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Raphael Lopoukhine

@blogokhine.bsky.social
38 followers 161 following 17 posts

Climate & Circular Economy | Rethinking waste, reimagining buildings, and refusing to settle for less. Powered by systems thinking and radical moderation. #SFI-OCADU

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Raphael Lopoukhine @blogokhine.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
My basement reno turned me into a part-time door detective. My experience reveals a big problem: Canada ranks near the bottom of the OECD for material productivity. If we want to build millions of homes, we need to design buildings so materials can be reused www.nationalobserver.com/2026/03/13/o...
nationalobserver.com
Why Canada’s housing plan must look to the past to build the future
It should be easier to reuse and get more value out of the goods we consume, but it's not really a thing we do in Canada.
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Alex Usher @alexusherhesa.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Thing is, even if basket-weaving courses were the problem (they are not), it still makes zero sense to make it way more expensive for poor students to take them, but leave net prices basically intact for wealthier students to do so. Zero sense, that is, until you remember Ford hates poor people.
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Raphael Lopoukhine @blogokhine.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
Seems relevant Remembering Canada’s support for the US invasion of Panama – Canadian Dimension canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
share.google
Remembering Canada’s support for the US invasion of Panama
On December 20, 1989, US forces invaded Panama and overthrew the government of Manuel Noriega. Noriega had proven too independent for his one-time sponsors in Washington, who suddenly accused him of d...
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Robert Benzie @robertbenzie.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
Geneviève Bergeron Hélène Colgan Nathalie Croteau Barbara Daigneault Anne-Marie Edward Maud Haviernick Maryse Laganière Maryse Leclair Anne-Marie Lemay Sonia Pelletier Michèle Richard Annie St-Arneault Annie Turcotte Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz
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Jonathan Goldsbie @goldsbie.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
In particular, they want leases to no longer necessarily remain in effect indefinitely, so that landlords have more options for creating tenant turnover. Current situation in left-hand column, proposal on the right:
Left column:

Under the RTA, all tenants have "security of tenure", which means
that tenants have a right to remain in their rental unit as long as they
follow the lease agreement and the RTA. Landlords cannot evict
tenants without a legally valid reason, and after a fixed-term lease
ends, the tenancy typically continues on a month-to-month basis.

Right column:

The government would consult on alternative options on lease agreement expiry that could allow landlords to control who occupies their units and for how long, allowing them to adjust tenancy arrangements based on market conditions, personal needs, or business strategies. This could add flexibility for some landlords in the approach to leases, potentially unlocking additional rental unit stock.
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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 10/10/2025
Newsom signed SB79! So, so huge. Enormous props to all the people who worked so hard, for so long, to make this happen, above all @scottwiener.bsky.social. It's going to change California, and the country.
sd11.senate.ca.gov
Governor Newsom Signs Senator Wiener’s Landmark Law To Build More Homes Near Public Transit
Official website of Senator Scott Wiener, representing California Senate District 11.
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Norm Di Pasquale🇨🇦 @normsworld.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
Ford government is showing off that they cut $14 million from TDSB classroom budget, maxing out class sizes for all students. The supervisor undid the work of Trustees who’d voted for smaller class sizes. Shame! #topoli #onted #onpoli
r/OntarioTeachers
Join
u/okaybutnothing • 7d
Congrats on saving $14 million dollars on the backs of teachers, students and families,
TDSB
TDSB, under direction from the provincial supervisor, sent its admin an email last night, celebrating the $14.5 million they saved by forcing the least common sense, most disruptive reorganization ever. The TDSB, under normal circumstances, does not care about staff and only minimally about kids and families, but under this supervisor, they don't care at all.
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Jörg Broschek 🇨🇦 @jbroschek.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
"We are continuing to meet our commitment to at least try to meet our commitment for the 2030 target," the Environment Minister said. Wow. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Ontario will miss 2030 emission reduction goal by even wider gap than it admits: auditor | CBC News
Ontario's environment ministry says it will miss its 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target, but the auditor general says province will in fact likely miss that target by an even wider margin.
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Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
White House border czar Tom Homan was investigated for accepting $50,000 from undercover FBI agents. Trump's DOJ shut it down. www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/t...
In an undercover operation last year, the FBI recorded Tom Homan, now the White House border czar, accepting $50,000 in cash after indicating he could help the agents — who were posing as business executives — win government contracts in a second Trump administration, according to multiple people familiar with the probe and internal documents reviewed by MSNBC.

