Author: ovieoftoronto

Toronto is one of the worst cities in the world for traffic, according to a new report issued by a traffic analytics company. The report, published by INRIX this month, draws on four years of mobility and anonymized GPS probe data to identify traffic patterns in various cities across the world. Toronto was ranked seventh globally in the world and first in Canada for worst traffic, with commuters losing an average of 118 hours on Greater Toronto Area roads and highways to congestion in 2022. Commuters are reflected in a rearview mirror in rush hour traffic in Toronto. (The Canadian…

There are worrying headwinds for Toronto’s front-end real estate market as buyers are increasingly worried they won’t be able to close their sales deals due to significantly higher interest rates. Some real estate agents have noticed an increase in requests for so-called assignment sales – a legal transaction in which the original buyer of a condominium transfers the rights and obligations under the purchase agreement to another buyer before construction. Calls from concerned buyers have doubled in recent months for Simeon Papailias, managing partner of Royal LePages REC Canada, as many wonder if they can walk out of a deal…

Novak Djokovic had won 33 straight matches in Australia, but found himself on the ropes and down a match point to American Sebastian Korda in the final of the Adelaide International. The 35-year-old Serb saved the match point at 5-6 in the second set and went on to beat Korda, 6-7(8), 7-6(3), 6-4, to win his 92nd ATP title. “I probably say that you were closer to victory today than I was,” Djokovic told Korda on court. “It was decided in one or two shots, one or two points today, but the future is bright for you so just keep…

Around Christmastime, Wendle Beaton was trying to find cold medication for her adult son in Brampton, Ont. “In my neighbourhood there’s like 20 (pharmacies) within like a two-kilometre radius because I live in the most populous part of the city,” Beaton said. The 55-year-old artist went to three stores before finding something. Even then, “they were out of a whole bunch of stuff.” Now, visiting family in Smiths Falls, Ont., the same thing happened again when her 23-year-old niece needed medication – except this time, they had to drive more than half an hour to Brockville, Ont., to find it.…

Commuters will want to board GO trains a bit earlier starting Monday, as the trains will close their doors ahead of time. Starting Jan. 9, GO Trains will shut its doors one minute before its scheduled departure time, a spokesperson for Metrolinx said. “This helps the train leave on time and arrive at the next stop on time,” the email to CTV Toronto reads. All GO Trains will be impacted by the new change. However, the UP Express and GO bus services will continue to operate as usual. Metrolinx confirmed it will closely monitor commuters’ feedback on what they think…

The City of Toronto’s new Vacant Home Tax is now in effect on Toronto residences. With certain exemptions, the tax applies to units if they are unoccupied for more than six months during the previous calendar year. Unless the current exemptions are clarified, many unsuspecting property owners will be hit by the one per cent annual tax. Most large apartment and condominium buildings, for example, have a residentially-zoned unit for use as a property management office. Those units will be taxable unless they do not have a kitchen. Another exemption for houses, condos and apartments under construction or renovation requires a…

Bereaved boy, troubled teen, wartime soldier, unhappy royal — many facets of Prince Harry are revealed in his explosive memoir, often in eyebrow-raising detail. From accounts of cocaine use and losing his virginity to raw family rifts, “Spare” exposes deeply personal details about Harry and the wider royal family. The Associated Press purchased a copy of the Spanish-language edition of the book ahead of its publication around the world on Tuesday. Its revelations have electrified the British media — but have been met with silence from Buckingham Palace. BROTHER AND SON The book opens with a quote from American writer…

Open this photo in gallery:Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on September 16, 2022. SPUTNIK/ReutersTodd Hirsch is chief economist at Calgary-based ATB Financial and author of The Boiling Frog Dilemma: Saving Canada from Economy Decline.Thirty years from now, high school students will be learning an entire chapter about the events of 2022 in their social studies curriculum. The events of 2022 are the year when the global political order was rewritten and events began to take place in a situation that was unthinkable in the second half of the 20th century.Of course, the…

New Delhi CNN — International Monetary Fund (IMF) Director Kristalina Georgieva has warned that this year will be even tougher for the global economy than the one we left behind. “Why? Because the three largest economies – the US, the EU and China – are slowing down at the same time,” she said in an interview aired on CBS on Sunday. “We expect a third of the global economy to go into recession,” he said, adding that even in countries that aren't in recession, “it will feel like a recession for hundreds of millions of people.” Ta. While the United…

New Delhi CNN — International Monetary Fund (IMF) Director Kristalina Georgieva has warned that this year will be even tougher for the global economy than the one we left behind. “Why? Because the three largest economies, the US, the EU and China, are slowing down at the same time,” she said in an interview aired on CBS Sunday. “We expect a third of the global economy to go into recession,” he said, adding that even in countries that aren't in recession, “it will feel like a recession for hundreds of millions of people.” Ta. While the United States may finally…