Trevor Dailey's Weblog

You probably get some sort of pamphlet in the mail once in a while from your Member of Parliament. Usually, there is a survey with preconceived answers that can be filled in and mailed back. Many people toss the pamphlet into the trash. I am one who did just that, but I do not do it anymore. I fill it in, write comments if I want, and send it back in the mail. It does not cost any postage. The question is, why bother?

With a federal election on the horizon, my M.P., Susan Truppe, has been mailing out surveys to her constituents obviously trying to find out if the voters agree with her Party's policies.

One of the most unfortunate parts of our government system today is politicians depend on polls when forming legislation. To them, legislation is good or bad based on the level of public support the legislation has. It is my belief legislation should be based on the rights of individuals, and not based on public opinion.

When politicians decide legislation by survey I will always tell them I disagree. It is not the majority, it is individual the government should be protecting.

© Trevor Dailey 

Audio: Marc Emery on CHRW re: Sunday Shopping (June 10, 1988)

 

A few weeks ago, I listened to an interview by Devon Peacock on AM980 radio with London City Councillor, Jesse Helmer. Mr. Helmer is one of the majority of new faces on City Council after the 2014 election when London voters tossed out almost all of the incumbent Councillors. One of the many Committees, Agencies, Boards and Commissions, and other Organizations Mr. Helmer is part of is the London Transit Commission, and the London Transit Commission Long Term Growth Report Working Group. This is what the interview was about.

Mr. Helmer rides public transit, and this apparently was seen by Mr. Peacock as a qualification to be a Member of the London Transit Commission, and the London Transit Commission Long Term Growth Report Working Group. I do not understand why. I can ride the bus too, and I did so for many years, but that does not mean I am qualified for those positions.

During the telephone interview, Mr. Helmer sounded distracted, or uninterested, to me, and annoying sounds, like he was eating, or sniffling, could be heard coming from him while the interviewer asked questions. Some of those questions were, what is wrong with London Transit? and how to make it better?

The answers Mr, Helmer gave was the issue of over crowding on some bus routes, and some confusing bus schedules. The solution Mr. Helmer gave for these problems was more tax money for the London Transit Commission.

Overcrowding is a problem on some bus routes, and so is confusing schedules, but that is not all.

London's historic and current ridership growth to service growth ratio has helped keep London in the lead when compared to its peer group, but has also led to an increase in service quality issues:

27% increase in the number of times buses have reported full loads

Actual load counts for weekday service on a system-wide basis exceeding seated capacity for all time periods by 25% to 64% (with the exception of Early AM)

54% increase in service quality complaints (includes schedule adherence, overcrowding, missed passengers and transfer connection) Such performance can be expected to result in a decline in ridership if improvements are not made.

The following chart shows service performance complaints have trended upward since 2010, averaging approximately five complaints per every 100,000 riders. The most significant complaints have been schedule adherence (late) and missed passengers (full load). These two areas of complaint account for 43% of service complaints.

London had a private transit system for 75 years before the City bought it in 1950 for $1 million (about $21 million in 2014 money).

(Click here for a detailed history of London transit) 

Operating Overview

The City of London’s 2014 Approved Tax Supported Budget for Transportation Services is $61.4 million representing a $1.0 million or 1.8% increase from rates and $4.2 million increase in cost associated with servicing an expanding/growing City. Outlined below is a breakdown of the 7 services that make up the City of London’s Transportation Services Program.

Parking: Parking = 5.0%

Public Transit: Conventional - Specialized = 42.5%

Roadways: Roadway Maintenance - Roadway Planning & Design - Snow Control - Traffic Control & Lighting = 62.5% 

The best solution for London Transit Commission is to privatize it, and not to throw more tax money at it.

© Trevor Dailey

Audio: Just Right, 133 – Public transit and essential services / Unions and strikes

The letter from The Corporation Of The City Of London addressed to "Occupant" I found in my mailbox informed me that owing to a reduction in the Municipal Property Tax for the building I am a tenant in my monthly rent is to be reduced by 0.54%. The letter mentioned the law (section 131 of the Residential Tenancies Act) that required my Landlord to decrease my rent. I waited to see if I would hear from my Landlord before the rent reduction was due to take effect.

My Landlord soon sent me a letter regarding the letter from the City I had received, and informed me my rent would be reduced in accordance with the regulations. My rent has decreased by $3.26 per month as of January 1, 2015. That is until July, 2015.

A Landlord may increase a tenant's rent, within certain limits, each year, at the time a lease was signed, according to the law. My rent increase, that has happened each year except for one, occurs in July. That is when I will likely loose some, or all, of that rent reduction to a rent increase.

Why government feels the need to regulate what my Landlord and I agree to pay in rent is beyond my understanding. Government is not helping me because my Landlord will still raise my rent in six months. Government is not helping my Landlord by reducing the property tax and at the same time reducing my Landlord's source of income.

