Atheists, Bus Ads and the United Church

The atheist bus ad campaign, originally launched in London as a protest against fire-and-brimstone evangelical Christian ads, is coming to Toronto. As a "recovering Catholic", I find this campaign to be a lot of fun. If nothing else, I think that atheists and agnostics have as much of a right to promote their world view as those with other belief systems. I don't think that there was a pressing need for this type of ad in Toronto, which is pretty tolerant and diverse, but I still find it amusing.

All that being said, I was tickled to see a full-page version of this ad in the centre of this morning's Globe and Mail front section.


The ad is being run by wondercafe.ca, which is a discussion board/webpage sponsored by the United Church of Canada. I like the optimistic attitude to religion that is promoted by the ad, and by the UCC more generally. My partner was raised in the United Church, and when I see ads like this one, I realize that I'd probably be a lot less anti-religion if the church of my childhood had been as open, accepting and positive in orientation as the United Church appears to be. These ads haven't changed my world view, but if people are going to be religious, I'd prefer that it be in this spirit.

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An end to the Sheppard line?

What a fiasco! Apparently, the TTC is planning on slashing its services, including closing the Sheppard subway line (which cost $1 billion and took 8 years to build), in an effort to cut $30 million from its budget this year, and $100 million next year.

It is truly a travesty that Toronto's transit system is in the shape that it is right now. With traffic clogs increasingly snarling the highway infrastructure, the GO Train system woefully inadequate on the non-Lakeshore routes, and urban sprawl continuing to expand the metro area's boundaries, it is disgraceful that existing bus and subway services within Canada's largest city would be cut.

I am particularly stung by the chance that the Sheppard line is on the chopping block. I lived mere blocks away from Sheppard throughout my childhood, praying for the day when Mel Lastman's dream of a Sheppard line would come through. It wasn't until I had moved downtown to go to university that initial construction even began. I've only had one opportunity to ride it since it opened (which was after I moved away from Toronto). I hope that it won't end up being the only time.

It makes you wonder what future there is for McGuinty's planned transit expansion. I imagine that the York University subway line is in serious jeopardy.

This smacks of an ugly power-play, and I hope that these announced measures don't go through!

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