I opened a YouTube video in a private window in Firefox (to avoid falling into the wrong rabbit hole) and I got greeted by an ad telling me how I'm gonna get murdered at home because Toronto was run by the current mayor. Didn't see any mayor's names on the ad itself, so I went to the source of the ad to see who's astroturfing and for whom. This is what I found:
- Kelly Aizicowitz: Healthcare marketing executive (recently SVP Client Services & Business Operations at a US firm), ex-GM of a healthcare startup, and former Queen's Park government staffer.
- Matt McClellan: Manages a Toronto real estate firm, with a background in investment management including time at the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.
- Jeffrey Kroeker: Business lawyer heading the business law practice at Massey LLP, specializing in government relations, trade, and crisis communications.
- Hunter Corcoran: Investment professional with a background in business, economics, and history, active in public and political life.
I'm guessing this isn't the only NGO and they probably aren't funded by small dollar donations.
I was thinking, maybe I could use this is whenever people tell me stuff that came out of Brad's ads, I could point out that he's funded by the real estate and corporate interests that are making life expensive, and point to this page for them to check.
From one of ABC’s blogs: “Toronto can become a leader in urban problem-solving by adopting a comprehensive regulatory sandbox system that allows the City of Toronto to temporarily suspend or relax specific bylaws and regulations within a defined geographic area to test new ideas. This approach creates a “safe space” for innovation, enabling the city to gather real-world data on new technologies without the immediate need for permanent legislative changes.”
Regulation and bylaws bad. This is really original, fascinating stuff. Big brains hard at work.
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