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Phil

@philmarfisi.bsky.social
5.1K followers 865 following 8.1K posts

Sidewalk enthusiast. Other interests: public policy, housing, urbanism, Waterloo Region, Ontario politics, #cdnpoli, Star Trek, music, news media, international relations, and the Oxford comma. Democracy is good, actually.

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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 4h
It's great that a historical co-op building is getting relief from a heritage designation because the costs would be too onerous to take on, but it also illustrates how arbitrary a system we have that decides to relieve some people of costs and imposes heavy financial burdens on others.
therecord.com
Kitchener co-op says heritage designation would prove too costly, onerous
Council agrees not to proceed with designating post-war apartment building.
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 4h
A hot button topic in a Woolwich mayoral debate is dealing with fears of a disappearing countryside line. I hope St. Jacobs residents can take some solace that Waterloo was the only city in #WatReg to stay fully committed to its countryside line after the province allowed expansions.
therecord.com
Mayor’s race in Woolwich Township has 4 names, 2 campaigns
Mayor’s race in Woolwich Township has 4 names, 2 campaigns
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Colleen @cbailey6.bsky.social · 14h
"Have you considered that not everyone can live in Toronto?" My friend, we have barely even tried. Skill issue, as the kids say.
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Shawn Micallef @shawnmicallef.bsky.social · 7h
Funny thing about this (hilarious) is Canada’s worst mayor is a Ford disciple & would use strong mayor power to block potential housing - something that Ford once championed, in part, by giving strong mayor powers in order to push thru such housing. So much total failure all around
windsorstar.com
Dilkens vows to use strong mayor powers to kill fourplexes if new council supports sweeping density
'For a lot of Windsorites, this was a central issue to them'
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 13h
Unequivocal W for the country
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The NDP needs to do some serious soul searching on Lewis's messaging to date. Like yeah, the Trump bump for Carney is undeniably eating into things, but 17% below an incredibly unpopular leader, and 1% more than the leader of the party that wants to break up the country is problematic at best.
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Shawn Micallef @shawnmicallef.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Great column. It really is the most transparent level of gov't (police notwithstanding). Things are tight. I often get comments like "city hall is corrupt" - well, show me where? It has the most openness, the most public eyes on it. Other levels, far less transparency (looking at you, Ontario)
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Max Dubler 🏳️‍🌈 @maxdubler.com · 28/09/2026
So-called “inclusionary zoning,” the practice of requiring home builders to rent new apartments at a loss to low-income tenants, is a tax on new housing that worsens the housing shortage and raises rents overall in exchange for a handful of means-tested units. It’s bad policy!
thecooldown.com
Greater Boston builders say affordable-unit rules stall housing, but Boston won't budge
Developers and city leaders across Greater Boston are clashing over whether affordable-housing requirements are helping address the region's housing shortage.
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Kitchener Centre you beauty
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Ok you know what, let him cook
Brad Bradford announcing real change equals a zipline from the CN Tower to Toronto Islands
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Graeme Bayliss @gbayliss.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I wrote about Premier Doug Ford's apparent indifference to human life for @thestar.com: www.thestar.com/opinion/star...
thestar.com
Graeme Bayliss: His cyclist friend was killed. Why did Doug Ford’s response include ‘lmao’?
No one is expecting the premier to mash out the Bixby letter on his iPhone. Yet we might expect more than this.
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Call me crazy, but maybe we shouldn't have rules for small businesses that are so labyrinthine, they require prospective entrepreneurs to pay thousands of dollars for the chance to charge a small cover fee that is completely normal within the industry.
guelphtoday.com
New board game cafe proposed for Woolwich Street
City's committee of adjustment to address request for door fee
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Working through the Star's vote compass (they have them for the largest 50 cities) and the question sets really aren't set up well for two-tier governance systems. The questions are the same at the regional level and municipal, which is going to confuse a lot of people on who does what.
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The You Can Just Do Things™ agenda is coming to Beaches-East York
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The government of self-professed fiscal responsibility and congestion relief is setting millions of dollars on fire to tear up our provincial capital's busiest roads and make congestion far worse, all because of a manufactured culture war that a rounding error of residents care about.
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John Michael McGrath @jm-mcgrath.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The corollary to this is that progressive urbanism must also be at least a little bit libertarian to be liberatory; to get organic, informal networks you need to allow the uncontrolled and unpredictable, whether that's different and novel housing or jobs or amusement.
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Mark Shaw 🇨🇦✌️🇪🇺 @markshawtoronto.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
What if we had a European Union but for Provinces
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Hear me out: what if we had a single national economy
globalnews.ca
Eastern Canada business leaders call for ‘single economy’ between Atlantic provinces | Globalnews.ca
Atlantic Canada could become one of the country’s most prosperous regions if it leverages its abundant talent and resources as a “single economy,”  a group of business leaders say.
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Clinically unhinged to even cater to the anti-small infill crowd in the city where your legislature is based. Edmonton has a lot of nice things that are underappreciated but what people know further east right now is Edmonton = attainable housing. It's a huge competitive advantage.
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Museum of Twitter @museum-of-twitter.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
@Julidooty

