Ideas for better governance

  • #Mississauga gets it. #Brampton #biketo

  • Dear #brampton. More of these please. #biketo

  • More #brampton problems. #biketo

  • #brampton problems. #biketo

  • A Tariff On Bicycles Makes No Sense

    On March 21, 2013, Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty presented the 2013 Federal Budget. One area of this budget that both interests and concerns me is “Tariff Relief for Canadian Consumers”. Budget 2013 proposes to permanently eliminate all tariffs on baby clothes and sports and athletic equipment (excluding bicycles). This measure will support Canadian families and encourage physical activity and healthy living by lowering the costs of importing these goods. More details here: http://www.budget.gc.ca/2013/doc/plan/anx2-eng.html   The statement above suggests to me that our Federal Conservatives aren’t really interested in addressing our problems with transportation, health, energy costs, and associated cost…

  • Active transportation isn’t supposed to be seasonal

  • The Big Move for Brampton

    If you live in Brampton, you might have noticed that travelling to work has become more challenging over the last few years. Metrolinx has a plan to combat this, called “The Big Move“. Now, I love transit—I live car-free! And I think the what Metrolinx has painstakingly put together goes a long way in depicting the problems of mobility that the GTA and Hamilton will face if nothing changes to relieve congestion. It’s just that, I don’t know… It doesn’t really have “bite”. It doesn’t push hard enough on people to second guess whether they are doing themselves justice by…

  • Who Passed The Post?

    Here’s an idea to review how we approach vote count in Canada. It stems from something that has bothered me since I first saw it on T.V: The comparing of “First Past The Post” and “Proportional Representation”. The idea that a popular vote of under 50% could decide a majority government is a source of frustration for me. First Past The Post is great in a 1-on-1 election, because the candidate elected has a clear majority mandate. It’s the majority mandate that’s tricky when a popular vote is separated 5 ways, which I respect that Proportional Representation seeks to solve. But ultimately, why…

  • Waste Management: Cyclists Need Not Participate

    I recently had an awkward experience while dropping off my electronic and hazardous waste at the Brampton Recycling Centre, so much so that I wanted to share to get your opinions on it. I approached the ramp to sort out my electronic waste, when a sign caught my eye that said that no bicycles or pedestrians are allowed up the ramp. Problem: I rode my bike to drop off my waste. Fortunately, there was an understanding staff member who agreed to take my waste and sort it for me. But this was clearly an unusual situation for us both. While…

  • Social Capitalism? Neat!

    A quick follow-up to my previous post, I did find an economic system that might be a good fit for this design problem: Social capitalism. Check out more details here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_capitalism