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City Broke, VIA’s Rail, Don’t Mock Mooning Mohammed

By David Topping

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Toronto is apparently “about to go broke.” Wait, what?
Today, VIA stands for Very Irritated Aboriginals. A First Nations protest over land is currently affecting all of VIA Rail between Montreal and Toronto. The move, according to 680 News, was to “protest against a developer’s plans to build condominiums using material from a quarry on land they claim is theirs.” Since the entire country is pretty much native land (it even says it right there in our anthem), we’d be quite happy if some First Nations people wanted to come over to Toronto and protest condo development here.
A journalist in Mississauga was beaten up with a cricket bat after mocking a Pakistani cleric in his newspaper column. The cleric apparently told a gathering in Pakistan “that he could write the name of Mohammed on the moon with his finger,” which, needless to say, can give people a bit of an ego.
In sports, apparently the NHL playoffs are going on or something, and Ottawa is doing alright at it so far, we guess.
And, finally, Hot Docs started last night! We were at the opening night reception and sure did enjoy it. Torontoist is accredited for the fest, so be sure to keep your eyes on us for coverage.
Photo by blainekendall.com in the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

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Comments

  • Dave

    Man, I’m so tired of Native lands claims.
    Blocking a train track? REmove the blockade adn arrest ‘em all.

  • http://www.newmindspace.com Kevin Bracken

    While we’re at it, fire the cops to save money!

  • David Topping

    Dude, how do you think they feel?

  • Hey

    How about across the board 40% wage cuts? Don’t pay overtime, eliminate all benefits. Contract out services and get rid of unions?
    But no, the Soviet Republic of Toronto is increasing unionisation, handing out huge pay increases to TTC workers, has mainteanance workers making 100K thanks to overtime… I’m shocked that the budget is screwed, since that’s what Miller has been trying to do.
    Past time to eliminate council and have Toronto run directly by Queen’s Park. Make the residents pay for their services with property taxes at least as high as Oakville’s and cut services back to an appropriate level. Police, fire, maybe a few parks. Fire everyone else. Problem solved.

  • Jeff

    I love that the second the Leafs don’t make the playoffs, Toronto pretends not to care. Don’t write something so patronizing and stuck up like “Apparently the playoffs are going on.” – it’s insulting so the people who like Ottawa.

  • Gloria

    Uh, this IS a Toronto blog.
    I sure don’t care about the playoffs if the Leafs don’t make it, since I have no stake as a fan. Happy if a Canadian team takes the Cup, but otherwise? Nothing out of me.

  • Ben

    I am sure that Hey will be first in line to take the 40% wage cut.

  • Ben

    I am sure that Hey will be first in line to take the 40% wage cut.

  • http://www.newmindspace.com Kevin Bracken

    I thought the “Canadians like hockey” thing was just a widely-held cultural myth?

  • http://www.livebabylive.com Carrie

    Boo to Ottawa (I’m a Pens fan).

  • David Topping

    Jeff, it was a joke — the tone was pretty obvious (“apparently the NHL playoffs are going on or something, and Ottawa is doing alright at it so far, we guess”).

  • shaunpierre

    History lesson! Unions, as we know them, didn’t really exist in so called ‘socialist’ countries. There was (mostly)full employment and grievances went through the state, as that was usually their employer.
    Unions might actually be responsible for preventing socialist style uprisings from happening elsewhere in the world and were very important in stabilizing much of the economy, as they were the main force behind ‘social’ programs.
    I know unions have gained a notorious reputation, but in my opinion, their benefits outweigh their detriment.

  • mishka

    I’m still in shock over the Toronto Star article… say what?!