By Lori Dance

According to today’s Sun, “The staggering cost of Toronto’s boutique homeless shelter has councillors—even some who supported it—questioning the city’s ability to deliver projects on time and on budget. The cost of the yet-to-open 40-bed Peter St. shelter and referral centre has ballooned to almost $10 million, after council approved an additional $1 million with no debate earlier this week to help complete the renovation of the Entertainment District building set to open in March. Between the $4.7 million spent to buy the property and the now almost $5 million cost of renovations, the price per bed works out to $250,000, not including the ongoing operating costs of at least $2.5 million a year. But city officials yesterday disagreed with the $250,000 per bed cost.”
Health inspector Kerry Wong has lost his job with the City of Toronto after allegedly asking for a bribe from a bar owner. “Yanhui Lu says she didn’t believe Kerry Wong was a real health inspector,” says the Star. “A real inspector wouldn’t suggest paying $1,400 to make a $2,500 food safety ticket go away at the bar she and her husband owned on Weston Rd., she said. Wong, 44, is charged with two counts of extortion for allegedly trying to get $1,400 from Lu and her husband, Hong Hai Kang, on July 25, 2007.”
CTV reports that “The family of the late Ted Rogers gathered in Toronto Wednesday morning to honour the memory of one of the city’s most influential entrepreneurs. Rogers, who started Canada’s largest cable-TV and wireless phone company, died exactly one year ago today. The city honoured his accomplishments by dedicating a street to him that is located just beside the Rogers Communications Inc. building, the company’s headquarters.”
Finally, the CBC reports that “the condo building boom that began several years ago is showing resilience, as low interest rates and a steady stream of eager new buyers are sustaining a market that looks affordable by international standards, some experts said.” It is also reported that “according to the most recent data, October’s seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts increased by 14.8 per cent in Ontario. The CMHC attributed the jump to more activity in the multiple-starts segment, which includes condos. Data from the Canadian Real Estate Association shows further evidence of a booming market. The agency does not break out the data for condos alone, but residential housing in Toronto was pointing straight up for the year up to October.”