'They were just hell-bent': Mayor battling Ottawa over 'really left' housing mandate
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'They were just hell-bent on putting forward this really left-principled version of what housing should be,' Drew says of the conditions imposed on cities under the $4-billion housing accelerator fund launched in 2023 by then federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser.
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Unlike most other big cities in Canada, Windsor chose not to apply for the housing accelerator dollars — turning down the possibility of a $30-million cash infusion into the city's densification strategies.
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City council didn't dare to accept the funds and later renege on the feds' conditions, Drew says: 'We basically walked away from $30 million because we refused to succumb, or be co-opted into something we felt was bad for the community.'
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Then-Liberal MP for Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore, Irek Kusmierczyk (who lost the 2025 election by just four votes to Conservative MP Kathy Borrelli), implored Windsor's city council to reconsider, insisting the feds were only asking for 'gentle density.'
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It's not so gentle, Drew counters, if you find yourself living next door to a new four-plex and you bought your house based on the community's single-family residential character.
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'We did it in our way,' Drew explains in a recent conversation, 'because there's no one who knows their community better, no level of government that knows their community better,' than the local council. The 53-year-old lawyer-cum-mayor grew up in Windsor, and has served on the city's council for nearly two decades, 11 as mayor.
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And when you look at Canada's Constitution, Drew points out, these issues are 'under the bailiwick of the provincial government … who delegate it to the municipalities.'
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The city's locally generated housing strategies — intense densification along transit routes; blanket rezoning in new neighbourhoods to allow for greater density; repurposing several municipally owned properties for housing — were rejected by the fund's managers as 'not ambitious enough.'
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'Ambition' was their favourite word, Drew grumbles: 'We weren't ambitious enough and they wanted to work with municipalities who had greater ambition.'
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Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
U.S. and European Union reach trade pact that sets 15-per-cent tariff on EU goods
The United States struck a framework trade deal with the European Union Sunday that imposes a 15-per-cent U.S. import tariff on most EU goods, including autos, and leaves 50-per-cent levies on steel and aluminum shipments from the continent. The announcement came after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen travelled to western Scotland for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump at his golf course there. Ms. von der Leyen said the agreed-upon 15-per-cent tariff applies 'across the board' to U.S.-bound shipments from the EU. The deal, while short on details, also includes a commitment by the EU to make US$600-billion of investments in the United States, and to make significant purchases of U.S. energy and military equipment. 'It's a huge deal. It will bring stability. It will bring predictability,' she said. 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Mr. Trump, who is seeking to reorder the global economy and reduce decades-old U.S. trade deficits with trading partners, has so far also signed agreements with Britain, Indonesia and Vietnam. By comparison, the trade deal the President struck with Britain in May would see British cars subject to a 10-per-cent tariff up to 100,000 vehicles and on shipments above, a 25-per-cent rate. Mr. Trump talked up the new agreement as 'the biggest of all the deals,' with total trade between the U.S. and the EU totalling US$976-billion in 2024, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Given the size of this relationship, the agreement could set a precedent for future U.S. deals, including with Canada. Opinion: Canada, we've already got Trump's best trade deal Since returning to office earlier this year, Mr. Trump has hit Canada with a string of tariffs: 50 per cent on steel and aluminum; 25 per cent on autos; and 25 per cent on any goods traded outside the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, with the exception of oil, gas and potash, at 10 per cent. He has threatened to increase the non-USMCA tariff to 35 per cent if there is no deal by Aug. 1. William Pellerin, a partner with McMillan LLP's international trade group, said the fact that Mr. Trump doesn't appear to be cutting steel and aluminum tariffs, or agreeing to lower baseline tariffs with key trading partners, is not a good sign for Canada. The details of recent deals 'show that the tariffs are stickier than we might have anticipated, even for developed economies and close U.S. allies, which is certainly a bit of a bad omen in some ways for Canada,' Mr. Pellerin said. He said the silver lining for Canada is it 'doesn't look like anyone's going to get better market access to the United States than Canada, even if we do get stuck with a baseline tariff.' Goldy Hyder, president of the Business Council of Canada, said Canada and Mexico are in a different position from other countries. This is both because of the White House rationale for the 25-per-cent tariff on most Canadian and Mexican goods – Mr. Trump cited illegal fentanyl smuggling as one reason – and because of the exemption for products traded in compliance with the USMCA. Campbell Clark: Mark Carney faces the politics of concession Japan and the European Union did not qualify for a USMCA-style exemption and therefore had to 'buy down' tariffs with major commitments to purchase U.S. goods or make investments in the United States, he noted. Mr. Hyder said Canada needs to preserve its special access under the USMCA, which is up for renegotiation in 2026, or possibly sooner. 'Our goal has to be keeping the exemption, and that means preserving and extending the USMCA must be our top priority.' There are some significant trade differences between Canada and the EU – and they work in Canada's favour. For one, Canada is the top destination for U.S. goods exports, according to the USTR, bringing in US$349-billion worth of American goods in 2024. Canada also has a much smaller trade surplus with the U.S. than the EU. Mr. Trump has taken particular issue with such imbalances, which he considers unfair − even when they benefit American consumers. Canada also has an intricately linked supply chain with the U.S. in multiple industries, including automobiles and energy, with many products shipped back and forth across the Canada-U.S. border many times before they are sold to end users. The two countries also have an existing trade agreement, the USMCA, which Mr. Trump negotiated during his first term. 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Toronto Sun
6 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
EDITORIAL: Carney's guide for civil service cuts
Prime Minister Mark Carney waits to speak during a tour of a steel manufacturing facility, in Hamilton, Ont., Wednesday, July 16, 2025. Photo by Chris Young / The Canadian Press The federal government has moved to block civil servants from streaming services such as Netflix, Crave and Amazon Prime on its networks. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account According to documents obtained by University of Ottawa Assistant Professor Matt Malone and published by CBC, this was not done so much because the streaming put a strain on government networks, but that it was perceived to be a 'people management' issue. Scott Jones, president of Shared Services Canada (SSC), the agency responsible for IT, wrote to the Treasury Board about a meeting of deputy ministers, during which they discussed the use of streaming services in federal buildings. He supported blocking them. 'While streaming may ultimately impact the bandwidth available to the (Government of Canada), it is also more importantly a people management issue,' he wrote. 'In the current context and with public perception of the public service as it is … there is value in engaging (deputy ministers) on these issues and in committing SSC to take some action.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The departments with the highest streaming included the Department of National Defence (DND), Public Services and Procurement Canada and the Privy Council Office. This coincides with a Canadian Press story from February, which reported that large numbers of civil servants aren't following the rules when it comes to the government's hybrid work-from-home model that requires government employees to be in the office three days a week. The DND, which employs about 28,700 people, had the lowest compliance rate. In January, it was 60%, but just 31% in December. The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the union representing about 240,000 federal employees, said it had no record of any employee being dismissed or disciplined for not adhering to the hybrid rules. Prime Minister Mark Carney has told government agencies and departments they must slash 15% from their budgets over the next five years. These two reports provide a road map for where to cut. Those ministries and agencies where employees (a) can't be bothered to show up for work on the days they're required, or (b) are streaming Netflix, should be the first on the chopping block. As a show of good faith, Carney should end the hybrid model for MPs and require them to show up to work when the House resumes sitting. Sports Columnists Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA Toronto & GTA
Calgary Herald
8 hours ago
- Calgary Herald
Israel eases Gaza aid curbs, hoping to defuse hunger outcry
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