Thorben Wieditz
@twieditz.bsky.social
urban geographer | researcher and campaigner | co-founder of https://metstrat.ca | doer of things
Pinned
Thorben Wieditz
@twieditz.bsky.social
· Nov 10
Good morning! It's Bluesky time.
I'll be coming here to replace Twitter/X for my scans of news and connecting with researchers, campaigners and reporters.
Expect posts about politics at the intersection of community, digital platforms, labour & the environment, possibly with a side of cycling.
I'll be coming here to replace Twitter/X for my scans of news and connecting with researchers, campaigners and reporters.
Expect posts about politics at the intersection of community, digital platforms, labour & the environment, possibly with a side of cycling.
Airbnb is at it again…
Whitehorse is experiencing a housing crisis, with very low vacancy rates, rising rents, and growing homelessness, yet the U.S. platform giant tells locals to oppose housing protective rules that restrict short-term rentals to principal residences.
www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
Whitehorse is experiencing a housing crisis, with very low vacancy rates, rising rents, and growing homelessness, yet the U.S. platform giant tells locals to oppose housing protective rules that restrict short-term rentals to principal residences.
www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
Airbnb urges Whitehorse host to oppose proposed short-term rental changes
One motel operator who lists with Airbnb says they received an email from the company titled, "Protect hosting in Whitehorse". An Airbnb spokesperson told CBC the proposed rules, “over-regulate a smal...
www.cbc.ca
November 27, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Airbnb is at it again…
Whitehorse is experiencing a housing crisis, with very low vacancy rates, rising rents, and growing homelessness, yet the U.S. platform giant tells locals to oppose housing protective rules that restrict short-term rentals to principal residences.
www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
Whitehorse is experiencing a housing crisis, with very low vacancy rates, rising rents, and growing homelessness, yet the U.S. platform giant tells locals to oppose housing protective rules that restrict short-term rentals to principal residences.
www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
Reposted by Thorben Wieditz
The Fall-Winter 2025 legislative session is a full assault on municipalities, schools, pedestrians, cyclists, local democracy, and accountability.
Everything Ford does is to consolidate power, this sucks
There’s much chatter about Ford changing local government structure. What does it mean for Waterloo Region?
www.therecord.com/opinion/colu...
www.therecord.com/opinion/colu...
November 25, 2025 at 9:54 PM
The Fall-Winter 2025 legislative session is a full assault on municipalities, schools, pedestrians, cyclists, local democracy, and accountability.
Well done. That’s the kind of environmental policy review to contextualize the Ford government’s environmental track record in light of current policy proposals/legislative changes. We need the same for labour policies and the incremental loss of democratic oversight/ transparency in this province.
For the Ford government, it seems Ontario’s nature is important — until it gets in the way of development. The government creates new parks while paring back protections for others. @fatimabsyed.bsky.social asks: Why create a park if you won’t properly protect it? thenarwhal.ca/ontario-prov...
Is Doug Ford’s Ontario pro-parks? | The Narwhal
Ford’s Ontario government is creating new categories of provincial parks while dismantling protections elsewhere to ease development
thenarwhal.ca
November 25, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Well done. That’s the kind of environmental policy review to contextualize the Ford government’s environmental track record in light of current policy proposals/legislative changes. We need the same for labour policies and the incremental loss of democratic oversight/ transparency in this province.
Thank you @ricochetmedia.bsky.social for publishing my analysis of #Onpoli’s Skills Development scandal.
Has the nature of political scandals shifted in the past decade under populist right-wing governments? I do think so.
Has the nature of political scandals shifted in the past decade under populist right-wing governments? I do think so.
What we’d once consider a scandal is now just another day in Doug Ford’s Ontario.
A $16 orange juice once ended a political career. Today, government shrugs off allegations of a billion-dollar slush fund — the result of a decade of far-right impunity.
ricochet.media/politics/wha...
#onpoli
A $16 orange juice once ended a political career. Today, government shrugs off allegations of a billion-dollar slush fund — the result of a decade of far-right impunity.
ricochet.media/politics/wha...
