αndrew mcilwrαth

Headbanging my night away to Shostakovich

Canada and Ontario are a democracy, but it often feels like we’ve lost *democratic culture*. You can see it in the debates we’re having (and lack there of). I’ll use the Toronto Island/Billy Bishop controversy as an example. 👇 First, what is the problem? - The island airport lease was set to expire in 2033, but has been extended to 2045 to figure out next steps. - The Q400 turboprop planes that fly out of the airport are no longer mass produced. - While maintenance works for the next decade or two, the island airport really has 2 options: Extend the runway to allow jets or shut down the airport. - - - The democratic approach to solving this problem would look like the following. 1) Establish a working group to evaluate future options, should be governed by clear stakeholders from all participants (Feds, Province, City, TPA etc). - Expand the airport - Maintain the airport - Shut the airport It should also propose a transparent mechanism for determining a path forward. This doesn’t mean every stakeholder gets what they want, but people understand how the decision is made and accept it. 2) Present clear futures to the public for scrutiny and debate. - Detailed proposals outlining cost/benefit/context/trade-offs/remediation. - Context of other potential infrastructure investments and developments (eg, HSR, Ontario Place, Port Lands) - Access and Local/regional transit upgrades to improve connections - Impacts on airline competition in the region, and remedying options (eg, upgrading Hamilton Airport) - The potential of working with De Havilland/Bombarier/Embraer on re-production of suitable planes for the existing or reduced runway expansion scope - Business/investment potential - Cultural and environmental impact 3) Period for public scrutiny. The reality is that reports and commissions get a lot wrong, because humans are fallible. Public advocacy (not NIMBYism) often improves outcomes and clarifies preferences. The public and civil society have a role here. 4) Decision by arms-length mechanism suggested in (1) and a clear/written justification for the approach. It should not be a partisan decision by the Ford government, which will be long gone before anything materializes. That’s how you ensure legitimacy going forward so a future gov doesn’t change course after spending billions of dollars. Not everyone will be happy, but at least people will know that fair consideration actually occurred. - - - The problem with the ham-fisted approach being pursued by Ford, TPA and the Conservatives (and from the shameless silence of the Federal Government) is that the public has very little information to go by. The city itself is completely in the dark. And yet, there is a rush to use eminent domain over the entire islands. It’s an authoritarian impulse to believe that opposition has no inherent legitimacy. I love democracy, debate, and ideas. Yet our leaders have been afraid to actually believe in it in their actions. Everyone is reacting pathologically. So, do I support the island airport expansion? I can’t possibly know. We literally don’t have the information to judge. And that’s the core democratic failure. All I can say is that we should demand better from @fordnation @PrabSarkaria @MarkJCarney cc @RunChiNguyenRun @WaterfrontAll @WaterfrontBIA @NoJetsTO

me avoiding you

👑 Here’s Queen Elizabeth II charming the room during her visit with President Reagan after being welcomed by torrential California rain.

Come outside.

A husband and wife are asleep when someone starts banging on the front door in the middle of the night. The man checks the bedside clock. It is 3:00 a.m. “No chance I’m getting up now,” he mutters, turning over. A moment later, the knocking comes again, even louder. His wife nudges him. “Are you seriously not going to see who it is?” Grumbling, he climbs out of bed, stumbles downstairs, and opens the door. Outside stands a stranger, clearly very drunk. The man at the door squints at him and says, “Sorry to bother you... could you give me a shove?” “Absolutely not. It’s three in the morning,” the husband snaps, and shuts the door. Back upstairs, he climbs into bed and tells his wife what happened. She frowns. “That was unkind. Do you remember when our car died in the rain and you had to knock on someone’s door for help? Imagine if they had turned you away.” “He was drunk,” the husband says. “So what?” she replies. “He still needed help. Go help him.” Feeling guilty, the husband gets dressed, heads back downstairs, and opens the front door. He cannot see anyone in the dark, so he calls out: “Hey! Do you still need a push?” From somewhere outside comes the answer: “Yes, please!” The husband looks around and shouts, “Where are you?” A voice calls back: “Over here... on your garden swing!”

