Downtown Toronto DEAD Mall | Shops at Aura Walk

[superstar_88]

Eaton Center is just a few blocks south. It's a downtown Mall. They get plenty of people.
I walk downtown all the time. Never felt unsafe. Financial District, Bloor Annex, Queen West, King West, Little Italy, Little Portugal, Little Tokyo, Koreantown, Ossington Strip, Bloor Yorkville, Harborfront, UofT campus, and even Chinatown.
Only nusance I've ever encountered were squeegee kids rubbing their squeegees on the side of my car when I don't give them money for their unwanted services but looks like the city have since got rid of those squeegees.

 

[rhuarc29]

It’s true.
for the past 20 years or so. Immigration numbers to Canada were at and around 200,000/year.

last year JT raised that to 500,000/per year.

people can argue all they want about about the specific per year number “right/wrong”. Just know this.

we as a country are aging. Birth rates down/longevity up. When CPP was first introduced ( 1950s I think) the average life expectancy post retirement was 12 years. Today it’s over 20 years for both M and F. And I seem to recall the average age for Canadians was two years ago, had creeped above 45.

with sooooo Boomers retiring that’s going to have a lot of “ripples”. To GDP and labour markets, to tax revenue, to cost for healthcare, LTCs, social services.

and like any pyramid scheme. What happens if the base collapses? Meaning we as a country need immigration.

Immigration is *one* solution. We could also focus on answering the question why current Canadians are having so few children themselves and work to address those. There are many factors, but the main one IMO is the cost of living. Not only does this make having children unaffordable, but it also requires both parents to work, which makes it far more difficult to properly raise a child.

Increasing immigration has its own drawbacks too. Not only are many countries competing for the high-value, high-skill immigrant pool, but we don't have housing for the ones we do get, nor the infrastructure to accommodate them, because it wasn't an organic increase in population, which tends to smooth these issues over.

Personally, I think increased immigration is a necessary thing right now, but that we should be working to address the myriad of issues that are preventing Canadians from having more children. The longer those issues go unanswered, the worse the problem becomes. And many of the issues preventing Canadians from having children will begin to weigh on immigrant attraction as well. Already word is getting around that Canada is ridiculously expensive, and also doesn't offer the same opportunities other first-world countries do.

 

[Darts]

Immigration is *one* solution.

but we don't have housing for the ones we do get, nor the infrastructure to accommodate them, because it wasn't an organic increase in population, which tends to smooth these issues over.

At the risk of being called racist, many immigrants live as extended families so it is not unusual to see 5-10 people living in the same house.

This allows them to pool their financial resources which makes buying a house and other essentials more affordable. Also, the grandparents can look after the kids when the parents are working.

 

[rhuarc29]

At the risk of being called racist, many immigrants live as extended families so it is not unusual to see 5-10 people living in the same house.

This allows them to pool their financial resources which makes buying a house and other essentials more affordable. Also, the grandparents can look after the kids when the parents are working.

Yes. Which is a lifestyle more and more Canadians are going to have to adopt if we keep going this direction with cost of living.

 

[Darts]

Yes. Which is a lifestyle more and more Canadians are going to have to adopt if we keep going this direction with cost of living.

Toronto now has a vacant house tax. At the rear of our house is a former coach house which has been converted to a self-sufficient dwelling. My college roommate's daughter was living there during the school year but it is vacant now in the Summer.

 

[johnd5050]

At the risk of being called racist, many immigrants live as extended families so it is not unusual to see 5-10 people living in the same house.

This allows them to pool their financial resources which makes buying a house and other essentials more affordable. Also, the grandparents can look after the kids when the parents are working.

Very logical comment especially with inflation and rising costs of housing, utilities etc
Nothing racial about what you mentioned.

 

[eddie kerr]

Eaton Center is just a few blocks south. It's a downtown Mall. They get plenty of people.
I walk downtown all the time. Never felt unsafe. Financial District, Bloor Annex, Queen West, King West, Little Italy, Little Portugal, Little Tokyo, Koreantown, Ossington Strip, Bloor Yorkville, Harborfront, UofT campus, and even Chinatown.
Only nusance I've ever encountered were squeegee kids rubbing their squeegees on the side of my car when I don't give them money for their unwanted services but looks like the city have since got rid of those squeegees.

I remember back in the day waiting on Adelaide St. and Yonge for the traffic light to change while a cute young squeegee topless girl cleaned my windshield.Was tempted to drive around the block and see her again.LOL.