You're right about going with local contractors who know the area. We made that mistake initially by hiring someone from outside the city who didn't understand our neighborhood's unique challenges with clay soil and drainage. When we redid the project properly, we found experienced professionals at
https://oakshs.ca/north-york-interlocking-services/ who had worked on dozens of properties in North York. They knew exactly how to handle the soil conditions and completed our driveway and front walkway without any of the problems we had with the first contractor