What percentage of property tax collected goes to employing people at City Hall to calcuate the rent reductions, and to mail form letters?

I think government should stay out of the rental business.

© Trevor Dailey

On December 31, 2014 the rent for your rental unit is reduced by 0.54%

The rent reduction is allowed under section 131 of the Residential Tenancies Act because the municipal property taxes for the residential complex have decreased.

Tenants do not need permission from the landlord or the Landlord and Tenant Board (the Board) to reduce the rent by this amount. However, tenants and landlords should discuss the calculation of the dollar amount of the rent reduction before the rent is reduced.

1. The Corporation of the City of London is not responsible for deciding whether the amount of the rent reduction set out above is correct or whether the rent has been reduced by the correct amount.

2. If the landlord or tenant believes the percentage rent reduction set out above is not correct, they can file an application with the Board for an order to vary the amount of the rent reduction. They must apply on or before the later of:

(i) the 90th day after the notice of rent reduction is issued;

(ii) March 31, 2015

3. If the rent the tenant pays is not reduced in accordance with the notice, the tenant can apply to the Board for an order requiring the landlord to pay them a rebate. The tenant must apply by December 30, 2015.

4. If the tenant has already received a Notice of Rent Increase effective after December 31, 2014, it may or may not take into account the rent reduction set out above. The tenant and the landlord should discuss what the tenant is required to pay on the effective date of the Notice of Rent Increase.

5. This notice does not apply to tenants whose tenancy agreements began after December 31, 2014.

6. For information about how the rent reduction set out in this notice affects the rent for a rental unit, or about applying to vary the amount of the rent reduction, please call the Board at 1-888-332-3234. For information about how the percentage rent reduction was calculated, please call the City of London Tax office at 519-6611-4540.

Residential Tenancies Act, 2006

Listening to CHRW radio in my car on the way home from work one evening, I heard a song completely by chance. I don't usually listen to the radio, but at this time I just happen to have it on. I listened to a song called, Hot Dog That Made Him Mad by Wanda Jackson. I never heard the song before, or heard of Wanda Jackson before. I was hooked. Soon, I was on the web looking up Wanda Jackson and discovering more of her music. 

Looking at the YouTube preview window, I saw The Black Belles and a song called Wishing Well. After just listening to Wanda Jackson's version of Bob Dylan's Thunder On The Mountain, I was in the mind frame of cover songs. I presumed the song was a cover of the Black Sabbath song Wishing Well, so I decided to give it a listen. It wasn't a cover, but I loved it. I listened to another song by The Black Belles, What Can I Do?, and I liked that song as well.

Just one great thing about music is there is so much of it out there one can never listen to all of it. The thrill of hearing new music that one has not heard before is fantastic. It is a rush when one discovers a new song that one really likes. It does not matter if the song is new, or years old, or if anyone else likes it too, it is always a great feeling to discover new music one likes.

Learn about the mulit-talented, Olivia Jean (The Black Belles singer). 

© Trevor Dailey

Mighty oaks from little acorns grow.

Politicians like to talk about bringing new business to the city. They talk about how they will spend more tax money on another scheme, and this will bring business to the city. It never does. This is a good reason why learning a bit of history can be helpful.

If one looks at the City of London over the past 200 years or so, one will see that there have been an impressive number of business that have started right here in the city. Here is a short list of a few of the sucessful businesses that began here in London:

Canada Trust (Huron and Erie Savings and Loan Society. 1884)

Carling (1843)

Club House (1883)

Emco Corporation (1906)

Imperial Oil (1880)

Labatt (1847)

London Life (1874)

McCormicks (1858)

Supertest (1923)

Some on the list are unfortunately gone, McCormicks and Supertest, but the others either exist within another company, like Canada Trust, Carling, Club House, Labbat, and London Life, or they still stand independently like EMCO Corporation and Imperial Oil. Each one of those on the list achieved great success from small beginnings here in London. Most still employ many Londoners today. 

Politicians should stop trying to "bring business here", and start allowing the small businesses that have already started here in London to prosper. (A small few of which are:)

Black Fly Beverage Company (2005)

Forked River Brewing Company (2012)

A Couple Of Squares Inc (1997)

© Trevor Dailey

"Buy local" is a slogan used a lot in the retail food market, specifically in agriculture. The slogan is intended to convince shoppers to buy all their food, mostly fruits and vegetables, that has been "locally grown". What the boundary is for "local" I do not know. 

I never really understood the "buy local" movement. Looking into the reasons for "buying local", I found a lot of specious arguments.

What "buy local" is really about is certain food producers not wanting competition. They do not want to have to compete with other food producers for customers. They want a closed market.

Unless one wants to have a very limited choice in food, it all cannot be grown locally. Crops also fail sometimes. When was the last time there were no potatoes at the store because the season's potato crop had failed? Prince Edward Island and Idaho grow potatoes too.