#onpoli
What we'd once consider a scandal is now just another day in Doug Ford's Ontario
Once a $16 orange juice could end a career. Today, Ford’s government shrugs off allegations of a billion-dollar slush fund, revealing a political culture reshaped — and degraded — by a decade of far-r...
ricochet.media
November 20, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Thank you @ricochetmedia.bsky.social for publishing my analysis of #Onpoli’s Skills Development scandal.
Has the nature of political scandals shifted in the past decade under populist right-wing governments? I do think so.
Has the nature of political scandals shifted in the past decade under populist right-wing governments? I do think so.
Reposted by Thorben Wieditz
“We are deeply concerned about this concentration of power in the Minister of Education’s office, regardless of who is in power at Queen’s Park” apple.news/AB1zcw4PuSpq...
Ontario passes controversial bill giving the province more power over schools — The Globe and Mail
Bill 33 allows the government to more easily remove elected trustees and temporarily take over school boards
apple.news
November 20, 2025 at 2:46 AM
“We are deeply concerned about this concentration of power in the Minister of Education’s office, regardless of who is in power at Queen’s Park” apple.news/AB1zcw4PuSpq...
Wow. It doesn't sound like this person wasted your time, @nickhunebrown.bsky.social. It made for a really great story and a fascinating read. It reminds me of people offering services to write assignments for students willing to pay, except this is now reaching an entirely different level of fraud.
A few months ago @thelocal.to got a promising pitch from a writer with bylines in whole bunch of reputable publications—The Cut, The Guardian, Dwell, Architectural Digest, etc. Then I started investigating. Here's a story about fabulists in journalism's AI slop era. thelocal.to/investigatin...
Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era | The Local
A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work. By the end, four publications, including The Guardian and Dwell, had removed articles from their sites.
thelocal.to
November 19, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Wow. It doesn't sound like this person wasted your time, @nickhunebrown.bsky.social. It made for a really great story and a fascinating read. It reminds me of people offering services to write assignments for students willing to pay, except this is now reaching an entirely different level of fraud.
Reposted by Thorben Wieditz
Hot take: It's a bad thing for a ride-hailing driver to work 139 hours in a week. Bad for him, bad for traffic safety. Just bad
www.thestar.com/news/gta/thi...
www.thestar.com/news/gta/thi...
This GTA rideshare driver says his earnings have never been lower. Why he and others say Ontario’s new minimum wage law isn’t helping
Rules guarantee minimum wage $17.20/hour for “engaged time” — spent actively completing trips or deliveries — but ignore time spent waiting for work.
www.thestar.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Hot take: It's a bad thing for a ride-hailing driver to work 139 hours in a week. Bad for him, bad for traffic safety. Just bad
www.thestar.com/news/gta/thi...
www.thestar.com/news/gta/thi...
Ford’s so-called Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act doesn’t protect workers — it protects Uber.
All it really does is help U.S. platform giants suppress wages, with Ford and Piccini setting up the system for them.
Thank you, Captain Canada.
www.thestar.com/news/gta/thi...
All it really does is help U.S. platform giants suppress wages, with Ford and Piccini setting up the system for them.
Thank you, Captain Canada.
www.thestar.com/news/gta/thi...
This GTA rideshare driver says his earnings have never been lower. Why he and others say Ontario’s new minimum wage law isn’t helping
Rules guarantee minimum wage $17.20/hour for “engaged time” — spent actively completing trips or deliveries — but ignore time spent waiting for work.
www.thestar.com
November 18, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Ford’s so-called Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act doesn’t protect workers — it protects Uber.
All it really does is help U.S. platform giants suppress wages, with Ford and Piccini setting up the system for them.
Thank you, Captain Canada.
www.thestar.com/news/gta/thi...
All it really does is help U.S. platform giants suppress wages, with Ford and Piccini setting up the system for them.
Thank you, Captain Canada.
www.thestar.com/news/gta/thi...
