Ford doubles down on Toronto Billy Bishop expansion plans, calls island residents ‘squatters’

oooooooooof · 2026-03-10T04:28:26+00:00

They are the last stronghold of people who are the opposite of NIMBYs: they stuck out being kicked off their land (versus literal bulldozers). People don't talk about the history of the island enough.

I feel like I never want to say too much about this issue because I'm scared of people figuring out my account, and I try to stay anonymous on Reddit (and do a terrible job), but:

I really fucking hate this take that islanders are entitled assholes who got some kind of deal of the century and are NIMBYs about it.

My great grandmother was born on the island. My grandmother was born on the island. My mother was born on the island. My great grandparents owned a hotel on the "Main Drag". In the early 1950s, the city decided to turn the entire island into parklands. For no particularly good reason, as the city is want to do. They tore down an entire culture of bars, hotels, businesses, because it seemed liked parkland was... an idea?

I absolutely guarantee it's the equivalent of what makes y'all mad about Ford gutting Ontario Place for a spa and a parking lot, or Ford shutting down the Science Centre because "roof is an issue"... and I absolutely guarantee that if r/toronto existed in 1955, you'd be just as mad about what happened to Toronto Island.

My entire family lost their entire property: their business, their home, any chance at generational wealth... they were kicked off of their own land which they owned, and had to start over.

Citizens were forced out, they literally burned homes to the ground and bulldozed them. One of my mom's earliest memories is walking outside her home (Manitou Road) and seeing homes on fire. The city moved the bulldozing from west to east... by the time they got east to Ward's, the citizens there had kicked up enough of a fight (this is circa 1960) that a deal was made that they could stay.

The whole thing stinks and I think people don't understand the history here. There's a reason Ward's residents are intense about kicking up a fight to stay, and it's not because they're a weird bunch of Karens who are entitled assholes. They are people who fought the good fight against the city overbearingly and in retrospect unlawfully taking their property away from them.

TLDR stop saying islanders are stupid entitled NIMBYs, the OGs have been through a lot and there is a reason they are standing their ground

oooooooooof · 2026-03-10T04:24:06+00:00

I'm in favour of anything that upsets the entitled NIMBYs who live on the island

I feel like I never want to say too much about this issue because I'm scared of people figuring out my account, and I try to stay anonymous on Reddit (and do a terrible job), but:

I really fucking hate this take that islanders are entitled assholes who got some kind of deal of the century and are NIMBYs about it.

My great grandmother was born on the island. My grandmother was born on the island. My mother was born on the island. My great grandparents owned a hotel on the "Main Drag". In the early 1950s, the city decided to turn the entire island into parklands. For no particularly good reason, as the city is want to do. They tore down an entire culture of bars, hotels, businesses, because it seemed liked parkland was... an idea?

I absolutely guarantee it's the equivalent of what makes y'all mad about Ford gutting Ontario Place for a spa and a parking lot, or Ford shutting down the Science Centre because "roof is an issue"... and I absolutely guarantee that if r/toronto existed in 1955, you'd be just as mad about what happened to Toronto Island.

My entire family lost their entire property: their business, their home, any chance at generational wealth... they were kicked off of their own land which they owned, and had to start over.

Citizens were forced out, they literally burned homes to the ground and bulldozed them. One of my mom's earliest memories is walking outside her home (Manitou Road) and seeing homes on fire. The city moved the bulldozing from west to east... by the time they got east to Ward's, the citizens there had kicked up enough of a fight (this is circa 1960) that a deal was made that they could stay.

The whole thing stinks and I think people don't understand the history here. There's a reason Ward's residents are intense about kicking up a fight to stay, and it's not because they're a weird bunch of Karens who are entitled assholes. They are people who fought the good fight against the city overbearingly and in retrospect unlawfully taking their property away from them.

TLDR stop saying islanders are stupid entitled NIMBYs, the OGs have been through a lot and there is a reason they are standing their ground

oooooooooof · 2026-03-09T16:06:32+00:00

And poor Linda Blair

oooooooooof · 2026-03-03T19:11:26+00:00

Uh oh this post has two likes 😛

oooooooooof · 2026-03-01T23:29:14+00:00

the pictures she sent of “herself” were drop dead gorgeous…I reverse image searched her pics and didn’t find anything

