Have Your Say

Ti-Cats playoff chance

After eight years, the hometown team gets a shot at the Grey Cup, starting this weekend. What do you make of their chances? Will you be following the game?

Home reno tax credit extension

The federal government is being lobbied to extend the home renovation tax credit for another year as a measure to boost economic activity. Critics say that's not appropriate given the size of the federal deficit and lost tax revenue at stake. Are you using the tax credit? What do you think?

The rapid transit squeeze

Hamilton city staff are beginning to map out how rapid transit will operate in the city, revealing dramatic impacts on the way traffic moves along the entire east-west corridor.

Potential changes include the creation of a pedestrian mall in the downtown core and conversion of King Street to two-way traffic with restrictions on left turns from Eastgate to McMaster.

According to a new report, Hamilton will see two rapid transit (RT) lines running along the centre of King Street -- one eastbound, one westbound. These plans are in place whether the city receives light rail or buses. That decision is expected from transportation authority Metrolinx in January.

The heaviest impact will be downtown, where the proposal sees the International Village area of King Street closed to traffic. Vehicles will be routed away from King Street at Wellington Street to either Main, Cannon or Wilson streets, then merge back onto King in a proposed "transition zone" between Mary and John streets.

Drivers could lose on-street parking and loading zones from Eastgate Square to McMaster University, and face restrictions on left turns along the entire route.

Cars won't be allowed to cross the centre lanes in order to maintain the speed of RT and to ensure the safety of motorists.

What do you think of these and other changes highlighted in the story headlined 'Rapid Transit Squeeze'? 

Stadium location revisited

Now that we know the 2015 Pan Am Games in Southern Ontario are a reality, the controversy surrounding the location of Hamilton's new stadium is coming back to life. The mayor and city are pushing for a waterfront location, and recently bought the former Rheem site. But others, including residents of that area, argue there are too many access and parking issues to make the site viable. Others have argued an east-end waterfront location in or around Confederation Park is the way to go, but others prefer a greenfield location, probably near the airport. Which of the three locations do you prefer and why?

Toronto/Hamilton wins the games

The waiting is over. The 2015 Pan Am Games will be held in the Golden Horseshoe. Hamilton will get a new stadium, that could turn into a new home for the Ticats with matching private sector investment. The waterfront will be home to a cycling velodrome, and McMaster gets upgraded swimming facilities. Burlington will get a new soccer stadium. What do you think? Will you get behind the games?

Decision day for Pan Am bid

The winner of the 2015 Pan Am Games bid will be announced at 6 p.m. today. The Golden Horseshoe bid has been identified as the front-runner in the competition with Lima, Peru, and Bogota, Colombia. And sources close to the bid suggest the lobbying effort will yield between 32 and 34 votes, well above the 27 needed to win.

That would mean $170 million in sports and recreation development in Hamilton and Burlington.

"We feel good about where we're at," said Toronto 2015 special adviser Bob Richardson yesterday as the Canadian delegation of 50 began efforts to close the deal. "It's a tough competition but we have done most things right."

Do you think the Ontario bid will win? If it does, will the benefits to the Hamilton-Burlington area live up to their billing? What do you think?

Two years and a pandemic, still no plan

Two years after Parliament gave the federal Public Safety department responsibility for emergency management leadership, a formal plan has yet to be finished and approved, federal auditor general Sheila Fraser says in a scathing report on Canada's ability to deal with national emergencies such as H1N1.

There is growing political and public anger over H1N1, as thousands flock to overwhelmed clinics for flu shots -- but there's no overall federal plan for emergencies, be they pandemics, floods, blackouts or terror attacks.

In the latest of her periodic reports to Parliament, Fraser said yesterday that Public Safety is supposed to ensure that federal departments work together in emergencies.

"The aim is to eliminate the potential for confusion when responding in a crisis and provide a federal point for co-ordination," says the report.

Instead, the department is still drafting the policies and rules that would define what it's supposed to do and how it's supposed to do it.

What do you think? Who should be held  responsible? What should happen now?

Are the Royals still relevant?

As Ontario and Hamilton prepare for the visit by Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, a new survey suggests more than half of Canadians favour severing ties with the Monarchy. What do you think?

More choice in car insurance

The provincial government is announcing today that motorists will be given the choice to save money by buying a new basic policy with lower coverage limits and fewer benefits.

The new basic policy would provide up to $50,000 for medical and rehabilitation expenses and $36,000 for attendant care, the same as in Alberta and New Brunswick, but half current limits in Ontario for all but catastrophic injuries.

Queen's Park says the changes are intended to reduce dramatic insurance price increases that have hammered drivers in recent months.

What do you think? Will you buy the bare bones insurance, or pay more for more protection?

Farewell Ivor Wynne

Whether or not Hamilton gets the Pan Am Games, it looks like Ivor Wynne's days are numbered, Spectator columnist Andrew Dreschel reported Friday.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger says city staff are working on a stadium business plan that includes building a new facility regardless of whether southern Ontario gets the Games.

"There's a need for stadium renewal, and we're going to proceed on making that business case, one way or another," Eisenberger said.

What do you think? Is a new stadium the answer? Should more thought have been given to rehabilitating Ivor Wynne? What is the best location for a new stadium?