Scoop: Yeah that's what I'm finding also. It was easy peasy to find a place when it was just the two of us. We had excellent referneces, no pets blah blah, but now that we have a little one it is getting much harder. Not only is there a lack of rental stock for families, at the moment anyway (there was more last summer), but alot of people turn you away. Politely of course and without trying to get sued by you also. It is frustrating. Plus who wants to move or have propesctive buyers looking at your place all the time when you've been up all night with your little one for the past 5 days!!! If the real estate market wasn't SO outta wack out here I'd be so tempted to buy right now. We are certainly considering… Read more »

@Whitebread:

Man, ignorance rains down on this topic. I guess you have never been on the wrong end of an employer trying to force you to do something that is unsafe,not your job/not trained to do or too cheap to hire enough people to do the job they had no problem saying they could do when they took out the contract due to their greed.

FYI, not all unions are government jobs, many asshole corporations who love to screw workers are unionized and have no respect for workers basic rights. But then again maybe these are just asshole employers posting their drivel here.

BTW, 17 an hour is far too much for changing diapers. We should be limited foriegn workers to contract and skilled workers to citizenship. Business class limits should be raised and restricted. Refugees we don't need nor can we afford. Let these people settle their own issues, they'll be better off for it in the end. If their religions and governments are bad themn they should stay and change them. Look at the Sikhs, ungrateful and now suing Canada, disgraceful. Lets not continue with these mistakes. Lets speed up investigations and deportations in this area.

And I should mention that I actually support open immigration laws, as long they're geared to skilled workers who have a net benefit to the tax base. Current policy is geared to low skills and pay which, coupled with 'free' healthcare and other benefits, entails a rather significant net loss to the Canadian government. The reason immigration laws are easing is that we cannot attract enough high skilled people, thanks to higher levels of taxation and lower levels of job opportunities compared to many countries, including funny enough, current sources of immigrants: India and China. Personally, I would like to see immigration policy reflect economic, not political, considerations. While that may see fewer immigrants arriving we could probably still meet our humanitarian goals by perhaps doubling our intake of refugees and in the end still save the country a huge… Read more »

@Union Parasite: "Hi. I look after people with disabilities. I make a whopping $17 an hour to change adults diapers, keep them from hurting themselves, hurting me, wandering into traffic… you get my drift. " The government can't be in the business of paying people what they think they're worth. In that direction lies financial Armageddon. But you undoubtedly think I'm a free market radical so perhaps consider this argument instead. The Canadian government just relaxed the immigration law on caregivers. Predominantly from the Philippines, foreign caregivers will now have easier access to a Canadian work permit and now be able to work less than two years before applying for permanent residency for themselves and their families. A Filipino caregiver in Canada earns about $1200 a month with room and board paid. So on top of hitting the jackpot of… Read more »

Actually the Honk Kong and Shanghai markets are down. The Shanghai is down over 1%.

The S and P futures are up 3 points. The S and P sits at 1022 currently, so the futures are up 0.03%, hardly anything and that could change in a heart beat.

Also they aren't pointing to a higher open tomorrow, because the US markets are closed tomorrow!

just trying to keep you honest McLovin, not that I enjoy agreeing with Meth.

@realpaul (With apologies to specuskeptic…) It's funny when you ask someone a question and they answer by saying "to answer your question…" and then proceed to ignore your question. It's funnier still to then be accused of not engaging with their line of reasoning, when the whole point was to come to an understanding of the underlying logic/data/reasons so that just that might be possible. Will you actually answer my question? What is a reasonable wage for a nurse? Teacher? Yourself? Your family members? I'm not talking about a union concept of a living wage. I'm just asking you to use your experience in hiring real world people into productive jobs. What would it take to hire someone that talented and educated enough that you would feel confident to have them teaching your kids and making decisions about what to… Read more »

First class firefighters typically make $76kish per year before overtime, depending on the municipality. That salary is also based on what works out to be a 48hr work week, not 40. Around $30 per hour, which isn't unreasonable to be responsible for public life-safety, handle traumatic events, and be prepared to take above average personal risk to perform your job.

@Best place on meth:

And the shit the firemen breathe during that time increases their odds of getting a handful of painful diseases not long after they hit 50.

Hi. I look after people with disabilities. I make a whopping $17 an hour to change adults diapers, keep them from hurting themselves, hurting me, wandering into traffic… you get my drift. Non union employees are making $13- 14 an hour to the same job. Should I be doing it for $8? Don't worry, I can't afford mortgages, or childcare, but I am just such a stain on society I am lucky to even have a rental roof over my head. RealPaul, you make me absolutely sick, and I would love to invite you to come to work with me for a day, and see just how luxurious my union gig is. And yes, I do have a university degree, but all you cranky old farts just keep warming chairs so none of us newbies can get a decent job.

Realpaul's mental ladder may be missing a few rungs but it is true that the fiscal crises now plaguing Europe, California, New Jersey, New York and now Illinois are due to too much spending on the public sector, in terms of more personnel, higher salaries and pensions that can never ever be paid.

So, in a sense, I'd rather have a few Realpauls freaking out about too much spending rather than a dozen complacent people drifting along complacently, convinced that it's different here.

(And it's always worth noting that Ontario's per capita deficit is higher than California's, with 47% of spending on healthcare and a deficit of over $20 billion)