Newsstand: April 13, 2012

Instant coffee: a copout, or not that bad? Discuss. But also: Police Association president and Dalton McGuinty not on board with safe injection sites; Air Canada workers might be playing hooky today; relief for CityPlace residents comes in the form of mesh; a baby bird is rescued; and Princess Margaret announces giant fundraising campaign.

By Jodie Shupac

The study recommending Toronto open three safe injection sites has, not shockingly, drawn backlash. Toronto Police Association president Mike McCormack isn’t into it, and in a letter to the Toronto Sun, Premier Dalton McGuinty made clear yesterday that he won’t be giving his blessing to supervised injection sites in Ontario anytime soon. Or maybe just anytime. He reasoned that when it comes to healthcare decisions, “we listen to the experts.” Except, y’know, the experts from St. Michael’s Hospital and the University of Toronto who put together this study. Not them. But other experts.

Deteriorating labour relations between Air Canada and its workers may get worse today; Captain Eddy Doyle, director of flying operations, has let slip that pilots may be staging a “sickout.” And if you don’t know what that is, you’ve obviously never worked for a high-profile airline. God. That’s a lie. It’s more like a throwback to thermometer-under-the-hot-water-tap-times from elementary school. I’m sick for reaaal, mom!

Developer Concord Adex has promised the installation of protective mesh on the glass balconies of some CityPlace condo-dwellers. And, hey, it may be months after glass from some of their downtown high-rises rained down onto the street, but it’s never too late to wrap some mesh around a problem. And also, people in glass condos something something. That totally doesn’t apply here, but it had to happen. Deal with it.

In bird news that’s sweeping headlines, a baby owl has been safely restored to its nest high atop a Mississauga golf course, thanks to a Toronto Wildlife Centre employee. Apparently, the owl, a mere 1.85 pounds, was pulled out of its nest by the wind before gently drifting down to the ground. Well, that’s just adorable.

The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation launched a massive fundraising campaign yesterday, with plans to raise $1 billion over five years for personalized cancer treatment.