The FBI and the Justice Department planned to wait to see whether Homan would deliver on his alleged promise once he became the nation’s top immigration official. But the case indefinitely stalled soon after Donald Trump became president again in January, according to six sources familiar with the matter. In recent weeks, Trump appointees officially closed the investigation, after FBI Director Kash Patel requested a status update on the case, two of the people said.

It’s unclear what reasons FBI and Justice Department officials gave for shutting down the investigation. But a Trump Justice Department appointee called the case a “deep state” probe in early 2025 and no further investigative steps were taken, the sources say.
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Aaron Freeman @aaronfreemanca.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
As Parliament returns, protecting Canadians and our economy from climate change must be a top priority climateinstitute.ca/news/as-parl...
climateinstitute.ca
As Parliament returns, protecting Canadians and our economy from climate change must be a top priority
Statement from the Canadian Climate Institute’s Peter Nicholson Sr. and Rick Smith on policy priorities for the fall 2025 sitting of Parliament.
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Aaron Freeman @aaronfreemanca.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
Air pollution can drive devastating forms of dementia, research suggests www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Air pollution can drive devastating forms of dementia, research suggests
Airborne particles cause toxic clumps of proteins in brain that are hallmarks of Lewy body dementia, study indicates
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Dr Paul Dorfman @drpauldorfman.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
Most effective drive for pro-environmental behaviour not necessarily the most expensive. Social pressure and targeted financial incentives consistently outperform education and feedback alone in changing real-world behaviour. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2539898...
heraldscotland.com
Is there a smarter path to net zero that does not break the bank?
Research shows that people are particularly influenced by peers of similar age, income, and circumstance
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mlongfield.bsky.social @mlongfield.bsky.social · 17/08/2025
(Toronto is not a serious city.)
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Ravi Kahlon @ravikahlon.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
B.C.'s life sciences sector is the fastest growing in Canada. Home to life-saving mRNA technology pioneered at UBC, we're leading the way in science and innovation. Ready to invest? Come to British Columbia🍁 We're open for business.
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TheTrillium.ca @thetrillium.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
Meet the bagman: the Ontario PC fundraising chief and his developer ties
dlvr.it
Meet the bagman: the Ontario PC fundraising chief and his developer ties
The top fundraiser for Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives works for developers, while also raising money from them for the party
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Ben Spurr @benspurr.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
"Four babies have died in the last few weeks in this hospital – not from bombs or bullets, but from starvation." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
I’m witnessing the deliberate starvation of Gaza’s children – why is the world letting it happen? | Nick Maynard
A permanent ceasefire, the free and safe flow of aid, and the lifting of the blockade are needed now – all could be achieved with political will, says UK surgeon Nick Maynard
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Raphael Lopoukhine @blogokhine.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
Having to tell my kids that nature school is cancelled today while I go to work and position climate change as a secondary benefit in my funding application is big Krypton energy to start the day. #Superman
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How-Sen Chong @how-sen.com · 12/07/2025
I can hardly believe this is Toronto. We need more pedestrian-only streets here at home.
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Ernie Tedeschi @ernietedeschi.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
• Canada has borne the brunt of the damage from US tariffs so far, with its long-run economy -1.9% smaller in real terms. China’s economy is -0.2% smaller, about 2/3 as large as the hit to the US. The UK’s is 0.2% bigger thanks in part to the benefits of US-UK trade deal. 8/10
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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 02/07/2025
Just recorded a pod on solar+storage and holy shit y'all, if you are not tracking this market on a daily basis, you have no idea how wild it is. The global average price of a battery pack fell 40% *from 2023 to 2024*. That dropped the LCOE of a solar+storage plant by 22%. In a year!
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Governor Gavin Newsom @governor.ca.gov · 01/07/2025
I just enacted the most game-changing housing reforms in recent California history. We're urgently embracing an abundance agenda by tearing down the barriers that have delayed new affordable housing and infrastructure for decades. Let’s get building, California.
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Raphael Lopoukhine @blogokhine.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Alt headline: New provincial legislation kills over a dozen municipal ‘green standards’ for construction, making homes more costly to heat and power, less safe, and dirtier, while undermining the development of green jobs and achieving national carbon emission reduction targets?
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Mike Schreiner @mikeschreiner.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
