After a recent trip to the Home Hardware in Cabbagetown, I discovered out there is a separate tax in Ontario for pesticides!

Try searching the official provincial government website for “eco-fee” and I doubt that you’ll find any info about this fee. Similarly, this Ministry of the Environment webpage makes no mention of the “electronics tax”, introduced in April 2009. You have to do some more Internet sleuthing to come up with these websites

• www.stewardshipontario.ca runs the Municipal Hazardous or Special Waste (MHSW) program
• its imaginatively named “Big Brother” is www.ontarioelectronicstewardship.ca
• The URL for their “sister” website for the Ontario Tire Stewardship is more succinct www.ontariots.ca

All of these “stewardship” websites contain the disclaimer “none of the fees collected will go to government; therefore it is not a tax.” Kinda difficult to follow their logic here: we pay tax for public services such as health care, garbage collection, water etc. But if the province decides to outsource the collection of used electronics (or tires), why is it no longer called a tax? Lucky us; we get to pay GST + PST on top of these fees.

Just how much ?

• fees for electronics
• the Municipal Hazardous or Special Waste (MHSW) program “fees” aren’t as easy to find
• No idea what the amount of the tire tax is; who cares. So far, bicycle tires aren’t taxed yet (at least, I don’t think so, but who really knows for sure, the mysterious “stewards” are in charge.)

You are invited to attend and participate in the city’s  Public Consultation Meeting on Jan 29 @ 7pm, Toronto City Hall), in relation to a new City of Toronto Sign By-law (see flyer).

During the past few years, community activists have spoken out against the visual pollution in Toronto, caused by numerous, illegal billboards.  You may have heard about the Toronto Public Space Committee: “dedicated to protecting our shared common spaces from commercial influence and privatisation”.

The City of Toronto is preparing a new sign by-law. It will replace the individual sign by-laws of the former municipalities.  The new sign by-law will update the standards for signs on private property, address current sign issues, and reflect the diverse character found in Toronto communities. The Sign By-law project will also explore ways where signage will support the City’s efforts in energy conservation and revenue generation.

For information on project updates, please visit the City’s website.

A few items from the latest Toronto Public Space Committee (TPSC) newsletter:

• The TPSC is campaigning to get “truck billboards” off Toronto’s streets. These trucks drive around the city at the busiest times causing congestion, adding to smog and visual pollution.
• BikeFriday is an initiative to promote bike events happening in Toronto on the last Friday of every month, with the aim of turning that day into a de facto “Bike Day” that happens once per month.
• Visual pollution: have you noticed that advertising messages have become more prevelant throughout the city? IllegalSigns.ca is a grassroots community-based team of volunteers who fight illegal billboards. Here is one of several illegal billboards within Corktown.