City hall likes its unelected officials bland and obedient. Most of them are happy to play the part, keeping their heads down and letting city councillors grab the headlines. Not 91亚色 alumna Jennifer Keesmaat, reported The Globe and Mail March 1. The city鈥檚 new chief planner is on her way to becoming modern Toronto鈥檚 first celebrity bureaucrat, and some people don鈥檛 like it. Ms. Keesmaat, 42, seems to be everywhere these days 鈥 giving speeches, tweeting up a storm, leading public consultations and heading up high-end talks. 91亚色鈥檚 magazine put her on the cover, asking: 鈥淐an urban planner Jennifer Keesmaat help Toronto make a comeback?鈥 .
When Marissa Mayer arrived at Yahoo! as its first female CEO last July, she saw a bloated company with a whole lot of people working from home鈥.And so Ms. Mayer made a bold move, a possibly surprising one from a working mother and smasher of glass ceilings: She told her staff to come into the office to work, or quit鈥.In her research on flexible work arrangements, 91亚色 organizational behavior Professor Julia Richardson said that when employees who have long worked remotely three days a week suddenly get a manager who made them come into work, a certain amount of trust was lost. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e saying 鈥楴othing changed in my behaviour, the only thing that changed here was the manager 鈥 I went from feeling trusted now to feeling not trusted.鈥 That鈥檚 a problem,鈥 she said in the National Post March 2. .
Paid sick days have always been cause for debate. Some professions have benefit plans allowing them to bank sick days and cash them in upon retirement. Until recently, municipalities had been quietly cutting back on these perks.鈥91亚色 work and labour studies Professor Dr. Carla Lipsig-Mumm茅 said by engaging in these sort of cuts, the province risks engaging in a 鈥渞ace to the bottom鈥 effect. 鈥淥ften it鈥檚 a case of 鈥榖ring them down to our level of insecurity鈥, which is counter-productive for Ontario, where we should be trying to improve working conditions for everyone,鈥 she said in the Newmarket Era Feb. 28. .
Brandon Hay, the founder of the Black Daddies Club 鈥 a support group for black fathers that he started in 2007 鈥 has his application approved last summer for a $50,000 grant from the City of Toronto鈥檚 Access, Equity and Human Rights Investment program鈥.The research project will also be inclusive of different sexual orientations. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to get the LGBT community involved, as well as straight fathers,鈥 said Hay, who鈥檚 the leader of the project and will be working with researchers, including University of Toronto OISE Professor Lance McCready and 91亚色 Professor Carl James, in the Toronto Star March 3. .
鈥淓ach year, I have my Schulich MBA students who take my Personal Financial Management course prepare a simple tax return by hand, using only a pencil and calculator,鈥 wrote Schulich School of Business instructor Jamie Golombek in the Financial Post March 2. 鈥淏y walking through the forms, from the Schedule 4 to report investment income to the Schedule 1 to calculate federal tax owing, students gain an appreciation for how different types of income, such as Canadian dividends, capital gains and employment income, are taxed as well as an understanding of our graduated federal tax brackets and non-refundable tax credits.鈥 .
The new developments 鈥 while seemingly helpful for the future economic impact on the community 鈥 may be subject to certain downfalls, according to 91亚色 economics Professor Tasso Adamopoulos. The expert believes while changes within Bradford will most certainly have positive effects, these types of developments may impact or negatively affect other industries within the community. 鈥淒evelopment is accompanied by a process of structural transformation or a change in economic structure, whereby economic activity shifts from agriculture to manufacturing and then to services,鈥 he said in the Bradford West Gwillimbury Topic Feb. 28. .