Articles by Daniel McKenzie


Tory’s SmartTrack stays on the rails, for now

Mayor John Tory is determined to improve transit in Toronto, even if it means upsetting suburbanites along the way. The mayor made several major announcements recently. A joint study by city planners and the University of Toronto Transportation Research Institute revealed that Tory’s SmartTrack transit plan could potentially yield even more riders across Toronto than originally projected.



GTA family fights rising costs of minor hockey

Every autumn, the Elbe family of Etobicoke goes hunting for deals on hockey equipment. The Elbes’ main stop is the “Big 60” event at National Sports Centre. It’s a 60-hour sale every November. The family never misses it. Brian and Lucy Elbe wade through the aisles with their two sons: Gabriel, 12, and Matthew, 9. Gabriel grabs a shiny green hockey stick off the shelf. “I want this one,” he says. “I like the colour!” His father checks the price tag: $299.99. “Me too!” Matthew shouts, unknowingly asking his father for an additional $300. “You guys aren’t getting those,” Brian Elbe says, handing the boys two other sticks to try. They grudgingly accept and it’s on to the next item. “You try and spend reasonably. … For an 11-year-old or 9-year-old, the top brand or the middle, it makes no difference.”