We have so much food, and there is so much we can buy at the store. Foods that we take for granted today people generations ago would have thought such foodstuffs luxuries, or even unheard of. Apples were once the only winter fruit available to people because there were no other fruits that could be grown and stored through winter.

The fact that one has access to a world food market, there is competition among agriculture producers for customers, and consumers having choice, should be something one considers to be of great benefit to the producer and the consumer; because it is.

© Trevor Dailey

Abbott: Do you know they spend millions of dollars every year to put up factories just to manufacture mustard? Do you know those factories employ thousands and thousands of men just to manufacture mustard? Do you know those men take care of thousands of families and homes all on a count of mustard? And you, just because you don't like mustard. What do you want them to do? close those factories down and put all those people out of work?

Costello: You mean to sit there and tell me just because I don't eat mustard I'm [going to] close down a mustard factory? Are you trying to tell me that those thousands of people are making one little jar of mustard like this just for me? Well, if they are, you can tell 'em not to make anymore 'cause I'm not [going to] eat it!

Abbott and Costello: The Noose Hangs High (1948)

It was the first time I had to deal with a mouse. I live in a small one room apartment, so I detected the presence of the mouse very quickly. One of the first encounters was switching on the light, and being startled by the flash of greyish brown across the stove top. In an instant, it was gone, but I knew what it was. From here, the conflict began.

Over the next few weeks, the mouse would appear and disappear at random. So much time elapsed from one sighting I was sure the mouse had left. It returned. Mouse droppings, chewed items, noise in the middle of the night were all signs this invader had decided to occupy my territory. I tried everything I could think of the get it to leave, and nothing worked. The conflict escalated to an ending point.

There are two basic types of mouse traps: those that kill, and those that capture alive. In the kill section there are poisons, glue traps, and the snap trap. On the other side are catch and release type traps, and glue pads from one manufacturer that can be used either way (the glue will dissolve with vegetable oil) 

The snap trap is the oldest, most reliable, inexpensive, and sure kill device. Poisons work well, but not right way. Glue is the slowest of all in bringing death.

I thought about the so-called humane capture and release method, but this was not just a nuisance rodent, it was also something that could spread disease, it was a health issue. People and wild mice should not be living in the same home. I decided to use a quick and proven kill method. My choice was the snap trap.

After placing two traps, and baiting them with peanut butter, according to the instructions, I did not have to wait long. At about 18:00 hrs on Sunday evening, I heard the trap near the stove on the kitchenette floor spring. I was still for a moment. I looked over, and I saw the mouse dead in the trap. I left both traps set out for a few days to make sure there was only one mouse.

Killing the mouse makes me feel kind of bad inside. I didn't want to have to kill it, but it was the only choice left. Some may argue I could have done a capture and release, but I think that is an almost certain death for the mouse as it is left without food nor shelter in a place it does not know. I find that cruel. Mice seldom venture far from their shelter and food supply. However, I try not to anthropomorphize the mouse. 

The snap trap was the most humane method of killing the mouse. Mice are prolific breeders, so my killing one mouse now could prevent my having to kill more mice later on. 

Addendum

Four mice so far. This first one I killed with a snap trap, the second escaped the snap trap, and the two (so far) I caught with a live trap. There are benefits and drawbacks to each of the traps.

The snap trap is very inexpensive and easy to use. It usually kills in an instant; however, it is not perfect and the rare time I am going to get a kill that is not humane. Once the mouse is killed, there is nothing left to do but dispose of the dead mouse in the garbage. I prefer to reuse the traps, but everything can be thrown away. Hearing the trap go off, if you are in live in a tiny apartment like me, or seeing the dead mouse may be an issue. One usually does not see the mouse until it is dead in the trap. One could find an adult or a juvenile dead in the trap.

The live trap, Ketch-All multi-catch trap by Kness Manufacturing Company Incorporated, will capture more than one mouse in one period without having to be reset. The live trap seems more humane, but disposal of the mouse or mice can be a problem. Other problems are multiple mice in the trap may fight each other. If they do get along they make frequent noise in the trap by knawing at the vent holes. The mice also have an unpleasant musty smell. Where to set them free, and the season is a big factor. Winter is not a good time to let them go, but I can not keep them as pets until the spring. It seems the humane trap is really a reprieved death sentence for the mice.

In most cases I think still prefer the snap trap, but a multi-kill electric trap would likely be the best option for me right now.

Meanwhile, I am doing my best to mouse proof my apartment as I search for a new place to live. 

Addendum

The live trap caught four juvenile mice during the night. I released them early the next morning. Only one survived. Two appeared near death after leaving the trap, and one was decapitated by the trap mechanism when caught. The live trap turned out to be a kill trap with only one quick kill out of of three kills.

In the future, I think I am going to stick with the quick kill snap traps, but I do not have an aversion to using the Katch-All again. No trap is perfect. 

© Trevor Dailey

Rats and Mice

House Mouse Prevention & Control

House Mice

Mouse Facts