Giraffes always peeking over everything. mind your own business. fucking skyscrapers.

i will never beef cow.

the fuck did i do ????

#BREAKING: I've written to Prime Minister Mark Carney, urging him to intervene to stop Doug Ford's Toronto Islands land grab. While emergency rooms close, grocery prices go up, and workers lose their jobs, Doug Ford’s obsession with Toronto is costing the province. The federal government can end this today.

MD-11 fast take-off. The pilots were definitely having fun. 📹: kwp302

LAWRENCE PARK ISN’T IMMUNE... This Toronto home sold for $2.8M in 2023 after the peak. Now it sells for $2.3M. $500,000 gone. One of Toronto’s most established neighborhoods. When even here starts resetting… pay attention.

However you feel about the King, his speeches, both in Congress and at the dinner, are worth a listen. He was giving them a vicious roasting. I doubt many of them understood some of the references, but Canada, Ukraine, France, and NATO did. Maybe this visit WAS worth it.

@freedom_007__ King Charles spoke truth to power while in Washington DC. 🔔He even, cheeky bugger that he is, took the American president down a peg 🔔. But nothing reveals his humanity more than his stewardship of the natural world; for years, before it was popular. Well done🔔 @RoyalFamily

King Charles is 77 yrs old, and by jove, a few Brits and Americans have finally realised that Charles is in fact a decent and very capable man. 77 years is ‘just the other day’ but in real terms the king doesn’t have another 77 yrs to show you the work he does behind those thick stone walls. Trust that the media and anti monarchists sold you a lie.

Ppl upset about the QC-Toronto high speed rail being $90B dollars but when Doug ford announces a $100B 401 tunnel just in the GTA no one flinches an eye cause ford gets away with it. Let’s not even talk about how expensive turning marsh land to solid land for an airport is.

@marcuslmb_ You wouldn't exist in the first place, so no one would ask you how you felt about it. What a stupid thing to say.

Everyone who supports abortion how would you feel if you were aborted ? Babies Lives Matter

Watching Carney and Poilievre go at it in Parliament is starting to feel uncomfortable. Not in a dramatic way, just in the way it feels when someone is clearly out of their depth and keeps pressing anyway. Carney knows the file. When he answers, he answers the actual question. He doesn’t need to perform outrage or repeat a catchphrase three times and call it a rebuttal. He just explains things, clearly, because he understands them. Poilievre comes in loud and confident, same as always, and that works great on a campaign trail or a Facebook video. But in a room where the other guy actually knows what he’s talking about? The gap shows. Every time. The frustrating part isn’t even the politics. It’s watching someone confuse intensity for competence and expect nobody to notice the difference. People notice. This stopped being a left vs right thing a while ago. Now it just looks like one guy who did the reading and one guy who thinks he doesn’t have to.

Canada has been chosen to host a new multinational Defence, Security and Resilience Bank, according to unnamed sources. The decision came after three rounds of negotiations in Montreal involving about 19 founding countries. Once fully established, the bank will grow to include up to 40 nations, mainly trusted NATO members It's purpose will be to provide long‑term, low‑cost financing for defense projects across participating countries that are trustworthy. Negotiations wrapped up faster than expected, and key decisions—such as the bank’s charter, treaties, and leadership—were likely finalized. The federal government has not yet officially confirmed Canada’s selection, but its soon to come. 🇨🇦⚔️ #Defense #InternationalRelations

He did it politely and diplomatically but King Charles just reminded Congress: • NATO was there for USA after 9/11 • British Troops did fight in Afghanistan • Ukraine needs our help now • executive power must be subject to checks & balances • ice-caps are melting • America’s natural wonders need protecting

So Trump cancelled comedy at the WHCD this year only to get roasted in his own house by the fucking King of England? 😂