Newsstand: June 18, 2009

Brace for strike, Toronto residents told (National Post): "With Monday's strike deadline looming, Toronto residents are being told to brace for uncollected garbage and shuttered day care centres, even as city officials said they are still hoping for a settlement with indoor and outdoor employees." [More from the Star.]

Green light for new streetcars (Toronto Star): "Premier Dalton McGuinty and Toronto Mayor David Miller are expected to announce in Thunder Bay Friday that the TTC's plan to buy 204 European-style streetcars finally is a go. Federal officials Wednesday night refused to confirm that Prime Minister Stephen Harper will also attend the event, and it is still unclear whether Ottawa has stepped up with stimulus cash to pay a third of the $1.2 billion cost of the TTC's agreement with Bombardier to build the cars." [More from the Globe. Previous coverage on Torontoist: Bombardier Wins.]

Luminato founder battles cancer (CBC): "Toronto's Luminato arts festival is being hailed as a great success, but behind the scenes one of Luminato's founders was struggling quietly. David Pecaut, co-founder of the festival with Toronto businessman, Tony Gagliano, has told CBC News he is suffering from colorectal cancer."

Egale's gay gaffe (NOW): "At a gala fundraising dinner at the King Edward Hotel on June 5, Egale Canada honoured Jaime Watt, the openly gay senior communications adviser to Harris and Ernie Eves, for his 'outstanding contribution to LGBT human rights in Canada.' What? How did an operative for a government so hostile to the rights of minorities score a top gay prize?"

Garbage levy illegal, Toronto apartment owners say (Globe and Mail): "Toronto's new garbage levy is illegal, discriminatory and financially punitive, say rental apartment owners who have quietly launched a lawsuit to quash the user-fee system brought in last year."

Hard Rock Cafe leaving Rogers Centre after 20 years (CityNews): "The change is being attributed to the economic downturn and a rapid loss of business at the famed restaurant, which simply wasn't attracting the same size crowds as it once did. Attendance at Jays games is also down from the team's glory days and that's made it even harder to sustain the local outlet." [Previous coverage on Torontoist: Dome Away From Home.]

Immigration system hurts more than helps, study finds (Toronto Star): "Dumping newcomers in pizza delivery jobs sets them up for a dismal future in Toronto, an innovative new study reveals. The rags-to-riches immigrant stories Canada has been bred on don't work anymore, say the two professors who led the project that will be released today. In fact, given the increasingly fragile economy, many of the standard methods of dealing with newcomers are making their lives worse."

Comments (3) [rss]

[1] | RealityCheck

Oh no, a gay person isn't a leftist so he can't be legitimate! NOW's complaints are laughable and bespeak a confused understanding of gay rights and extreme unsophistication (well it is NOW, so that should be expected).

Most of the "issues" are focused on how Watt and Harris are conservative and attacked programs supported by the Left. Some issues do have have tenuous connections to gays but reflect decisions made for other reasons (i.e. hospitals, court challenges). The criticism is acutely harmful to gay rights and gay groups as independent organizations that are not arms of the NDP.

People and groups focused on rights issues need to be non-partisan and need to encourage and support members of all parties who agree with their aims. Setting gay rights (or any other rights) as exclusively leftist discredits the organisation, its supporters, and its arguments. By being partisan you antagonize people who will be in power and harm the interests you proclaim.

Reply | June 18, 2009 1:42 PM

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