I’ve said it before and I will say it again: Ontario needs to have AC in schools to deal with the increasing frequency and severity of climate-fuelled heat waves. This is a health and safety issue as well as an education issue. #onpoli www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
theglobeandmail.com
Ontario heat wave prompts concerns about students, educators sweltering in schools
Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones placed the onus of action on school boards
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Emmett Macfarlane 🇨🇦 @emmettmacfarlane.com · 19/06/2025
Keep re-electing Ford majorities and keep getting this, people.
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Raphael Lopoukhine @blogokhine.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
Small-town cheapification of Ontario
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Raider @iwillnotbesilenced.bsky.social · 08/06/2025
ICE crossed a line in LA
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Raphael Lopoukhine @blogokhine.bsky.social · 08/06/2025
@evansolomon.bsky.social good luck! “I don’t want to add to the hysteria, but in some ways these large language models are already outperforming most of our best graduate students in the world.” www.scientificamerican.com/article/insi...
scientificamerican.com
Inside the Secret Meeting Where Mathematicians Struggled to Outsmart AI
The world's leading mathematicians were stunned by how adept artificial intelligence is at doing their jobs
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Raphael Lopoukhine @blogokhine.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
New streetscape dropped at 501 Yonge. Not a tree in sight. Looks like Soviet architecture mashed with a suburban tears. Brutalist vibes without the charm. Toronto’s planning “vision” at its finest.
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Al Haddrell @ukhadds.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
Yes!! They have windows open (cross wind), air purifiers, and pathogen killing lights. They are also reporting the air quality in real time on the side. All green, all good.
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Raphael Lopoukhine @blogokhine.bsky.social · 05/05/2025
The call is coming from inside the house.
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Sean Mullen, Ph.D. @drseanmullen.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
179 experts. 28 countries. 1 message: Long COVID is real, multi-systemic, and devastating. It affects over 400 million people. And we're not prepared. New global consensus just dropped. link.springer.com/content/pdf/10… 🧵
link.springer.com
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Alex Bozikovic @alexbozikovic.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Unbelievable. The @nytimes.com reports that Therme was misrepresenting basic aspects of its business - they copied the name of another company and claimed to own its properties. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/w...
nytimes.com
European Spa Company Therme Misrepresented Itself in an Effort to Expand Into Canada
A Times investigation shows Therme, a European firm, exaggerated its track record in securing a deal with Ontario, and government auditors found that the process had been unfair and opaque.
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Raphael Lopoukhine @blogokhine.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Obviously they didn't hear about building a tunnel under the freeway
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Theresa Lubowitz @theresalubowitz.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
I'm really pleased to see the @liberalca.bsky.social listening to environmental experts on their platform. 10 new national parks and 15 new urban parks was a direct ask from @naturecanada.bsky.social to all the parties. #cdnpoli #elxn45
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Dr. Mike P. Moffatt @mikepmoffatt.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
We've got a piece coming out later this morning, and it's a fun one. We look at the Liberal housing plan. MURB, tax credits, a public builder. We discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly. Look for it at 9:15 this morning.
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Akshat Rathi @akshatrathi.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
The rise of advanced geothermal remains an underappreciated story. Loved working on this doc with Bloomberg colleagues. Worth your time! www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM31...
youtube.com
The Big Business of Drilling Deep Into the Earth | Bloomberg Primer
YouTube video by Bloomberg Originals
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Aura Bogado @aurabogado.bsky.social · 22/03/2025
A man slated for deportation has captured conditions inside the Krome Detention Center in Florida. He says some people have been confined like this for up to 30 days. At least three men have died at Krome in the past five months. www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8248mFR/
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
The thing that was making America great was apparently lead.
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Raphael Lopoukhine @blogokhine.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
Ontario :
media.tenor.com
a cartoon character says we 've tried nothing and were all out of ideas
ALT: a cartoon character says we 've tried nothing and were all out of ideas
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Raphael Lopoukhine @blogokhine.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
Turner was riiiiiight
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Shawn Micallef @shawnmicallef.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
This here is perhaps one of the more depressing aspects of Toronto. It's really about what is Toronto: a city or suburb? And deep down it is suburban, from the cn tower to the city limits. Cities are about freedom, economic or otherwise, and this is the opposite.
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