Reposted by Thorben Wieditz
ICYMI: I spoke to 12 staff from 12 conservation authorities (many of them anonymously for fear of government retribution) who say Doug Ford's plan to consolidate the unique agencies from 36 to 7 may ‘slow approvals, create confusion’ over development & flood protections
thenarwhal.ca/ontario-cons...
thenarwhal.ca/ontario-cons...
Inside Ontario’s plan to merge 36 conservation authorities to 7 | The Narwhal
Doug Ford’s government is seeking public feedback on its plan to overhaul Ontario’s conservation authorities, reducing local agencies from 36 to 7
thenarwhal.ca
November 17, 2025 at 2:13 PM
ICYMI: I spoke to 12 staff from 12 conservation authorities (many of them anonymously for fear of government retribution) who say Doug Ford's plan to consolidate the unique agencies from 36 to 7 may ‘slow approvals, create confusion’ over development & flood protections
thenarwhal.ca/ontario-cons...
thenarwhal.ca/ontario-cons...
What an incredible article. I feel like I read it before, but for anyone interested in greenbelt legislation and the Ford government’s consistent undermining of environmental protections in ON, take a few minutes and read this piece.
thepointer.com/article/2025...
thepointer.com/article/2025...
After secretly working to destroy it, Ford government silent on long overdue review of Ontario’s Greenbelt
After secretly working to destroy it, Ford government silent on long overdue review of Ontario’s Greenbelt
thepointer.com
November 16, 2025 at 2:43 PM
What an incredible article. I feel like I read it before, but for anyone interested in greenbelt legislation and the Ford government’s consistent undermining of environmental protections in ON, take a few minutes and read this piece.
thepointer.com/article/2025...
thepointer.com/article/2025...
Reposted by Thorben Wieditz
The Doug Ford government is setting its sites on conservation authorities for the fifth time, merging the watershed protection agencies. Staff tell @fatimabsyed.bsky.social it may ‘slow approvals, create confusion’ — not to mention it's leaving them with ‘whiplash.’ thenarwhal.ca/ontario-cons...
Inside Ontario’s plan to merge 36 conservation authorities to 7 | The Narwhal
Doug Ford’s government is seeking public feedback on its plan to overhaul Ontario’s conservation authorities, reducing local agencies from 36 to 7
thenarwhal.ca
November 15, 2025 at 2:17 PM
The Doug Ford government is setting its sites on conservation authorities for the fifth time, merging the watershed protection agencies. Staff tell @fatimabsyed.bsky.social it may ‘slow approvals, create confusion’ — not to mention it's leaving them with ‘whiplash.’ thenarwhal.ca/ontario-cons...
Just realized Ford was about to cut a deal with the same nightclub operator and labour union at Ontario Place that scored tens of millions in SDF money. No wonder those names looked familiar. Small world, huh.🤔
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
PC government abandons controversial Ontario Place vendor plan backed by Ford-supporting union
Restaurants and bars proposal also involved nightclub operator who provided alcohol for ‘Ford Fest’ events a decade ago
www.theglobeandmail.com
November 15, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Just realized Ford was about to cut a deal with the same nightclub operator and labour union at Ontario Place that scored tens of millions in SDF money. No wonder those names looked familiar. Small world, huh.🤔
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...
Reposted by Thorben Wieditz
Superb skills development fund scoop from the Toronto Star, which has got its hands on a database of scores for applications.
It reveals several with scores of 50 or less where the minister overruled civil servants to hand out the money anyway. #OnPoli
www.thestar.com/politics/pro...
It reveals several with scores of 50 or less where the minister overruled civil servants to hand out the money anyway. #OnPoli
www.thestar.com/politics/pro...
Secret data reveals which low-scoring applicants still received millions of dollars from the Ford government’s skills fund
Secret government data obtained by the Star shows 26 applicants scoring 50 per cent or lower received $36.6 million from Premier Doug Ford's controversial Skills Development Fund earlier this year.
www.thestar.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Superb skills development fund scoop from the Toronto Star, which has got its hands on a database of scores for applications.
