June 2015 - Page 2 of 2

Politics June 8, 2015

The Gardiner Expressway Analysis

With the debate heating up around what to do about the Gardiner Expressway the Women’s Post encourages all city councilors to break free of political alliances and study the issue that will shape Toronto well into the future. The decision to support the Boulevard or Hybrid options ties into so many other questions.

Does the decision to rebuild the East Gardier today lead to rebuilding rest of the crumbling expressway with a cost estimate of close to $2 Billion?

How much more will it cost taxpayers to maintain an elevated highway in comparison to maintaining a boulevard?

Why are major cities taking down their elevated highways on their waterfronts?

The truck association claims that their drivers won’t use the Gardiner Expressway – Don Valley Parkway route if a boulevard replaced the elevated highway — how many trucks will stop using it and will it speed up travel times for commuters?

Below are the pros and cons around the Gardiner Expressway issue.

The Boulevard Option pros:

– push truck traffic away from the Gardiner and DVP – helping to alleviate gridlock on those highways

– save the city close to $500 million in initial cost and millions more in future maintenance

– reclaim the waterfront and add 12 more acres than the Hybrid option offers

– more reclaimed land creates more tax dollars for the city

– Toronto health believes it is the healthier choice for the citizens of Toronto

– experts like Jan Gehl call for tear down of Gardiner East to enhance the waterfront

– make Toronto competitive with other world class cities that have taken down their elevated waterfront highways

The Boulevard Option cons:

– disrupt truck and freight traffic using the Gardiner Expressway – Don Valley Parkway route

– add 2-3 minutes in commute times for drivers

The Hybrid Option pros:

– enable truck traffic to continue using both the Gardiner and DVP

– allow a continuous route along the waterfront

– maintain the same travel time for commuters

– trucking industry support

The Hybrid Option cons:

– cause more pollution in the core

– cost more to build and maintain pushing costs onto our children and grandchildren

– smaller amount of reclaimed land will limit future tax intake for the city

– health risks for residents of Toronto

– less competitive than other world class cities that are taking down their elevated waterfront highways to open up their waterfront to development

– increases the likelihood of Toronto having to rebuild entire Gardiner Expressway at estimated cost of $2 billion

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Feminism June 3, 2015

The Best Response to #WomenAgainstFeminism

#WomenAgainstFeminism is apparently a thing. Thousands take to social media every day to write about the reasons they don’t need feminism in their lives. Whether it’s because ”they want to be stay at home moms” or ”cook for their husbands,” its evident the hashtag is for women clearly uneducated on the concept of feminism.

Although the campaign went viral last year, feminism is rapidly becoming recognized as a positive movement supported by celebrities such as Tina Fey, Emma Watson, Beyonce and even men such as Mark Ruffalo and Will Smith. But fear not fellow feminists; we always have each others back.

Just read what blogger Libby Anne Bruce wrote in response to #womenagainstfeminism. We’d say she took the words right out of our mouths. Maybe even in a nicer more adequate way. Right on, sister!

“My response to the “I am not a feminist” internet phenomenon….

First of all, it’s clear you don’t know what feminism is. But I’m not going to explain it to you. You can google it. To quote an old friend, “I’m not the feminist babysitter.”

But here is what I think you should know.

You’re insulting every woman who was forcibly restrained in a jail cell with a feeding tube down her throat for your right to vote, less than 100 years ago.

You’re degrading every woman who has accessed a rape crisis center, which wouldn’t exist without the feminist movement.

You’re undermining every woman who fought to make marital rape a crime (it was legal until 1993).

You’re spitting on the legacy of every woman who fought for women to be allowed to own property (1848). For the abolition of slavery and the rise of the labor union. For the right to divorce. For women to be allowed to have access to birth control (Comstock laws). For middle and upper class women to be allowed to work outside the home (poor women have always worked outside the home). To make domestic violence a crime in the US (It is very much legal in many parts of the world). To make workplace sexual harassment a crime.

In short, you know not what you speak of. You reap the rewards of these women’s sacrifices every day of your life. When you grin with your cutsey sign about how you’re not a feminist, you ignorantly spit on the sacred struggle of the past 200 years. You bite the hand that has fed you freedom, safety, and a voice.

In short, kiss my ass, you ignorant little jerks.”

Written by: LIBBY ANNE BRUCE

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Featured June 2, 2015

Confessions of A Creative Woman

It’s the top skill discussed in an interview, the ability most highlighted in my resume, and the characteristic I’m most known for by my friends and family. I laugh at my own Instagram captions and marvel at how witty my tweets are. I take an extra 20 minutes to make my meals look presentable only to eat it a few seconds later. The stationary section at Chapters is like my Disneyland and overpriced lattes are my chardonnay.

If I just told your life story, you my friend, are creative. We’re often misunderstood. We’re often ‘self-employed’. But we’re also a lot of other things. So it’s time I sat down and confessed why we are– the way we are.

Our life is an organized chaos

I have a laptop case in my purse without a laptop in it. I have a wallet too, but my debit and credit cards are usually in the side pockets. When I’m hungry, I indulge in the smell of gum wrappers and dig through to find a few tangerines…at least that’s what they used to be. Give me a ring while my phone is in my bag and I will need at least 3 missed calls before I can pick up. And after a long day of searching and stuffing things in my purse, I like to come home and throw the said purse on my bed, on top of the clothes that I tried on but did not approve of when I got dressed in the morning.