A deer walked into a store in Colorado. The shop owner gave her some cookies. After leaving the store, she returned after half an hour with her entire family.

(picture of a deer in a small convenience store standing in front of a camera while three more are standing in the doorway in the background)
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Sounds like something a Bond villain would do
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
An employer once offered me a glass of water before an interview had even *started*. I immediately got up and showed myself out. Why? Losers show thirst for life's necessities. Winners show thirst for maximizing shareholder value. If there isn't alignment on this, it's time to leave.
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John Michael McGrath @jm-mcgrath.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
When Shachi Kurl called Quebec's laws "discriminatory" (the most neutral possible term for them) in a federal leaders debate the federalist parties and their hangers-on in the media rushed to condemn her for crassly cynical reasons, it was gross.
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Ryan Hassett @ryanhassett.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Doug Ford invoking the notwithstanding clause to prevent an Ontario educator strike was treated as an attack on what it means to be Canadian. Québec doing so to ban professors from wearing yarmulkes, hijabi parents from volunteering in schools and election workers from using English? Near silence.
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Doing a cringe video festooned with orange is a clear copyright infringement of the Ontario NDP
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
It's so precious that the GOP thinks this will do anything but send Carney on another astounding surge in the polls
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Famously, the Harper government that Alexander served under ushered in our golden age of social housing, so if anyone can get it done, it's the CPC's brightest luminaries
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Matt Elliott @graphicmatt.com · 25/09/2026
To do the math here you first have to fix a basic error: Bradford’s 2026 figure includes the rate budget (garbage, water, parking) but his 2011 figure does not. Real numbers: $9.4 billion in 2011; $16.6 billion in 2026. Now account for ~800K population growth and ~40% inflation.
A Twitter post by Brad Bradford criticizing NDP Mayor Olivia Chow's statement dismissing the need for a budget audit, featuring a meme with the text 'WHY WON'T she LOOK?' overlaid on an image of Mayor Chow.
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Michelle Cyca @michellecyca.com · 25/09/2026
bizarre to me that so much reporting on housing fails to interrogate the assumptions that homeowners (1) should always get to approve of changes to their neighbourhood (2) should be protected by government from any possible decline in property values www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Toronto needs more homes. These neighbours say they're paying the price | CBC News
An elderly downtown couple says they’re shocked and upset that the city has approved a duplex next door to their three-story Victorian home that they say will tower metres above their chimney and rend...
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
One more lane would fix this bro, just one more lane (complimentary)
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Regional Council deserves a lot of credit for being sensitive to affordability concerns and cutting a program that is essentially a frill, knowing that they'll take heat from people who otherwise (and ironically) complain about property tax increases. Municipal leaf collection should be next.
therecord.com
Waterloo Region cancels Christmas tree collection program
Trees will still be collected as a bulky item or by donation.
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Heartbreaking: couple who owns 3-storey Victorian mansion in one of the richest cities on the planet is upset a duplex will render their wood-burning fireplace unusable. The compelling analysis from a realtor that the entire story hinges on? “It’s definitely affecting value... big time."
cbc.ca
Toronto needs more homes. These neighbours say they're paying the price | CBC News
An elderly downtown couple says they’re shocked and upset that the city has approved a duplex next door to their three-story Victorian home that they say will tower metres above their chimney and rend...
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
We have plenty of pointless overspending on nonsense (OP spa etc.), but ridding ourselves of various boondoggles ain't gonna close the long-term gaps we're facing with healthcare. A mature progressive opposition would at least throw out ideas for new revenue tools, even if viewed as a last resort.
toronto.citynews.ca
Ontario posts deficit as health care, education spending surges
The province reported health-sector investments rose by $6.6 billion, or 7.2 per cent, compared to 2024-25.
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The TTC subway shouldn't be extended to Kitchener - that's ridiculous. It should be extended 2km past that to Waterloo.
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Michael Druker 🇨🇦 @mdruker.app · 25/09/2026
The TTC subway shouldn’t be extended to Mississauga — that’s ridiculous. It should be extended to Kitchener
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Here we go again
