Torontoist Environment Editor Chris Tindal is currently engaged in a federal by-election campaign. This weekly column is an attempt to offer a behind the scenes glimpse into what it's like to be that mysterious Other: a politician. As you read this I'm somewhere in the Centre Block of the Parliament buildings in Ottawa, likely between the House of Commons visitors' gallery where I will have just finished watching question period and the Railroad Room where......

Torontoist Environment Editor Chris Tindal is currently engaged in a federal by-election campaign. This weekly column is an attempt to offer a "behind the scenes" glimpse into what it's like to be that mysterious Other: a politician. A strange thing is happening here in Toronto Centre: Barack Obama seems to have become a candidate. Not literally of course, and (as you'll see) it's not clear what party he's representing, but his presence is certainly being......

"It's hard to beat the system / when we're standing at a distance / so we keep waiting / waiting on the world to change." - JOHN MAYER How Do You Get To Massey Hall? I don't know, I only came close. I can at least tell you that practice has nothing to do with it. I'd practiced my speech a lot. Last night I was invited to represent my party (the Green Party of......

Last night's Ontario leaders' debate was replete with the kind of wit, sophistication, and rhetorical flourish we've come to expect from our candidates. Tory to McGuinty: You're a big fat liar. McGuinty: Am not. Hampton: Are too. Big fat liar. McGuinty: You guys are the liars. Green Party Leader Frank DeJong wasn't invited to the big kids party, even though he got a haircut and everything. A five-alarm fire at a wrecking yard in......

Right now, if you turn on your TV to channels 2, 3, 6, 8, 15, 24, 62, or 104 (presuming you have cable), you will see the leaders of the provincial political parties having at each other. Or, more accurately, you will see Dalton McGuinty, John Tory, and Howard Hampton having at each other. You will not see Green Party of Ontario leader Frank de Jong having at anyone. As they like to do,......

Torontoist has no over-arching editorial stances. We are not pro-advertising, or anti-advertising; we are not pro-graffitti, or anti-graffiti; we are not pro-corporation, or anti-corporation. Individual writers may have stances, but we, as a shared entity and a collective, do not, and that distinction between individual and group is an important one. No one person, the editors included, represent the entirety of our staff, nor is there any one "Torontoist Writer" mould that our staff fits......

There was an unexpected windfall for Green P as a major dump of snow, along with high winds and freezing rain, turned much of the GTA into a parking lot during the evening commute yesterday. Apart from the traffic mayhem, fallen trees and power outages have also been a problem throughout the city. It sure looks pretty, though. The Toronto District School Board will meet with provincial officials today after trustees rejected a recommendation......

Garth Turner joins the Grits. Green Party leader Elizabeth May takes all her pictures of Turner out of their heart-shaped frames, burns the mash notes and holds press conference to say that Garth Turner is, quote, "dead to her." Turner, for his part, promises that in future he will address the feelings of any dissatisfied constituents by offering them the opportunity to participate in a referendum as to what color his new leathers should be:......

The House has overwhelmingly passed a motion recognizing Quebec as a nation within Canada. 15 Liberal MPs and Garth Turner voted against, although it probably would have been more if it had been a free vote for the Tories. Hey, remember when somebody, I forget who exactly but his name rhymed with "Even Carper", promised that all votes in Parliament on non-budgetary matters would be free votes? In other Parliamentary news, the Grits and......

As fall settles in and another calendar page gets turned, thoughts turn from bbq's and vacations to holidays and the realization that '06 is coming to an end. With all that going on, with change in the air, we wonder what is it that made that makes the -ists ponder? Phillyist is concerned that the war on Trans fats could affect it's beloved cheese steak sandwiches, something for which we should all be concerned.......

The 2006 Federal election was disappointing for the Green Party of Canada. What many felt would be a break-through election for the Greens saw them garner only 4.5% of the vote, a bare increase from 4.3% in the 2004 contest. Pundits placed the blame on a number of things, from strategic voting to exclusion from the televised leaders debates, but the big question was: where would the Greens go from here? Elizabeth May knows. The......

One of the cabbies stabbed yesterday sadly did not recover from his wounds and died in hospital yesterday. The fact that his killer was caught on tape and his picture is now everywhere is only small consolation. The Boulevard Club has withdrawn its application to take over a chunk of Parkdale beach. Sadly the Toronto Sailing and Canoe Club and the Palais Royale parking lot are still in the works and threatening west side beaches.......

Jim Harris, who has led the Green Party through two elections and its best electoral showing in Canada, will not be running for the leadership of the Green Party. Under Harris' leadership the Green vote in Canada grew significantly and in the last two federal elections the party netted over half-a-million votes. Nonetheless Harris' leadership also caused a rift in the party among many who felt that Harris' policies were not socially progressive and environmental......

Yesterday's good-natured debate between Toronto Centre candidates provided Ryerson with a few laughs, and few memorable quotes. Here's a sample: "I've spent a lot of time on the ground in Toronto Centre, and I am in favour of same-sex marriage. My leader embraces me for that position." - Conservative candidate Lewis Reford, getting a few giggles for an unintentional play on words "Bill Graham isn't here, but don't take it personally. This is the third......

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"I'm a Conservative with a strong social conscience and a sense of civility that hasn't just manifested itself since I entered provincial politics." - John Tory in the National Post, March 5, 2005 "I'm sorry [Dufferin-Peel-Wellington-Grey riding], but I am for reeeeaaal." - If John Tory re-wrote the OutKast hit "Ms Jackson" While the Dufferin-Peel-Wellington-Grey riding always seems overflooded with ultra-conservative a-hole politicians, John Tory contends that he isn't one of them. According to ultra-Postie......