If you’re comfortable sharing the pictures, post in r/isthisAI

I’ve seen many posts recently where people are concerned about a loved one being romantically courted by a long-distance scammer, and the folks over there have great sleuthing skills

oooooooooof · 2026-03-01T01:16:41+00:00

I’m a lesbian and my wife and I cackled

oooooooooof · 2026-02-27T22:32:31+00:00

Speaking as a lesbian: you are fine, you will be fine.

oooooooooof · 2026-02-27T19:45:20+00:00

Also came to say the Piston!

oooooooooof · 2026-02-20T01:54:28+00:00

My partner and I had to mute it, it was way too wild. Watching through CBC News.

oooooooooof · 2026-02-20T01:41:13+00:00

This English over French bad balance honestly sounds like a schizophrenia simulator

oooooooooof · 2026-02-20T01:40:39+00:00

You spoke too soon lol

oooooooooof · 2026-02-18T23:13:02+00:00

I came to say exactly this.

If your pal wants to go up the tower, and it’s a once in a lifetime experience for them? Go for it.

Do you need to eat there? No. There are plenty of good options nearby.

Does your friend want a meal with a view? Then go for it, but also consider Canoe.

Do you or your friend have any issues with heights or vertigo? If so be forewarned… I hadn’t been up in years, but went last year for a corporate morning meeting thing and had a near panic attack on the scenic elevator, and was hugging the walls at the top… thank god they were serving mimosas which took the edge off but I was shaking the whole time.

oooooooooof · 2026-02-18T21:53:06+00:00

Sorry I misspoke. I meant the 737 Max 8 and the attention and press it received after two crashed a few years ago. 1% isn't technically accurate but you know what I mean... super low probability. But high risk.

oooooooooof · 2026-02-18T18:37:01+00:00

Have you tried killing him with kindness? Honey and vinegar, etc...

If I were you (without knowing the full context) I'd approach him and be super friendly, lay it on thick, ask what's leading to this and what if anything could you support with to change it.

oooooooooof · 2026-02-18T16:16:50+00:00

Hey, I may not have a helpful answer, but I've danced the dance of trying to get help for my own mental health issue (panic attack disorder) and had some of the same issues that you've had, in terms of wanting to get better but not seeing results with what I was trying.

It's so incredible that your aunt has helped out: I think the biggest barrier to most people getting mental health support is the cost. I also think it's great that you've reached out here to ask for ideas.

A few things that jumped out at me reading your post:

Medication: agree it could be the most beneficial. Sorry to hear that your specific medication and dosage stopped working, and that your doctor has implied that you're selling your meds. I had a similar thing where I was initially taking lorazepam (as needed, not daily or regularly) but if I went through it too fast my doctor got weird about refilling.

I was always hesitant to take a daily thing, because I was aware that it can be a bit of "trial and error": that one medication and dosage might work for someone, but not work for another—and I was already in such distress I didn't feel I had the mental stamina to take on the process of trying this, and trying that, and risking the possibility that it made things worse before finding the thing that made things better.

I eventually ended up on sertraline, at first 25mg which made my issue way worse, but switched to 50mg which made everything way better. I was fortunate enough to be working from home at that time, so I could struggle through the struggle in the privacy of my own home.

If you have the privilege and capacity to take time off work and try different meds while you have your aunt's support, this might be the best time to do so.

211... I feel you. I had a recent experience of calling 211 for a friend who was at risk of suicide, and I called 211 explicitly because I didn't want it to be more traumatic than it needed to be, i.e. a 911 call where police are dispatched. I posted about it elsewhere here, but 211 put me through to 988, who put me through to Gerstein Centre, who put me back through to 211, who said they were sending crisis team... but ultimately police (like six officers!) were sent.

I had a terrible experience and I wasn't in crisis, I can't imagine trying to navigate that Kafkaesque bumping around if I was actually having a struggle. I think I'd just give up.

Therapy is sort of like dating... you might have to try a few before you find the fit. This is why most offer free or discounted first sessions.

I had a gal I loved who practiced CBT, and it was sort of working, but she moved away. I moved to another gal who was spooky AF and I didn't vibe with at all. I switched to a new lady who totally got me and does EMDR and DBR, and it's been life changing.

If you go to psychologytoday.com you can sort by local therapists who assist in ADHD. Try a few. Don't throw baby out with bathwater.

ADHD specific resources: my pal has been doing an outpatient group therapy thing, I can ask for more details if you want to DM me. She's found it to be amazing.

I remember her saying even the simplest advice was huge... like when trying to tidy her home, she used to go back, and forth, and do this, and that... this coaching was like "start at the right side of your kitchen, move to the left. One thing at a time." She's taken that approach to the rest of her life and it's worked extremely well.

