Toronto Life May 2023

DIGITAL EDITION FREE FOR PRINT SUBSCRIBERS Your Toronto Life subscription now includes free access to the Toronto Life and FASHION digital editions. In your digital newsstand store, search “toronto life” and “fashion magazine,” download/open the apps, and follow the prompts. SUBSCRIPTION EXPIRY To find out when your current subscription expires, check the mailing label. BILLING AND RENEWAL NOTICE Invoice and renewal notices are printed one week before they are mailed to you. With delivery time, it’s possible that your payment or renewal order will cross in the mail with our invoice or renewal notice. FRAGRANCE-FREE ISSUES Some issues of Toronto Life include perfume strips. If you prefer to receive your copy without perfume strips, write to us at the address listed below. MAIL PREFERENCE On occasion, subscriber names and addresses…

Star Struck Toronto Life readers apparently have strong feelings about the Toronto Star and its ownership—and they had thoughts about Jason McBride’s coverage of the fight for control of the paper. “No doubt about it. The business of journalism in this country is every bit as salacious and money-driven as corporate endeavours.”—@sophienadeau, Twitter “Looks like the Toronto Star is on life support.”—@Canadabuster, Twitter “This was one of my favourite issues of Toronto Life. Keep them coming!”—jenmckennitt, Instagram “Great article. Jason McBride tells a true story well. Filed under ‘not a happy couple.’”—couple.co, Instagram “Oh, rich, privileged white men with huge egos grabbing power. Like that story hasn’t been done to death. Don’t give them space, they don’t deserve it!”—blythe1spirit, Instagram “It’s perplexing that traditional media can’t get digital right. It’s…

The Future of Real Estate Is…Friendly? There’s no shortage of things to worry about when it comes to real estate: the astronomical prices, the cut-throat rental market, the lack of affordable housing. But there are glimmers of hope. Travel along any major artery in this city and you’ll quickly spot some shapely new tower, drool-worthy home or funky, space-age park. We’ve been awaiting an ambitious, tech-enhanced future of real estate for a long time. Finally, it’s here. The revolution starts at the corner of Bathurst and Bloor, the site of the new Mirvish Village, which opens its doors later this year. I remember the outcry in 2016 when we learned that Honest Ed’s would be levelled and turned into a mixed-use, mixed-income development. The place was a part of Toronto…

CREATED FOR Many Torontonians are seeking additional living space—whether for a home office, for multi-generational housing or as a rental property for supplementary income. An ideal scenario would be to build an additional dwelling in your backyard that could meet this need with a stress-free, sustainable and design-focused solution. Enter: Happi Builds. As Toronto’s leader in prefabricated backyard housing, also known as accessory dwelling units (ADUs) or garden and laneway suites, Happi Builds, in collaboration with R-Hauz, uses innovative climate-friendly technologies to deliver a seamless customer-focused experience. From initial consultation, property assessment, design and permit approvals, to assembly, construction and delivery, Happi Builds offers a full-service solution for sustainable backyard housing. And the timing could not be better to consider an ADU in Toronto. In February 2022, the city passed…

Law and order have a new home in Toronto, and it’s a sparkling $956-million courthouse right behind city hall. First opened in March, the glass fortress consolidates six courthouses from across the city, each set to close this summer. But many stakeholders aren’t sold. Judges have called the shuttering of youth courts a tragedy. Crown attorneys worry about the danger of assembling rival gang members in one location. Other critics argue that forcing people to commute downtown is a barrier to justice. The upsides, however, are considerable: state-of-the-art tech for virtual hearings, LEED silver certification, Braille signage, a healing circle for Indigenous people and Toronto’s top legal minds all working under one roof. “The first place I ever busked was at Yonge and Bloor” —Kiefer Sutherland, p. 18…

You haven’t saved the world on TV for a while. What drew you to Rabbit Hole? I’m a big fan of the creators, John Requa and Glenn Ficarra. They wrote Bad Santa, which is one of the most ingenious scripts ever. They told me how moved they were by films such as Three Days of the Condor, and I felt the same. Then they wrote Rabbit Hole incredibly fast—six to eight weeks. It was exactly what they had said they were going to write, and it was so nuanced. For fans of 24, how is your new character, John Weir, different from Jack Bauer? John Weir is very layered. He’s incredibly smart, with a great sense of humour, but he’s also neurotic. Jack Bauer was almost simplistic—a blunt object—whereas John…