Christopher Hume reflects on Toronto’s year of natural, political and transit catastrophes.
“How fitting that 2013 should end in disaster; for Toronto, the year has been one long disaster,” writes Christopher Hume. “Though we can’t blame Rob Ford for the ice storm, he has already done more damage than anything nature could inflict upon the city.”
The ice storm that left 250,000 Torontonians without power wraps up a year plagued by scandals involving mayor Rob Ford and the derailment of established transit plans due to the mayor’s refusal to support surface light rail.
“The truth is that the city is in freefall,” Hume continues, “not just a joke to the rest of the world but, sadly, also to itself. Toronto is no longer taken seriously by its own inhabitants, let alone anyone else. If it can recover from the destruction wrought by its ridiculous chief magistrate, it will take years.”
FULL STORY: 2013 was Toronto’s year of living disastrously: Hume
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A severe ice storm struck southern Ontario and the northern U.S. over the weekend, delivering prolonged power outages and disrupting holiday travel. Embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was allegedly unreachable after the storm.
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UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
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Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research