You may see a mess, but this space is a reflection of what goes on in my head; an explosion of thoughts and opinions waiting to be organized into smaller, more comprehendible messages. Don’t get me wrong; I put those clothes back in my closet using colour coordinated hangers spaced out to perfection. My credit and debit cards are eventually put in my wallet in each assigned slot. Although we creative people have a hard time keeping organized, we have a process that can’t be interfered with. Picking an outfit, slaying at work, or just getting through the day is all a form of art to us. At the back of our minds, we know that blue tank top is somewhere in the pile of our rejected #ootd. So try to fix our ‘mess’ and we’ll spin out of control.

The snooze button was invented with us in mind.

My alarm goes off at 5 a.m. Morning people rejoice at this fact. The birds chirping, the coffee brewing, runners running– it’s a different world, really. However, it’s a world I’m not familiar with. The only reason for my 5 a.m alarm is because it takes me 3 hours to get up in the morning. Creative people can relate to this ‘flaw’ of mine. We are essentially allergic to this part of the day. Why wouldn’t we be? Whether you’re up at night writing your next bestseller, sitting on your floor creating your artistic masterpiece, or just laying in bed thinking about what your next big thing should be, bedtime is no earlier than 2 a.m. Anyone is bound to be a little tired with this type of work ethic. We don’t mind at all, though. Juices flowing, words creating, imaginations wandering– it’s also a very different world. But this time, it’s a world I’m all too familiar with.

Deadlines are impossible to meet.

“Wait, when was that due?” is my catchphrase. Whether I have 3 months, 3 days, or 3 years to finish a project, my prime time to work on it is the night before. The pressure to create something wonderful becomes so significant, it is only at this time when my creative juices start flowing. Missing deadlines is a way of living on the edge. Before this deadline, we almost always ‘lack inspiration’ or have ‘writer’s block.’ As Adam Douglas so accurately said, ”I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.” Managers may have a hard time with this life motto of ours, and although we apologize for the inconvenience, we can’t really help it. So the best advice we can give is to embrace the fact that a deadline is really the official date for us to ‘get started.’

We have impeccable fashion sense.

Style. Everyone has one. Yes, fine; sweatpants and hoodies are a form of style as well. If that’s what you feel confident in, then you work those grey palettes! Basically, you have your Britney Spears and you have your Taylor Swifts. Us Swifties (is that what they call themselves?) like red lipstick, dresses, and Pinterest-worthy hair. Our wardrobe is well thought out and requires hours and hours of hard work – and shopping. We think through every little detail, from the colours to the accessories to our shoes. You may not notice, but the neon coloured fringe of my earring matches the tip of my shoes. Unfortunately, we’re often shunned because of the effort we put in into looking good before walking out onto a dirty, smelly sidewalk.

Personally, the effort I put into my appearance isn’t because I look forward to strangers asking me where I got my pants from. I don’t want to tell you where I got my pants from. Because that would put me at risk of being unoriginal. Although it is flattering that people are interested in my fashion sense, the clothes I wear, to me, isn’t fashion. It’s a statement. Whether its putting on a maxi dress to showcase my free spirit or toughening up in a leather jacket to show my edgier side, my attire is my personality. I want you to see it. I need you to see it. Creative people don’t have to tell you they’re creative, you know. You’ll figure it out as soon we step out in front of you.

Our friends have deemed us the quirky one.

Sometimes I’m the life of the party. Other times, I’m the girl in the corner, observing what’s going on around me. “She’s in one of her moods.” I often hear my friends say. I find it rather difficult to identify as an extrovert or introvert. But fear not fellow Lost Souls, this is a mere sign that you’re a woman of a creative nature. You see, we don’t have a work-life balance. Our work is our life. Our life is our work.

The conversations I have with my mom, that strange encounter I had at the coffee shop, thoughts I have while showering; it all factors in to the work I produce. So the next time we’re hanging out and I seem to be in a daze, it’s because I’m thinking of how to incorporate what just happened into my next story. Or I’m redecorating your living room in my head. Or I’m hungry and wondering why I haven’t been offered food yet. The possibilities are endless.

Creativity. It’s a beautiful thing.

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Entertainment June 1, 2015

Caitlyn Jenner: Olympian Hero to Transgender Icon

Former Olympian champion Bruce Jenner made his debut as a woman today on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine. The cover is currently going viral on the internet and we know exactly why! Whether it’s the brunette locks, her fierce expression, or those super toned legs, Caitlyn Jenner completes every criteria of the modern day bombshell.

Just a few months ago, the reality star sat down with Diane Sawyer, still known as Bruce Jenner, in an emotional 2 hour interview, coming out as a woman. Now referred to as her, this is Caitlyn’s first public appearance since the interview and transitional surgery. It is confirmed, however, that Jenner has not yet gone through genital surgery.

“If I was lying on my deathbed and I had kept this secret and never ever did anything about it, I would be lying there saying, ‘You just blew your entire life. You never dealt with yourself,’ and I don’t want that to happen.” Jenner stated in the 22 page cover story, on newsstands June 9.

Caitlyn Jenner took to social media to tweet from her new account “I’m so happy after such a long struggle to be living my true self. Welcome to the world Caitlyn. Can’t wait for you to get to know her/me.” Celebrities, friends, family, and her fans also tweeted out their support and commends Caitlyn for her bravery.

It’s no doubt the 65 year old has become an overnight icon for the transgendered community. She joins the list of other transgendered celebrities such as Sonny and Cher’s son, Chaz Bono and former Miss Universe contestant, Jenna Talackova. We’re looking forward to seeing what more Caitlyn has in store for us.

Although North American society is quickly becoming more welcoming towards the LGBT community, it’s evident that the ‘T’ is often overlooked. Like Jenner, there are still many people out there who are struggling to come out as transgendered. If you or someone you know needs help with any transgendered related issues, visit http://www.translifeline.org/.