It reveals several with scores of 50 or less where the minister overruled civil servants to hand out the money anyway. #OnPoli
www.thestar.com/politics/pro...
It reveals several with scores of 50 or less where the minister overruled civil servants to hand out the money anyway. #OnPoli
www.thestar.com/politics/pro...
What a racket.
“Before McNaughton stepped down as labour minister shortly before leaving elected politics altogether in the fall of 2023, the ministry paid about $5.1 million to Carlo Biasucci’s Elite Practice business.”
www.thetrillium.ca/news/politic...
“Before McNaughton stepped down as labour minister shortly before leaving elected politics altogether in the fall of 2023, the ministry paid about $5.1 million to Carlo Biasucci’s Elite Practice business.”
www.thetrillium.ca/news/politic...
Another dental sector biz that got millions in Ontario labour funds had ties to then-minister’s wife
The company of a dentist-turned-businessman who worked with the ex-minister’s wife through another organization received $5.1 million of taxpayer funds
www.thetrillium.ca
November 14, 2025 at 1:53 PM
What a racket.
“Before McNaughton stepped down as labour minister shortly before leaving elected politics altogether in the fall of 2023, the ministry paid about $5.1 million to Carlo Biasucci’s Elite Practice business.”
www.thetrillium.ca/news/politic...
“Before McNaughton stepped down as labour minister shortly before leaving elected politics altogether in the fall of 2023, the ministry paid about $5.1 million to Carlo Biasucci’s Elite Practice business.”
www.thetrillium.ca/news/politic...
👀
… “there are plenty of progressives up here — the people you might call Chow’s base — who wish she would take advice from Mamdani. Because nothing in Chow’s own campaign or unfolding agenda seems quite as dramatic.“
www.thestar.com/opinion/star...
… “there are plenty of progressives up here — the people you might call Chow’s base — who wish she would take advice from Mamdani. Because nothing in Chow’s own campaign or unfolding agenda seems quite as dramatic.“
www.thestar.com/opinion/star...
Edward Keenan: Zohran Mamdani has advice for progressives everywhere. Is Olivia Chow listening?
The impulse for left-wing politicians to meet voters in the middle is understandable but deeply flawed.
www.thestar.com
November 12, 2025 at 5:22 PM
👀
… “there are plenty of progressives up here — the people you might call Chow’s base — who wish she would take advice from Mamdani. Because nothing in Chow’s own campaign or unfolding agenda seems quite as dramatic.“
www.thestar.com/opinion/star...
… “there are plenty of progressives up here — the people you might call Chow’s base — who wish she would take advice from Mamdani. Because nothing in Chow’s own campaign or unfolding agenda seems quite as dramatic.“
www.thestar.com/opinion/star...
First tracks. Winter’s here early.
November 11, 2025 at 6:24 PM
First tracks. Winter’s here early.
Reposted by Thorben Wieditz
Given that wealth yields political power, the more accumulation, the less likely redistribution becomes.
Opinion: Can we go back to the optimism of the 1990s, before the extraction economy took over?
Our economic system benefits only those at the very top – but it’s not too late for change
www.theglobeandmail.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Given that wealth yields political power, the more accumulation, the less likely redistribution becomes.
Reposted by Thorben Wieditz
AUSTRALIA: Privatised employment services a complete failure www.cpsu.org.au/CPSU/Content...
Privatised employment services a complete failure
www.cpsu.org.au
November 9, 2025 at 12:00 PM
AUSTRALIA: Privatised employment services a complete failure www.cpsu.org.au/CPSU/Content...
I wonder how UFCW members who fulfill PC Express online orders feel about their union’s national “partnership” with Uber - a company that spreads the independent contractor model and undermines labour rights.
www.newswire.ca/news-release...
www.newswire.ca/news-release...