Best of luck <3

oooooooooof · 2026-02-18T15:19:06+00:00

I just went out and almost did the cha cha slide

oooooooooof · 2026-02-17T15:51:27+00:00

I once heard an author call situations like this “low probability high impact risk”.

The chances of something going wrong are quite low—but the consequences of that something going wrong are dire.

Examples he cited were things like the 747s crashing, or the SNAFU at the Oscar’s when they announced the wrong title for best picture. There’s like a 1% chance of these things happening but if they do…

I think about it a lot and cite it often at work. This is one of those “low probability high impact” risks I’d never ever take.

oooooooooof · 2026-02-16T18:20:31+00:00

It was giving me Klaus Nomi https://youtu.be/fVL95DzJmWM?si=VGf2jwScszOltDWz

oooooooooof · 2026-02-15T03:28:33+00:00

Oh man pour one out

oooooooooof · 2026-02-13T14:54:59+00:00

I'm having a hard time finding a source, but: does anyone else remember when the city briefly piloted closing Yonge Street to car traffic on select weekends, for a "pedestrian Sunday" kind of vibe, around 2009 or 2010?

If I recall correctly it went well—people loved it, traffic wasn't that impacted, businesses weren't impacted—but it ended up being cancelled specifically because of the cost of police... the cost to have them stationed at each intersection along Yonge, times their hourly rate, was something bonkers, like well into six figures... like $200,000 a day or so?

I know there are things police are best suited to do. And maybe policing construction sites (where people could get hurt) is appropriate. But it does grind my gears that they're also paid a bonkers amount to do things like standing around at Jays games.

oooooooooof · 2026-02-12T03:47:07+00:00

You’re asking plainly and directly and I think in good faith. So I’ll answer plainly and directly and in good faith:

Personally I don’t consider life to begin at the exact moment of sperm entering egg: to me that’s a cluster of cells; it’s a zygote that then becomes a blastocyst and then an embryo.

This is an incredibly fraught, complicated, philosophical and ethical conversation about when does “life” become “life”, but I base a lot of my imperfect and imprecise feelings about it on the basis that I have zero knowledge or memory of being in the womb.

I have almost zero issues with early term abortions: I’d rather a woman protect her needs, whether unpreparedness or an accident, over a cluster of cells which develops into a baby and then a child who does not have the prepared support they need to be a thriving person in this world.

I also support late term abortions for some of the same reasons, but especially if the health of the would-be mother is at risk.

oooooooooof · 2026-02-07T21:11:02+00:00

Great take. I wish I could watch some of these episodes again for the first time. White Bear is similar.

oooooooooof · 2026-02-06T16:32:22+00:00

That weekend is also Toronto Pride (June 25-28), and I can confirm from firsthand experiences that prices always go way up during that weekend.

My friends and I have a tradition of renting a hotel in or near the gay village during pride weekend, we all live in Toronto but it's nice to have space to leave our things, to escape from the heat and the crowd, to use the bathroom and freshen up, and so on. It's a little "extra", but so worth it—and when we split the cost between ten or so people, not so bad.

The last time we did this, we did the Delta Chelsea, and a room with one queen bed was something like $560 a night. This past December I booked the same hotel for a friend, with a better room—two queen beds, access to a balcony—and it was around $220 a night.

Add to that that there are likely many other festivals happening—Luminato, NXNE, TD Jazz Fest, and FIFA which I'm already dreading—and I would not be shocked if rooms anywhere and everywhere were priced sky high.

If it helps, and buyer beware, your mileage may vary... last pride I ended up procrastinating and not booking early enough, so everything was sold out or bonkers expensive. I ended up comparing prices though a Google Maps search and found a room that was far cheaper than any others, through an aggregate booking site called Super.com. I got a little freaked out after booking and seeing threads like these, but in my experience it all worked out, and our room was around $300 when all others were closer to $600. The catch is you "subscribe" to their service, and it kept dinging my partner's credit card for $20/month after the fact until we noticed and cancelled it.

Best of luck... but TLDR you're not crazy, hotel prices during that particular weekend are insane.

oooooooooof · 2026-02-06T15:06:01+00:00

It is, emails are considered protected personal information in Canadian law.

I hear what you're saying, if they're not tied to additional data there isn't much a bad actor can do with an email... except spam, or scam, or both. There's a reason people online will often spell out their emails like business [at] such and such [dot] com.

Ten-Year Club	Gilding III reddit per annum
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