Results tagged “walmart”

This holiday season, Wal-Mart has graciously kept its Toronto stores open around the clock. To experience the holiday spirit during the stores' extended hours, Torontoist hitched a ride on the Blue Line this week at 3 a.m. to the Wal-Mart at Dufferin Mall.

In the current issue of Toronto Life, Philip Preville attempts to argue for a big-box store in Leslieville. It's no easy task, but Preville's argument is pretty sound, resting on convenience (it'd be close to where people live), location (what else is going to go in its place?), cost (cheap!), and—oh yes—the environment (less driving = less pollution). Preville also says about the smartest thing we've yet heard about the development, which is that "instead of trying to keep the downtown big box free, we’d be better off figuring out how to make large-format retail compatible with a mostly walkable, constantly improving, ever-greening city in which many people still shop in their cars." NOW's Susan G. Cole obviously takes issue with Preville's argument—as many surely will—but the best argument she can muster in reply is to say that Wal-Mart, the crown jewel of the project, are just a bunch of fascists who want us all to conform. Um, okay.

Photo by Marc Lostracco.

The proposed big box development in Leslieville has been getting a lot of attention lately, and not because it's a welcome addition to the retail streetscape in the east end. The land, the soon-to-be-former home of Toronto Film Studios, is currently zoned for employment purposes, which means that it's supposed to be used to provide jobs that pay better than retail.

The Star weighs in on Dalton's new rent laws. The big improvement is that landlords can no longer jack up the rent permanently after making repairs, tying rent to inflations, and guaranteed hearings for those about to be evicted by non-payment of rent. Star columnist Thomas Walkom doesn't think it's enough and doesn't actually do anything to help with skyrocketing rents.

Bruce Mau's exhibit Massive Change, which takes over the AGO until May 29, scares me.