Recent Comments and Releases
26 November 2009
Forest City Institute Interviewed on CHRW 94.9 FM’s “Just Right” with Bob Metz
“Just Right” and host Bob Metz had FCI Past Chair David Aldred and current Communications Director Andrew Lawton on his show to chat about the future of FCI and the future of the city of London. You can listen here
N.B. There is a song ending and a few commercials before the show starts, but it IS the right clip.
25 November 2009
Discussion on LTC Bus Strike on 94.9 CHRW’s “Purple Gauntlet”
On November 24th, Andrew Lawton, Ryan Al, Phil Palin and Alison Braley had a discussion on the LTC bus strike with “Purple Gauntlet” moderator Leila Paul on CHRW 94.9. You can listen here
30 September 2009
Forest City Institute’s Andrew Lawton to be interviewed on CJBK
On Thursday October 1st at 9:30am, Forest City Institute Communications Director Andrew Lawton will be interviewed by London radio announcer Andy Oudman on CJBK. Those in the London area can tune into 1290AM or anyone in the world can listen in at http://www.cjbk.com as Andrew and Andy chat about the upcoming S.O.S. Party.
24 September 2009
PRESS RELEASE: Forest City Institute Announces Keynote Speaker
LONDON, ONT – Today via social networking site Facebook, Andrew Lawton – communications director for the Forest City Institute – announced the keynote speaker for their S.O.S. (Stop Over-Spending) event will be prominent blogger
14 September 2009
SPECIAL EVENT: The Forest City Institute hosts the revolution of London Taxpayers with the S.O.S. (Stop Over-Spending) Party
On October 3 2009, the Forest City Institute invites you to join us at Reg Cooper Square and let London’s city council and bureaucrats know it is time to end London’s decade of darkness.
29 June 2009
PRESS RELEASE: History passed her by
London-Fanshawe NDP MP Irene Mathyssen has introduced a protectionist “Made in Canada” bill to Parliament, apparently oblivious to the lessons of history…
7 May 2009
PRESS RELEASE: The Forest City Institute says “Keep the Board of Control”
May 14 will see a public meeting to determine the fate of Board of Control. Many arguments have been raised to abolish the Board of Control, including arguments of cost, the archaic nature of the board compared to other cities in Ontario…
21 April 2009
PRESS RELEASE: Killing jobs with a “living” wage
It seems some people never learn. Yesterday, it was reported that Controller Gina Barber was proposing that business that seek city contracts be required to pay a “living wage”…
16 April 2009
PRESS RELEASE: The Forest City Institute reflects on the silence of the local media
On April 13, the Forest City Institute co sponsored a public event with Friends of Canadian Coalition for Democracies titled “Human Rights Commissions; Useful of Obsolete?” Sun Media columnist Salim Mansur, author and publisher Ezra Levant and author and blogger Kathy Shaidle…
14 April 2009
Thank you!
On April 13th, the Forest City Institute co-sponsored a discussion on Human Rights Commissions at the London City Music Theatre. Thank you to Ezra Levant, Kathy Shaidle and Salim Mansur for your attendance and for so eloquently addressing the issue at hand…
The Human Rights Commission: Useful or Obsolete?
With Salim Mansur, Ezra Levant and Kathy Shaidle
London City Music Theatre
900 King Street, London, Ontario (at the Western Fair Grounds)
April 13th 2009 7:00 pm
Sponsored by the Forest City Institute and Friends of Canadian Coalition for Democracies
Click here for info
Complete City of London 2009 draft budget timetable and PDF documents
Click here>>
21 February 2009
Lowering taxes
“Tearing down a perfectly good industrial building seems like a crazy idea. Unless you’re the one answering to the tax man,” writes Jim Chapmanin Business London.
20 January 2009
City has $200 million in wishful thinking
The Forest City Institute would like to call attention to the half-truths surrounding City Council’s infrastructure “wish list” for $200 million dollars in federal funding. While we know infrastructure is a vital part of civic governance – indeed, London’s lack of attention to this foundational responsibility is one of the key reasons for forming the Forest City Institute – “tin cup” governance is not the way to create effective infrastructure or sustainable jobs.
13 January 2009
Forest City Institute’s presentation to the Board of Control Budget Public Participation Meeting
London City Council is taking public input and deliberating on a budget that must take into account the current global financial crisis. The crisis is caused by an imbalance in the ratio of debt to real wealth, with debt far in excess of the accumulated stocks of underlying wealth. We see the negative effects of this imbalance around the world, we see them across the Province of Ontario and we see them here in London.
London City Council embarked on massive increases in spending and taxation starting in the year 2000. The results have been a huge increase in civic debt, now currently estimated at $370 million dollars; and a dramatic drop in real wealth for Londoners. The current median income for London is now $10,000 per year less than 30 comparable Canadian cities as determined by the Frontier Institute’s national survey. London City Council’s expenditure of $100 million dollars in downtown redevelopment has resulted, in the words of the City’s own Downtown Task Force report, in the loss of $60 million dollars in downtown property value between 2000 and 2006, and a further $15 million loss of property value along Dundas Street alone. The combined removal of funds from the productive economy and destruction of taxpayer wealth from downtown redevelopment represent the loss of resources in London capable of creating 3000 full time jobs. Please note these great losses of wealth and value took place during a period of general economic expansion. The Forest City Institute also notes that unsustainable increases in taxation and spending have driven several American cities to the brink of bankruptcy, and London has been following the same financial path for most of a decade.
18 December 2008
“If it’s broke, don’t fix it”
Tim Hudak, Ontario PC Finance Critic, called on Dalton McGuinty today to fix his broken property assessment scheme following an admission from Premier himself that this year’s assessments were “unrealistic”.
“Dalton McGuinty’s bizarre comments show how out of touch he has become with what Ontario families are going through in today’s economic climate,” Hudak said. “Taxpayers are seeing their property assessments skyrocket while the value of their homes are falling. They simply can not afford an increase in property taxes.”
16 December 2008
Orchestrating failure: Taxpayers on the hook again
London City Council has once again demonstrated its antipathy to any notion of fiscal restraint or responsibility by making London taxpayers guarantors for a $500,000 loan to Orchestra London. The parallels to the proposed bailout package for the “Big Three” automakers are alarming. Like the “Big Three,” Orchestra London has a huge debt load, no commitment to restructuring, and a product that does not resonate with consumers. And like a bailout package for the “Big Three,” the money provided by taxpayers will only allow Orchestra London to survive long enough to ask for yet another bailout.
The Forest City Institute is an independent and non-profit policy research foundation based in London, Ontario, Canada. Our mission is to study the issues of civic governance and to propose free market solutions.
Membership in the Institute is only $10 per year. Click here for a PDF membership form with instructions.
PDF copies of the Institute’s Constitution are available to members or by request.