in Supreme Court hearings, which involves it being hatred targeted towards "any section of the public distinguished by colour, race, religion, ethnic origin or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or mental or physical disability." Based on this definition, it cannot be used against those who hate Trudeau/make jokes about him for things he has or has not done, as he is not distinguished by colour, race, religion, etc.

[–] healthetank@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 months ago (2 children)

I would also point out that we already have " public encitment of hatred" as a law, and Canada has set bars or things that something must meet in order to classify. Adding the same crime to online places shouldn't be that wild.

[–] healthetank@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 months ago

For sure, but that applies to literally everything - decarbonization of the energy grid/moving away from gas is a huge factor for literally every aspect of life, particularly farming and red meat. The energy involved in creating meat is significantly higher than any other foods, which is why I disagreed with your point. We have an alternative for meat, but there isnt one for concrete. Using it as a comparison is a poor argument.

Arguing that conditionally essential amino acids are not found elsewhere is a misleading argument. In addition to the fact that all of those three can be created by your body, Taurine is found in lentils, a staple of many vegan diets, seaweed can contain creatine, and carnitine can be found in trace amounts in most foods. None of them are as dense as meat, for sure, but there are numerous sources, plus supplements.

To reduce the environmental impact of food, which applies to all food and not just meat, we need to accept the idea of not having excess of everything. We don’t need 5 different cuts of meat from 3 different brands. We don’t need 5 different kinds of apples. We don’t need a whole shopping isle filled with… Goodness knows how many different kinds of cereal.

Definitely agree with this, but its probably just as hard a sell, and much less feasible to do on an individual level.

[–] healthetank@lemmy.ca 3 points 4 months ago (2 children)

I mean the difference is that concrete has a function and is largely irreplaceable. The argument most vegans make is that animals are not functionally needed in order to fulfill the "food" requirement of living. Concrete is, by large, used for houses and structures which provide shelter, and there are no viable alternatives.

[–] healthetank@lemmy.ca 20 points 4 months ago

"Party of the people" guys, I promise

[–] healthetank@lemmy.ca 4 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I think the bigger concern is that if there are other foreign influenced MPs who aren't listed in the report, then they and the country influencing them realize that CSIS/Canada doesn't know about them. Keeping it vague and uncertain makes it more likely that those people will be concerned and may reduce their interference to avoid detection.

Likewise, revealing which MPs are known to be influenced may reveal moles or informants that Canada has, thus curtailing future efforts at limiting foreign interference.

[–] healthetank@lemmy.ca 3 points 5 months ago

Most moneys cities spend are in the continued maintenance of traffic signals/lights.

Do you have a source for this? I work in capital projects, and given the amount of money spent on road reconstruction and sewer/watermain rehab, I'd be surprised. I've got ~30mil of work in the GTA this year for like 1.5km of roads with no lights

[–] healthetank@lemmy.ca 8 points 5 months ago (1 children)

And a bipartisan committee created by the liberals at that.

This is so wildly inappropriate that it makes me wonder which of the liberal party were involved. It must have been senior members for them to close ranks like this.

[–] healthetank@lemmy.ca 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

If you happen to remember or find that article I'd be very interested in reading it!

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