'Cybersecurity incident' shuts down London Drugs stores across Western Canada
All 79 locations of pharmacy and retail chain London Drugs were shut down Sunday after it was the victim of a “cybersecurity incident.”
As Toronto homeowners brace for one of the largest property tax hikes in recent memory, many other cities are grappling with similar issues. Several major cities have approved or proposed major property tax hikes this year as municipalities struggle with inflation, high interest rates, crumbling infrastructure and soaring demand for services.
In Montreal, property taxes are set to rise nearly 5 per cent this year, the largest hike in 13 years. In Vancouver, property taxes are 7.5 per cent following a 10.7 per cent increase last year. While Halifax is set to see a nearly 10 per cent increase.
"I did not create this financial mess," Toronto mayor Olivia Chow said, referring to the city’s $1.8 billion budget shortfall. "But it needs to be fixed."
Toronto's budget includes a 10.5 per cent increase in property taxes, which Chow warns could jump to 16.5 per cent if the federal government doesn't chip in $250 million to support the recent influx of refugees. For months, Chow has been calling on Ottawa to kick in more money for refugee claimants, who currently make up nearly half of the city's shelter residents.
"It really is a challenging time," says Sasha Tsenkova, a professor of planning at the University of Calgary, who says all municipalities are feeling a pinch, But she adds there seems to be little sympathy for property owners in big cities like Toronto and Vancouver, where home ownership is increasingly unattainable for so many.
"Property taxes are increasing in line with exponential gains in house prices," she says. "This is a robust accumulation of equity and there comes a time when you have to return something back to the city."
But at a time of rising mortgage rates, inflation and high living costs, adding another increase is a challenge for many.
"We are already paying, as business owners and home owners, a lot of taxes," says Helen Reis, who owns a flower shop in Toronto's West End. "They (taxes) should decrease instead of increase."
For years, city hall has kept Toronto's property tax at or near the rate of inflation, despite persistent warnings from staff of a growing budget deficit. If approved, Toronto's property taxes would still be comparatively lower than many other municipalities.
Still, a nearly 17 per cent increase is a tough pill for many homeowners to swallow. And while Chow maintains it's a necessary hike to fix problems she didn't cause, CTV political commentator Scott Reid says she'll be blamed for this.
"The bottom line is the mayor is saying 'this is the only option,'" says Reid. "I don't think voters are going to blame Justin Trudeau, or Doug Ford, or Rob Ford, or John Tory or anybody except the person responsible for hiking their taxes, and that's Olivia Chow."
Reid says it would have been wiser politically for Chow to raise taxes slowly and build pressure on Ottawa to step in and help.
“With a pending federal election coming, she had leverage on those MPs in the 416 (area code),” he says. “(But) she made the mistake of thinking she could ask people to pay 16.5 per cent more in tax and blame someone else.”
For years, Toronto politicians have argued there should be dedicated federal funding for Toronto, which is larger than some provinces but doesn’t have the same revenue tools.
If Ottawa is going to pitch in to help this budget cycle, councillor Shelley Carroll said that funding commitment needs to come by Jan. 26 in order to make it into this year's budget.
"I am optimistic... the federal government will do something," Chow said.
All 79 locations of pharmacy and retail chain London Drugs were shut down Sunday after it was the victim of a “cybersecurity incident.”
Three women diagnosed with HIV after getting 'vampire facial' procedures at an unlicensed medical spa are believed to be the first documented cases of people contracting the virus through a cosmetic procedure using needles.
Elias Lindholm scored 1:02 into overtime and the Vancouver Canucks came all the way back to beat the Nashville Predators 4-3 in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series on Sunday.
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Aerial photos posted by Chinese state media on Sunday showed wide devastation in part of the southern city of Guangzhou after a tornado swept through the day before, killing five people, injuring dozens others and damaging more than 140 buildings.
Ontario is introducing a suite of measures that will crack down on cellphone use and vaping in schools.
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday described domestic violence as a 'national crisis' after thousands rallied around the country against violence toward women.
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs will start in net for the Vancouver Canucks when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series Sunday.
U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely didn't order the death of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny in February, according to an official familiar with the determination.
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
As if a 4-0 Edmonton Oilers lead in Game 1 of their playoff series with the Los Angeles Kings wasn't good enough, what was announced at Rogers Place during the next TV timeout nearly blew the roof off the downtown arena.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.