Bernie is once again asking why he's glued to mayoral races in other countries
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This seems to be coming as a surprise to many, so it's worth noting that it was covered by Canadian media at the start of the year.
theglobeandmail.com
Military models Canadian response to hypothetical American invasion
Armed Forces envision insurgency tactics like those used by Afghan mujahedeen, sources say. But officials and experts stress a U.S. operation is unlikely, and the scenarios are conceptual
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The orcas would like a word www.nationalobserver.com/2026/09/21/n...
nationalobserver.com
Endangered orcas remain at risk even after Ottawa drops proposed legal change
A proposed West Coast pipeline is reviving questions about whether Ottawa followed through on promises to protect endangered orcas after the Trans Mountain expansion.
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Urban Land Rent 🇸🇴🚰 @urbanlandrent.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
My new market rate apartment is affordable to households making ~80% AMI. It was built 5 years ago. I need every skeptic of “filtering” to spend five minutes looking at rentals on Zillow for Sacramento. Actually, let’s do it together: www.zillow.com/sacramento-c...
zillow.com
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
"I launched an unprovoked trade war on my closest ally and created fascist anti-immigration lies to the world about them. Also, we're proudly destroying livelihoods, putting nearly 90k jobs at risk and driving up an otherwise resilient unemployment rate. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!"
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John Michael McGrath @jm-mcgrath.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
We let national immigration policy be thwarted by the median council votes in Toronto and Vancouver and it's nuts to me that's not how this is understood.
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
A lot of people would happily live in urban cores but the cost of living is unsustainable, so the suburbs it is. Decades of bad public policy means we don't get the same access to 3rd spaces, so people forming their own community spaces makes sense - and cities need to find ways to make them work.
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Danny Oleksiuk @dannyoleksiuk.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
This is what the data centre next to my downtown Vancouver apartment sounds like at 4:23am. Land use zoning claims to separate industrial and residential uses. Instead, it bans apartments near rich people and forces apartments next to noise and pollution like this.
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
One of the distinct differences (and features!) of Cambridge from Waterloo or Kitchener is that the rivers are deeply woven into the fabric of their urban cores. That gives them scenery and charm that Uptown and DTK simply can't match by virtue of our geography. The current signs capture that well!
therecord.com
Cambridge residents can vote on replacement city gateway signs
Residents of Cambridge can vote on new gateway signs featuring seasonal images; photos with highest ratings will be displayed. Voting open until Oct. 4.
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Alex Usher @alexusherhesa.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Said it before, will say again: the Harper vibes are strong with this one.
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
It is the time of the autumn people and that means we are dusting off Folklore and Evermore for their annual season of repeated listens
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
"Unfortunately, the changes proposed Monday... allow the Carney government to do the same run around Canada’s environmental protections for species at risk, like the orcas, just without the public closely watching." Famously, nothing bad has befallen those who have crossed the orcas.
thestar.com
Althia Raj: Whatever good is in Mark Carney’s Building Canada Strong Act is poisoned by the toxic rest
The Mark Carney government frames this law as part of its “Canada Strong” plan — and frankly, some parts are good — but toxic with good is still bad.
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Your periodic reminder that despite the general sense of malaise we all feel, we are still making mind-boggling scientific discoveries and solutions that our ancestors could never have dreamed of med.stanford.edu/news/all-new...
med.stanford.edu
Human brain is two separate organs, Stanford Medicine-led research finds
Stanford Health Care delivers the highest levels of care and compassion. SHC treats cancer, heart disease, brain disorders, primary care issues, and many more.
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Part of our whole pitch to the world right now on things like critical minerals is we're a stable place to do business with that still believes in a rules based international order. The Americans are almost doing us a favour by showing where people have to go if they want to buy this elsewhere.
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Phil @philmarfisi.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
If Poilevre is scared about some deepened sector-by-sector agreements with Europe, wait till he finds out which party started CETA negotiations in 2009
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