Uber Eats and Loblaw Partner to Bring On-Demand Grocery Delivery to More Canadians
/CNW/ - Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: UBER) and Loblaw Companies Limited (TSX: L) announced a partnership today to bring Loblaw banners to the Uber Eats app....
www.newswire.ca
November 7, 2025 at 4:07 PM
I wonder how UFCW members who fulfill PC Express online orders feel about their union’s national “partnership” with Uber - a company that spreads the independent contractor model and undermines labour rights.
www.newswire.ca/news-release...
www.newswire.ca/news-release...
Reposted by Thorben Wieditz
Ontario’s Climate Accountability on the Chopping Block
THIS HAS HUGE IMPLICATIONS
Ontario cannot deliver real results without a clear plan. Targets without follow-through are empty promises, and chasing results without a plan is like driving blind.
canada.citizensclimatelobby.org/media-releas...
THIS HAS HUGE IMPLICATIONS
Ontario cannot deliver real results without a clear plan. Targets without follow-through are empty promises, and chasing results without a plan is like driving blind.
canada.citizensclimatelobby.org/media-releas...
Ontario’s Climate Accountability on the Chopping Block
Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada calls on Ontarians, opposition parties, and civil society to speak out against this rollback. Accountability and transparency are not red tape, they are the foundation o...
canada.citizensclimatelobby.org
November 7, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Ontario’s Climate Accountability on the Chopping Block
THIS HAS HUGE IMPLICATIONS
Ontario cannot deliver real results without a clear plan. Targets without follow-through are empty promises, and chasing results without a plan is like driving blind.
canada.citizensclimatelobby.org/media-releas...
THIS HAS HUGE IMPLICATIONS
Ontario cannot deliver real results without a clear plan. Targets without follow-through are empty promises, and chasing results without a plan is like driving blind.
canada.citizensclimatelobby.org/media-releas...
Reposted by Thorben Wieditz
NEW: Weeks after the auditor general scolded Ontario for falling far behind its emissions goals, the government is scrapping the requirement to set targets or report on them publicly at all. #OnPoli
globalnews.ca/news/1151465...
globalnews.ca/news/1151465...
Ford government scrapping its own emissions targets and reporting requirements | Globalnews.ca
Buried in the Fall Economic Statement on Thursday was the news that the government would be repealing sections of existing legislation.
globalnews.ca
November 6, 2025 at 8:10 PM
NEW: Weeks after the auditor general scolded Ontario for falling far behind its emissions goals, the government is scrapping the requirement to set targets or report on them publicly at all. #OnPoli
globalnews.ca/news/1151465...
globalnews.ca/news/1151465...
Reposted by Thorben Wieditz
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Meta internally projected late last year that it would earn about 10% of its overall annual revenue – or $16 billion – from running advertising for scams and banned goods, internal company documents show.
Meta internally projected late last year that it would earn about 10% of its overall annual revenue – or $16 billion – from running advertising for scams and banned goods, internal company documents show.
Meta is earning a fortune on a deluge of fraudulent ads, documents show
Meta projected 10% of its 2024 revenue would come from ads for scams and banned goods, and it internally estimates that its platforms show users 15 billion scam ads a day, company documents show.
www.reuters.com
November 6, 2025 at 2:26 PM
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Meta internally projected late last year that it would earn about 10% of its overall annual revenue – or $16 billion – from running advertising for scams and banned goods, internal company documents show.
Meta internally projected late last year that it would earn about 10% of its overall annual revenue – or $16 billion – from running advertising for scams and banned goods, internal company documents show.
Reposted by Thorben Wieditz
Jobs for urbanists, in New York City
We’re hiring!
Our new resume portal is live, and we’re looking for top talent in NYC to help build this administration and deliver on our affordability agenda.
Could that be you? Apply using the link below.
transition2025.com/apply
Our new resume portal is live, and we’re looking for top talent in NYC to help build this administration and deliver on our affordability agenda.
Could that be you? Apply using the link below.
transition2025.com/apply
November 6, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Jobs for urbanists, in New York City
